Most of the time the answer is a PEO — that’s where workers’ comp and benefits pricing actually move. Sometimes, usually for larger operations whose problem is service or HR capacity rather than insurance cost, it’s an ASO. And sometimes it’s stay put. We say which.
I don’t sell PEO. I sell the comparison. Five of the seven placements on our case studies page are PEOs; two are ASOs. Doing the right thing is the right thing, whichever it is.
The PEO becomes the employer of record for payroll and benefits while you run the business. That structure is what unlocks a pooled workers’ comp master policy and large-group medical pricing. Best when comp or benefits are the expensive line.
Payroll, tax filing, HR support, often recruiting and benefits administration — but you remain the sole employer, keep your own comp policy and your own plans. Fits a smaller slice of employers: usually larger operations whose problem is service or HR capacity, not insurance cost.
Your current setup, sometimes renegotiated. The right answer when a move would cost more than it saves, or when your comp and benefits are already priced well. We say so when it’s true.
A PEO salesperson can only sell a PEO. An ASO vendor can only sell an ASO. An independent broker is paid the same whichever you choose, so the only thing left to optimize is fit.
We pull your actual invoices and price all three paths on identical assumptions. Then we look at where the money and the risk actually sit.
A gaming operation with about 110 employees left a national payroll vendor over service. The comparison said ASO: north of $6,000 a year back, full-cycle recruiting included, and a 401(k) for retention. Read the casino story →
A tribal government entity in Oklahoma with 56 employees had a $60,000 HR hire budgeted that it couldn’t fill. An ASO met the need instead: $77,926 in annual estimated savings and payroll processing down from eight hours a week to ninety minutes. See the numbers →
A 69-employee non-profit ambulance service facing its fifth consecutive ~12% medical renewal: $125,657 in total savings moving to a PEO, $59,990 of it saved by employees on their own benefits. A 108-employee vineyard: $128,291 a year across benefits, comp, and unemployment. All seven results →
I don’t sell PEO. I sell the comparison. If the comparison says stay where you are, that’s what I’ll tell you — and you’ll know why.Jeff Gibson, SHRM-CP · Founder & PEO Advisor
Usually the administrative fee is lower, but an ASO doesn’t change your workers’ comp or benefits pricing, which is where most of the money is for employers with comp exposure or double-digit medical renewals. That’s why we price both against your actual invoices instead of guessing.
Yes. Many employers start with an ASO and move to a PEO when comp or benefits become the expensive line, or leave a PEO for an ASO when they outgrow the pooled pricing. We tell you what the trigger would be.
The provider you choose pays our fee, and the fee is the same whichever one you pick. There is no financial reason for us to steer you toward one structure.
Bring them. Two quotes that look similar on the admin fee are often thousands apart once workers’ comp assumptions and benefit contributions are lined up the same way.
Send your last three invoices. We’ll price PEO, ASO, and staying put on the same assumptions and tell you which fits — in plain English, with the numbers.
