Any person who has ever opened a business has learned that it takes much more than being an expert in a field to run a successful business. A person must be an expert at running a business as well as an expert in their respective field. This means the business owner must be able to run payroll, keep up with all the laws affecting payroll, the state and federal tax code, health insurance issues, legal issues, run their business, and find time to sit back and breath, all at the same time. Many business owners may choose to hire individuals or companies to complete some of these tasks, like a payroll company, an accountant, a benefits specialist, and an attorney. While this takes some of the weight off the shoulders of the business owner, the owner is now managing several different vendors and making sure each vendor has all that is needed to do their respective job. There must be another way! The employer can use a PEO!
What is a PEO?
Instead of hiring numerous different firms to help run the business, it may be best to consider working with a PEO (Professional Employer Organization). A PEO is an outsourced Human Resources company that can take care of a business’s human resources needs while the business owner takes care of running the business.
The PEO can handle issues relating to creating an employee handbook, hiring and terminating employees, creating employee benefit packages, making sure a company has the proper insurances needed to protect itself and its employees from work related issues, manage payroll, and advise on employment and labor related legal issues. This PEO will work with numerous small businesses and be able to offer certain benefits to the business owner by pooling many clients under one FEIN. Therefore, small businesses may, in some cases, be able to function as a larger business and receive larger business benefits for their employees.
Why Use a PEO instead of Individual Provider Companies?
Using a PEO offers many benefits to a small business owner. First, by pooling several companies together under one FEIN, some benefits available to employees may be offered to smaller businesses, wherein they would normally only be offered to businesses with over 500 employees. While this may not include health insurance, it can include other benefits at reduced premiums, such as supplemental insurances.
While this is a nice benefit of using a PEO, one of the best benefits is the ability to only work with one vendor for HR needs. Rather than trying o determine whom to contact for particular HR issues, working with a PEO means a business owner has one number to call or one email to write to deal with any number of HR issues. Whether an employer requires a change to an employee handbook, has an employee issue that may require legal counsel or HR counsel, or simply needs to change withholding amounts from an employee’s paycheck, the employer must only keep one company’s contact information.
Working with a PEO is guaranteeing a business owner peace of mind that any and all HR issues and employee related issues can be covered while the business owner can actually spend time running and growing his or her business. Of course, the PEO is only as good as the people behind the curtain. If you are looking to work with a PEO, contact the experts at Fusion Employer Services at 866.337.4978. Their qualified professionals will be happy to answer all your questions.
