As a business owner, you probably already know that PEOs offer workers’ comp insurance, payroll, benefits and HR services. But you may not realize the full breadth of services PEOs provide, often at no additional cost to you once you’re a PEO client.
Whether you’re working with a PEO, a payroll-only company, or you’re “doing it yourself,” it’s good to know what you can expect when you do decide to partner with a PEO.
Few people take advantage of the full value of the PEO services model, but perhaps they should.
This blog will help shed light on the things you should know about the value-added services of a PEO like FrankCrum, so you can take full advantage of them.
1. Unemployment Claims
Did you know PEOs handle all unemployment claims? The claims process can be a huge burden for small businesses. Since PEOs assume a partnership role, they take things like negotiations and telephonic hearings off your plate and allow you to focus on the things that matter most: growing your business, and making it the best it can be.
2. Risk Management/Safety Resources
Ever have problems ensuring you’re OSHA compliant? These rules and regulations are in constant shift and there are addendums and adjustments to what you thought was up-to-date. PEOs help your business stay OSHA compliant and assist with safety plans and procedures. PEOs offer resources and materials for specific industries to assist you with safety and to provide safety program support to minimize any work-related injuries or fatalities.
As an added bonus, FrankCrum can also conduct complimentary safety audits of your jobsite and do your end-of-the-year OSHA 300 reporting.
3. Payroll Services Beyond Paychecks
Payroll administrative work can eat up a lot of your time and resources. What many employers don’t realize is most PEOs process all your W2, 940, and 941 forms for you. Missing a quarterly tax form submission can be very costly for a small business. Most payroll companies charge between $5.00-$8.00 per form, but FrankCrum includes this in their pricing.
PEOs also provide the following with payroll services:
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Process payroll
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Pay taxes to the appropriate department (federal, state, local government)
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Garnishments
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Track Sick Days and PTO
4. Employee Benefit Solutions
Employee Benefits have taken on a whole new meaning and priority since the Affordable Care Act. PEOs support clients with the tools necessary to make wise decisions about whether to sponsor a health plan, what plan to choose, and how to avoid the employer mandate tax penalty. In addition, many PEOs, including FrankCrum, will support the reporting requirements of the ACA (1094s, 1095s, and exchange notices) for client companies.
Most people know that PEOs can offer larger group health plan rates and manage health plans for clients. But are you aware through a PEO, your employees can elect certain benefits that are not employer-sponsored? Basically, this means as an employer, you don’t have to contribute funds to offer great benefits.
Examples of the benefits your employees can elect directly through FrankCrum include:
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Dental
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Vision
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Term life insurance
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Cancer policies
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Accident and critical illness policies
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Disability insurance
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Identity theft protection
Many people seek employment with companies who offer retirement benefits through a 401(k), and while these plans are adopted at the employer level, the employer expense can be zero. That’s because with a modest number of employees participating in the plan (approximately 8), the administrative minimums can easily be met. Employers can decide whether to match or not to match plan contributions, so these plans are very flexible and affordable.
There are significant financial benefits to owners and highly compensated managers who participate in Safe Harbor 401(k) plans. Additionally, adopting the PEOs 401(k) plan means employers don’t have the worry regarding fiduciary responsibility, investment committees, performing ADP/ACP/top heavy testing, plan audits, maintaining plan documents, and Form 5500 filing. This makes PEO-sponsored 401(k) plans a huge advantage for business owners in terms of administrative time and costs.
5. Comprehensive HR Services
This may seem obvious, but HR services encompass a wide array of tasks. In fact, many employers may be letting a lot of important HR tasks fall through the cracks. It’s difficult to be great at HR when you went into business to do something else. That’s where a PEO thrives –the PEOs certified HR experts can easily support good HR practices that you don’t have the time and experience to accomplish on your own.
PEOs can guide you in the creation of an employee handbook to factor in the most recent laws and guide you on employment practices, compliance and procedures.
Did you know that PEOs can also help with:
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Background Checks
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Wrongful termination claims
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Corrective action
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Termination procedures
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Hiring practices
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Job Descriptions
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Training materials
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Employment verification
The Takeaway
We hope this illustrates some of the services you can take advantage of when you work with a PEO. So when you are deciding the best option for your business’s needs, consider the PEO model, and if you’re already partnering with a PEO, be sure to get the maximum value.
