What Is Paychex PEO?

Paychex PEO is an all-in-one HR, payroll, benefits and risk management solution for
employees. It also assists businesses in simplifying HR processes and maintaining legal compliance.

Paychex PEO made it to Forbes Advisor’s list of Best PEO Services 2024 as the best payroll processing option for small and midsized companies.

Pros

When you sign up for Paychex PEO, you can be more confident of talent retention, employee satisfaction and payroll expense optimization. The dedicated relationship manager helps in optimizing your processes, reducing costs and time needed to manage each employee.

The dedicated PEO HR team includes HR, payroll and legal specialists, which ensures
high-quality consultancy for your business that would otherwise have been cost prohibitive.

Cons

The biggest drawback of Paychex PEO is its nontransparent pricing. You must request a quote if you wish to explore whether it falls within budget for your business.

There is no free trial of any plan available. At this time, Paychex also provided the second, fourth and sixth month free on sign-up.


Paychex PEO Core Features

Retaining talent is a major challenge for businesses of all sizes irrespective of the industry. Paychex PEO takes complete ownership of your employee’s life cycle, from attracting the right talent to recruitment, onboarding, payroll and benefits administration.

Human Resources

A dedicated HR specialist is available 24/7 to provide advice on everything from establishing correct processes to workforce optimization and administration.

Employee Benefits

Besides the regular payroll processing, you will be able to offer benefits such as 401(k), retirement plan, health insurance, dental insurance, pooled employee plan, etc.

Payroll Processing

Paychex payroll is one of the best payroll processing solutions available. Its payroll platform Paychex Flex includes time and attendance tracking, which enables automated payroll, bonus and overtime payments. Paychex also automatically calculates and files federal, state and local payroll taxes.

Risk Management

Paychex provides comprehensive coverage for your business, assets and employees,
irrespective of size and number of employees. It partners with 100-plus insurance agencies to provide a wide range of coverage from cyber liability and commercial property insurance to workers’ compensation and employment practices liability insurance.

Regulatory Compliance

Payroll compliance is very important for businesses to steer clear of penalties and overdue payments. Paychex’s team of compliance specialists stays on top of the latest federal and state regulations to provide proactive consultancy.

Additional Features

The most notable feature of Paychex PEO is access to a PEO specialist team comprising HR, payroll, compliance and benefits experts. You get access to expertise that is typically accessible to Fortune 500 companies.

A dedicated relationship manager ensures that your processes are optimized for cost and time effectiveness.


Paychex PEO Pricing

Paychex PEO does not disclose pricing and plans. Instead, potential users must contact Paychex PEO for a quote. Please note that pricing is on a per employee basis and there is a five employee minimum.


Paychex PEO Alternatives and How They Compare

Paychex PEO Papaya Global Justworks Engage PEO
Forbes Advisor Rating

Starting Price Not disclosed Varies by service (e.g., Payroll is $12 per employee per month, Employer of record is $770 per employee per month) $59 per month per employee Not disclosed
Payroll Yes Yes Yes Yes
Global Payroll Add-on Yes No Add-on
Bandwidth Limit Yes Yes Yes Yes
Time and Attendance Yes Yes Yes No
Business Insurance Yes No Yes - Employment Practices Liability Yes
IRS and ESAC Yes No Yes Yes
Mobile Apps Available Yes Yes Yes Yes
Read Reviews - Read Papaya Global Review Read Justworks Review -

Paychex PEO vs. Papaya Global

If you employ people globally, Papaya Global is the right choice for you. It Is available in 160 countries and pricing starts from $20 per employee per month.

However, Papaya Global is more geared towards enterprises. So, if you do not need to process payroll for the global workforce, you can consider Paychex PEO.

Paychex PEO vs. Justworks

Justworks is ideal for small businesses because it bills you only for the W-2 employees each month. However, if the number of employees remains almost the same for you each month and you also wish to offer a retirement plan and health insurance benefits to your employees, Paychex PEO might be a better option. For more information, check out our Justworks review.

Paychex PEO vs. Engage PEO

Both Paychex and Engage made it to our best PEO 2024 list. However, which one you choose should depend upon your needs. If you want a PEO that is best for payroll processing, Paychex is right for you.

If you operate in an industry where compliance is a stringent and important consideration, Engage PEO could be your answer. It is IRS and ESAC (Employer Services Assurance Corporation) certified and offers comprehensive training on ADA, FCRA and FMLA


Is Paychex PEO Right for You or Your Business?

If you are looking for a robust and comprehensive payroll solution that also handles end-to-end employee life cycle management, Paychex PEO is right for you. It also offers a dedicated relationship manager and PEO HR team that provides you with high-quality consultancy.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Paychex a good PEO?

Forbes Advisor considers Paychex an excellent PEO because it is IRS certified and its payroll is one of the best payroll services of 2024. It appoints a dedicated PEO team for each subscriber to provide high-quality proactive consultancy on HR, payroll, benefits and regulatory compliance.

How much does Paychex PEO cost?

Paychex PEO pricing is available on demand. You need to provide details about the business and employees to get a quote.

What is the benefit of a PEO?

PEO helps businesses optimize HR practices, streamline payroll processing, administer a wide range of employee benefits, stay on top of regulatory compliance and manage risks.