The difference between a PEO vs ASO
What’s an ASO?
An ASO is an Administrative Services Organization. The term was created in the 1990s to help potential clients differentiate between ASOs and PEOs, professional employment organizations. ASOs provide many of the same services as PEOs, but they don’t alleviate your business from the risk associated with taxes, HR Compliance, and workers ‘compensation.
When working with an ASO the client/business remains the employer of record. ASOs often provide assistance when it comes to finding benefits. They may file payroll taxes under your FEIN, and they may guide you when it comes to issues of compliance. However, your business is still legally responsible for all the above. ASOs have a fiduciary responsibility to you as a client but you’re ultimately on the hook for their performance.
The Cost of an ASO?
The cost of an ASO will vary depending on the number of employees and services offered and selected. Most of the times the cost will be a flat rate per employee. This differs from a PEO, PEOs often charged a percentage of the payroll wages as their admin fee. Comparing apples to apples would be challenging, you’d need to evaluate your needs and the risk you’re willing to take on vs the cost of a PEO or ASO.
Now what’s the difference between a PEO and ASO?
What’s a PEO?
A PEO is a Professional Employer Organization. PEOs rose to popularity in the 1980s, they were created to help businesses save time and money when it comes to employment payroll, and business solutions: such as workers’ compensation and employee benefits. They are popular because PEOs become the employer of record and reduces your liability.
- This means that if you sign an agreement to work with a PEO your employees become their employees through what is known as co employment.
- You continue running your business as you have been.
- When it comes to the payroll taxes, the payroll taxes are paid under the PEOs FEIN.
- The PEO is also responsible for paying your employees.
- You receive an invoice showing the total payroll amounts, taxes, and fees.
- The PEO then handles the taxes and payroll with the funds from your invoice.
- You receive an invoice showing the total payroll amounts, taxes, and fees.
PEOs like ours, offer a variety of solutions from one place. Businesses are able to cut down on vendors and 3rd parties which saves time, improve customer service and can lower cost. Unlike most ASOs, you can get workers’ compensation as well as your payroll completed. All of your services are paid on one invoice, making your accounting easier as well.
Traditionally PEOs supply an array of business solutions, that the PEO is able to offer to its clients at scale, by being on the PEOs master policy, such as health insurance, workers’ compensation, and 401k solutions. The scale allows clients to save money opposed to getting the services themselves.
Many modern PEOs, like Atlantic Payroll Partners allow clients to shop or bring their own health insurance, 401K plans and other benefits or use solutions that we provide. When then work with that third party to ensure that your employees are accurately compensated for such benefits.
What’s the cost of a PEO?
Typically, and at Atlantic Payroll Partners, PEOs are priced as a percentage of the payroll that is ran. The price you are paying is the admin fee for the services that are provided such as unemployment claims and hearings, new hire reporting, tax lien deductions, child support deductions, and workers’ compensation fraud investigations. Want to learn more about PEO pricing and see a sample quote? Read The Cost of Working with a PEO.
What’s the short answer to the difference between a PEO vs ASO?
The primary things to consider is what amount of risk do you want to expose your business and potentially yourself to. How many vendors or third parties do you want to work. Finally, what do you want to pay? Many of the solutions are the same, it’s the structure of the business that will impact your business the most. For more information on working with a PEO feel free to reach out to us here or give us a call.
Copyright 2024
At Atlantic Payroll Partners, we have over 10 years experience, providing local businesses with quality solutions. We’re more than just a payroll company, we’re a PEO that provides HR Consulting, Workers’ Compensation, Employee Benefits, Accounting, and a variety of business and personal insurances.
Spotlight on Workers’ Compensation?
Did you know that not all Workers’ Compensation Insurance is the same?
That’s right, you can save money on workers’ comp by partnering with a PEO, like ours. You can save thousands, by not paying a workers’ comp audit.
How? By benefiting from pay-as-you-go workers compensation. Utilizing daily, accurate payroll data cuts out the costly mistakes that happen when you estimate your needs.
Interested in saving, start a quote here or call us at 772-466-0440. We’d love to hear from you.
What PEO Co-Employment Means for Small Businesses
What PEO, Co Employment Means for Small Businesses
We at Atlantic Payroll Partners have been providing PEO solutions to businesses in Florida and beyond for more than 10 years. We know that PEOs are sometimes referred to as, employee leasing or co-employment. Below is a breakdown of “co-employment”.
Co-employment refers to a legally binding agreement between a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and an employer. According to the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), “[The PEO relationship] involves a contractual allocation and sharing of certain employer responsibilities between the PEO and the client.” Basically, the PEO handles their clients’ HR and employment obligations.
PEOs Work Mostly With Small Businesses
According to NAPEO, the average PEO client has 19 worksite employees. For many PEOs, the clientele sweet spot is a small business with 10-150 employees.
However, as NAPEO points out, larger businesses (including those with 500 or more employees) are increasingly turning to PEOs. In these cases, the client typically has their own HR team. The PEO simply works in conjunction with the client’s HR team to optimize the client’s human resource function.
What PEOs Do for Small Businesses
PEOs help small businesses manage their HR and employment responsibilities while allowing the client to retain control over their business and its operations.
Many PEOs offer full-scale HR solutions to small businesses, including:
- Onboarding and new-hire processing.
- Worker classification.
- Access to employee benefits.
- Time and labor management.
- Payroll management.
- Performance management.
- Leadership development.
- Employee engagement tools.
- Compensation and HR planning.
- Manager and employee self-service technology.
- Workers’ compensation.
- Unemployment insurance management.
- Employee relations.
- HR, benefits and payroll compliance.
- Employment cost control.
Top PEO Value Drivers for Small Businesses
Access to competitive benefits
Small businesses often struggle to secure affordable, competitive benefits on their own, which can put them at a disadvantage when it comes to talent attraction and retention.
PEOs deliver cost-effective benefits to client employees that rival those offered by Fortune 500 companies. They provide medical, dental, vision and life insurance; retirement savings plan; educational benefits; adoption assistance; flexible spending accounts; and ancillary benefits such as critical illness insurance and pet insurance.
Per NAPEO, businesses that use a PEO and have fewer than 10 employees receive more than three times greater participation in their retirement plans than do businesses that do not use a PEO.
Payroll administration
Small businesses tend to outsource payroll, if nothing else, because it is time-consuming and compliance-driven.
PEOs usually assume responsibility for their client’s payroll, using their own Employer Identification Number instead of the client’s. This means the PEO is responsible for paying client employees accurately and on time and for handling other critical payroll duties, such as wage garnishment and payroll tax administration.
Workers’ compensation cost management
PEOs help their clients implement strong safety protocols to reduce workers’ compensation costs.
Administrative cost savings
According to NAPEO, “Administrative costs are around $450 lower per employee for businesses that use a PEO.”
Single vendor
By serving as a one-stop shop, PEOs save small businesses from having to find and maintain different vendors for their HR, benefits and payroll needs.
In the end, the specifics of a PEO relationship will vary based on the employer’s needs and the PEO’s offerings.
Interested
If you’re interested in reaping the benefits of working with a PEO, you can get a quote from us here or give us a call at 772-466-0440.
Why Atlantic Payroll Partners
The biggest payroll companies probably won’t have time for your business. It’s that simple, you’ll be a number. At Atlantic Payroll Partners, you’ll be the opposite. We’ll know more than your name; we’ll know the names of your children and their birthday’s as well. We will know you.
We’ve been helping Florida business by managing their payroll and providing workers' compensation quotes for ten years. We help keep payroll cost affordable by provided transparent PEO payroll quotes that allow you to plan your budget accordingly. Like the big payroll companies, you can manage your payroll and payroll timekeeping with us, while reaping the benefits of PEO risk management.
Thinking about payroll outsourcing can be scary. Make sure you know what to expect from payroll outsourcing providers; to make the best decision for your business. In addition to offering payroll, and workers' comp quote we offer: Human Resource consultations, Accounting services, and benefits such as, 401ks and Healthcare plans.
How PEOs Help Small Businesses Handle Benefits Challenges
You’ve probably heard the term “professional employer organization,” or PEO. And you probably know that PEOs administer their clients’ human resources and payroll responsibilities.
However, HR and payroll administration aren’t PEOs’ only fortes. PEOs also play a significant role in helping small businesses with their benefits efforts.
Here’s how a PEO can help your small business thrive in terms of employee benefits:
Stronger buying power for health insurance
According to AssociationHealthPlans.com, “Small businesses pay substantially more than large businesses for the same health insurance coverage.” Consequently, some small businesses do not provide health insurance. However, not offering health insurance puts you at a competitive disadvantage, as studies show that most employees view health insurance as the most important employee benefit.
PEOs work with multiple clients, whose employees are all on the PEO’s payroll. This allows the PEO to pool all its employees together into one large group for the purposes of buying health insurance.
As a large group, the PEO can cost-effectively access the same quality health insurance as bigger businesses and offer it to employees.
A range of personalized benefits
Employees need benefits that cater to their individual needs, not just a standard health insurance package. Small businesses, however, often find it difficult to secure additional benefits on their own at reasonable prices.
PEOs have greater buying power and can therefore offer employees a suite of affordable benefits to fit varying needs.
Customized benefits may include:
- Different lines of health care coverage.
- 401(k) plans.
- Medical, dental and vision insurance.
- Flexible spending accounts.
- Short- and long-term disability coverage.
- Life insurance.
- Supplemental insurance benefits, such as accident insurance and critical illness insurance.
- Employee assistance program.
- Pet insurance.
- Identity theft protection.
- Telehealth services.
- Employee discount programs.
- Commuter benefits.
- Financial and legal services.
PEOs assist with many other benefits challenges
For example, PEOs:
- Obtain and maintain workers’ compensation insurance for employees.
- Supply employees with access to an online portal that lets them easily enroll in the benefits program and make benefits changes. Additionally, employees can use the portal to view and retrieve payroll information (such as pay stubs and W-2s) and make basic payroll changes (such as to their direct deposit form and Form W-4).
- Fully manage their clients’ benefits responsibilities, including complying with federal and state benefits laws and staying on top of the latest regulatory developments, to avoid penalties for noncompliance. These laws are substantial in scope and include rules pertaining to the Affordable Care Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, COBRA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the IRS, the Department of Labor, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance.
Employee benefits are instrumental in attracting qualified job candidates and retaining top-performing employees. However, these benefits can be strenuous to obtain, administer and manage, especially for small employers operating on a tight budget or with limited resources. Reputable PEOs will take on these burdens so their clients can remain competitive and legally compliant.
Want more? Subscribe to our blog.
Why Atlantic Payroll Partners
The biggest payroll companies probably won’t have time for your business. It’s that simple, you’ll be a number. At Atlantic Payroll Partners, you’ll be the opposite. We’ll know more than your name; we’ll know the names of your children and their birthday’s as well. We will know you.
We’ve been helping Florida business by managing their payroll and providing workers' compensation quotes for ten years. We help keep payroll cost affordable by provided transparent PEO payroll quotes that allow you to plan your budget accordingly. Like the big payroll companies, you can manage your payroll and payroll timekeeping with us, while reaping the benefits of PEO risk management.
Thinking about payroll outsourcing can be scary. Make sure you know what to expect from payroll outsourcing providers; to make the best decision for your business. In addition to offering payroll, and workers' comp quote we offer: Human Resource consultations, Accounting services, and benefits such as, 401ks and Healthcare plans.
What’s a PEO?
What’s the deal with PEOs? Better yet, what is a PEO? Short story, a PEO is a great way to help your business save time and money.
Sounds, cliché and a lot of people claim to save you time and money but it’s true. Okay, still sounds cliché… check out then long-ish story below…
A PEO stands for a Professional Employer Organization. Even though Professional Employer Organizations have been around since the 1970’s, most business owners don’t know about PEOs. Small and mid-sized business owners are aware of payroll, accounting, workers’ compensation, human resources, and benefits; but don’t often realize you can get all those PEO offerings/ business solutions from one place? That’s a PEO in a nutshell, your one stop solution to all your small and mid-sized business needs. PEOs afford regular businesses the opportunities usually given to larger corporations.
Co- employment
Co-employment makes a PEO different from your everyday payroll company. A lot of people think of co-employment as “payroll outsourcing”. Only you’ll be “outsourcing” more than just payroll. To provide your business with payroll benefits and workers’ compensation, we, Atlantic Payroll Partners, the PEO become the employer of record. Your employees become our employees of record and are placed under our FEIN. This allows us to cover the employee for workers’ compensation. We’re also able to offer our other solutions, such as employee healthcare.
You, Mr. or Mrs. Business Owner would continue to run the day-to-day business functions that happen at your location. That’s the extent of our partnership, we don’t share funds or make business decisions for you.
Having your employees under our FEIN will shift the burden of workers’ compensation and payroll from your business to our business. Our business model will help lower your payroll costs and increase your compliance around taxes and workers’ compensation coverage/reporting.
More about this partnership…
Let’s say one of your employees gets injured while on the job, you would give us a call and we would handle the Workers’ Compensation side of things. You would continue running your business as usual. We would help the employee receive needed medical treatment and follow through with the claim. Our involvement would save you valuable time and money, using or economies of scale to lower your overall workers’ compensation cost.
Another example of the benefits of Atlantic Payroll Partners
What if, there’s a pandemic and all the rules for running your business change? When it comes to the Payroll or HR side of things, Atlantic Payroll Partners would help you navigate those changes. For example, you need help applying for the PPP loan, we would quickly produce the reports that are requested by your bank. Another example, someone gets sick with COVID-19, we would let you know how that would impact payroll since the Families First Coronavirus Response Act FFCRA is in place. You as a business owner wouldn’t have to worry about all the small, every changing, time consuming details, we would do that for you.
Flash forward and now it’s tax season… yeah tax season and guess what!? You don’t have to worry about W-2’s for your employees. We would handle that for you, one more time, we would HANDLE THAT FOR YOU! Your payroll would be filed under our tax ID number, making the distribution of w-2s our responsibility. If you need to show expenses to an accountant (because you can still use your own accountant and work with a PEO) let us know and we’ll supply, you with the reports that are needed.
The job market has changed.
Last thing, for now… the job market is competitive and it’s about to become even more competitive after July 31st, 2020 with everyone fighting for the same jobs at the same time. We can help you offer your employees benefits and benefits are a great differentiator. Not only will you attract better talent, you’ll retain them longer. Businesses that work with PEOs, like Atlantic Payroll Partners experience 10 to 14% lower employee turnover*. Less turnover is just one of the selling points. PEOs grow your business. Small to midsize businesses that use a PEO grow 7-9% faster than those who don’t. *
Putting it all together…
Working with Atlantic Payroll Partners will help you increase profitability, maximize employee productivity, save time performing transactional HR duties, reduce employment related liability and ultimately lower the labor cost.
Want to learn more about Atlantic Payroll Partners? Send us a message or give us a call at 772-466-0440. While you’re at it, follow us on Facebook and tell you friends about us. There you have it; you now know, “What is a PEO?”.
*https://www.napeo.org/what-is-a-peo/about-the-peo-industry/napeo-white-papers
Copyright 2024
Workers’ Comp Quote
PEO Payroll
PEO Risk Management
Want more? Subscribe to our blog.
Why Atlantic Payroll Partners
The biggest payroll companies probably won’t have time for your business. It’s that simple, you’ll be a number. At Atlantic Payroll Partners, you’ll be the opposite. We’ll know more than your name; we’ll know the names of your children and their birthday’s as well. We will know you.
We’ve been helping Florida business by managing their payroll and providing workers' compensation quotes for ten years. We help keep payroll cost affordable by provided transparent PEO payroll quotes that allow you to plan your budget accordingly. Like the big payroll companies, you can manage your payroll and payroll timekeeping with us, while reaping the benefits of PEO risk management.
Thinking about payroll outsourcing can be scary. Make sure you know what to expect from payroll outsourcing providers; to make the best decision for your business. In addition to offering payroll, and workers' comp quote we offer: Human Resource consultations, Accounting services, and benefits such as, 401ks and Healthcare plans.
5 ways a PEO can help you manage risk.
Any endeavor worth pursuing comes with a certain element of risk, and running your business is no exception. What have you done to minimize the risk of human error, or accidents? Do you understand the new risk that COVID-19 present to your workforce?
Professional employer organizations (PEOs) offer among their services, risk management. Risk management includes establishing policies and protocols to minimize potential workers’ comp claims and discrimination lawsuits, minimizing the risk from drug or alcohol abuse in the workplace, and managing other risks. With a PEO by your side, you have an active risk management structure in place to help you keep your business thriving with minimal problems.
PEO Risk Management: 5 Ways PEOs help manage risk.
As a co-employer of your staff, your PEO has a vested interest in creating and maintaining a safe work environment. When working with a PEO, consider these five ways they can help you manage potential risks.
Ensuring adequate workers’ comp plans are in place:
As part of their services, a PEO handles the workers’ comp insurance needs for the employees. This includes ensuring full compliance with workers’ comp policies, finding a good plan to cover employees, and making sure that coverage it up to date.
Handling workers’ comp claims promptly:
Another aspect of workers’ comp is handling claims promptly and efficiently.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance:
A PEO may conduct an audit of your firm’s OSHA compliance history and suggest changes and updates at your facility to ensure compliance. Such steps improve the safety conditions for your workers, minimizing the risk from potential accidents.
Substance abuse programs:
Companies leave themselves open to risk when they fail to address potential substance abuse problems among employees. Whether it’s drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, substance abuse can lead to impaired judgment, accidents and more. Proactive substance abuse programs and drug-free workplace programs mitigate such risks.
Loss prevention:
Employee theft can lead to substantial property loss and risk. PEOs may take the lead in employee loss prevention efforts by frequently monitoring at-risk areas, adding security features, and otherwise helping you prevent loss through employee theft.
Lastly and now more than ever the changing work climate due to COVID-19 has shown the world how important it is to have a PEO, like Atlantic Payroll Partners by your side as you navigate this ever changing landscape. We want you to stay informed and feel empowered with your decisions. Visit our COVID-19 resource page or call us at 772-466-0440 for assistance.
Copyright 2024
Why Atlantic Payroll Partners
The biggest payroll companies probably won’t have time for your business. It’s that simple, you’ll be a number. At Atlantic Payroll Partners, you’ll be the opposite. We’ll know more than your name; we’ll know the names of your children and their birthday’s as well. We will know you.
We’ve been helping Florida business by managing their payroll and providing workers' compensation quotes for ten years. We help keep payroll cost affordable by provided transparent PEO payroll quotes that allow you to plan your budget accordingly. Like the big payroll companies, you can manage your payroll and payroll timekeeping with us, while reaping the benefits of PEO risk management.
Thinking about payroll outsourcing can be scary. Make sure you know what to expect from payroll outsourcing providers; to make the best decision for your business. In addition to offering payroll, and workers' comp quote we offer: Human Resource consultations, Accounting services, and benefits such as, 401ks and Healthcare plans.
How do payroll services work?
How do payroll services work? Recent studies indicate that 10 million US companies outsource their payroll, so it’s really not much of a mystery behind why payroll services exist. Payroll is one of the biggest expenses for most organizations, but it’s also fraught with complications.
There comes a time in the life cycle of most companies when they determine that they need an expert to take over those unique challenges. It’s not just about making their lives easier and more streamlined, though that’s part of it. Payroll services, like Atlantic Payroll Partners, offer a range of other essential benefits. Once you’re experienced them for yourself, you’ll probably wonder why you waited so long.
Convenient
Payroll processing is time-consuming and convoluted. Even when you carefully review all the regulations, and will make mistakes. Payroll services remove the headache, take care of the compliance, and are s dedicated to delivering the 100% accurate and reliable payroll services you need. You probably won’t think of it like that though. Since you’re aware that you need help, and you’ve been looking into how payroll services work, you’ll just be relieved that the payroll services company makes your life easier.
Compliance
It’s easy to miss something. You just don’t know what you don’t know. A payroll service is knowledgeable and in-the-loop on compliance issues. There’s just no way you could be tapped into that level of expertise unless you spent more time, money, and resources to dedicate yourself to the topic. At that point, you’re better off working with a knowledgeable partner who already knows compliance requirements and can help you avoid the pitfalls. They are accountable, they know the tax codes, tax tables, filing deadlines, appropriate forms, and more.
Money Savings
The most obvious way that you save money with payroll services is the staff time and company resources that you no longer have to invest in payroll processing. Since a Senior Executive at the company typically takes on those tasks (whether by design or because it has been piled on that person’s overflowing list of responsibilities), those costs are high. When you factor in the cost of mistakes, missed deadlines, penalties, and other fees, internal payroll processing quickly becomes cost prohibitive. (The IRS reported that 40% of businesses pay penalties due to missed deadlines and inaccurate filings.) Cost considerations are one of the main factors why companies turn to professional payroll services.
Security
Long gone are the days when you’d lock your payroll files in your file cabinet and feel confident that your company records were secure. Cyber attacks have increased in frequency and intensity. You’re probably aware of the danger. You may even have cyber security measures in place. You just may not think it will happen to your company. With 43% of data breaches being targeted at small businesses, and a monumental 424% increase in breaches, there’s more reason than ever for you to outsource your payroll services. Payroll services are set up to protect your data, and they are able to focus more dedicated resources to that effort than you would probably think you’ve ever need to consider. Payroll services are the stable, reliable, and secure solution that you need.
Flexibility
Beyond offering the support you need to address even the most complicated payroll questions; a wide range of services are available:
- Monitor time sheets, PTO, etc.
- Calculate payroll taxes, deductions, and payment schedules
- Monitor and implement compliance requirements
- Offer online portal access to payroll records
- Integrate with existing apps and plans
- Manage direct deposit and other flexible payment options
With the range of flexible service options, you’re able to offer the level of care and reliability in payment processing that your employees respect and trust. It may seem like a small thing to a large corporation, but for small businesses and their employees, that paycheck is essential.
At Atlantic Payroll Partners, we know that it’s a big decision to select a payroll service. You’re aware that you need help, but it’s sometimes difficult to let go of those responsibilities and rely that we will put as much of our focus and attention on taking care of the needs of your employees as you do. We look forward to proving our dedication to you. We’ll show you what sets us apart, and why you’re important to us. The process of transitioning payroll services is not an easy one. We look forward to consulting with you about how it works. As well as starting discussions about how we can help you be even more successful in the days to come.
Copyright 2024
Why Atlantic Payroll Partners
The biggest payroll companies probably won’t have time for your business. It’s that simple, you’ll be a number. At Atlantic Payroll Partners, you’ll be the opposite. We’ll know more than your name; we’ll know the names of your children and their birthday’s as well. We will know you.
We’ve been helping Florida business by managing their payroll and providing workers' compensation quotes for ten years. We help keep payroll cost affordable by provided transparent PEO payroll quotes that allow you to plan your budget accordingly. Like the big payroll companies, you can manage your payroll and payroll timekeeping with us, while reaping the benefits of PEO risk management.
Thinking about payroll outsourcing can be scary. Make sure you know what to expect from payroll outsourcing providers; to make the best decision for your business. In addition to offering payroll, and workers' comp quote we offer: Human Resource consultations, Accounting services, and benefits such as, 401ks and Healthcare plans.