For business · Co-employment
PEO arrangements, and when they make sense
A PEO bundles payroll, HR, compliance and benefits under a co-employment agreement. For some small businesses it is a genuine upgrade; for others it is an expensive way to buy the same plan.
In plain words
Co-employment in plain words
Under a PEO agreement your employees are employed by you for everything that matters day to day, and by the PEO for payroll, tax filing and benefits purposes. That shared status is what lets a fifteen-person business buy benefits through a much larger risk pool.
The trade is control and transparency. Fees are charged per employee or as a percentage of payroll, benefit choices narrow to what the PEO offers, and leaving mid-year is rarely tidy. Those are manageable costs when the HR burden is the real problem, and a poor deal when it is not.
- Priced per employee against your current payroll, HR and benefits spend combined
- Benefit menu compared with what you can buy directly today
- Exit terms read before you sign, not when you want to leave
- A straight answer when a group or level-funded plan would serve you better
What we handle
What we look at with you
Total cost comparison
PEO fees against payroll software, an HR hour and a direct group plan.
Benefit menu
What the pool actually offers your staff, and how much choice they lose.
Compliance transfer
Which filings the PEO takes on, and which stay with you regardless.
Exit planning
Notice periods, renewal dates and what your census looks like on the way out.
Questions
What people ask us about this
No. A payroll company processes pay on your behalf. A PEO becomes a co-employer of record for tax and benefits purposes, which is what gives it access to a larger benefits pool — and what makes the agreement more involved.
They will see a different name on the pay stub and a different benefits portal. Day to day, they still work for you.
When HR and compliance are eating an owner's week, when you are hiring across state lines, or when your group is too small or too sick to buy decent benefits directly.
Talk it through with a person
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