Paychex PEO Service Review

After conducting extensive research on professional employer organizations, we recommend Paychex as the best PEO service for midsize businesses in 2019. To understand how we selected our best picks, you can find our methodology, and a comprehensive list of the best PEO employee leasing companies, on our best picks page.

Editor's note: Looking for the right PEO service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to be connected with vendors that can help.

Why Paychex PEO Services?

Scalability of Service

Paychex provides small and midsize businesses with a wide range of PEO services and HR outsourcing resources. It offers personalized coverage so that as your business grows, your services with Paychex do too. This is a major advantage for midsize businesses. Because Paychex is a major PEO provider, it offers fully built-out services. It can support small businesses, but as your business grows larger, Paychex can match your service needs. This scalability went unmatched by many of the companies we reviewed.

It also has an advantageous pricing model for midsize companies, because it doesn't charge as a percentage of total payroll. The terms are flexible to work for your business, and Paychex provides great training resources and support options. Paychex's pricing model, as well as its emphasis on personalized coverage, makes it a great option for midsize businesses.

Pricing 

Paychex is priced on a per-employee basis, regardless of how big your company grows. You'll be able to easily predict costs as you add employees and grow your business. Businesses can access all of Paychex's services for the flat, per-employee fee. This is ideal for midsize businesses, which require more services than very small businesses. It also means that you can use Paychex's professional services to better your business – if you didn't have certain HR practices in place, the experience and influence of your Paychex team means you can add structure that your business may have lacked in the past.

Key Paychex PEO Features

Training

Paychex provides solid training for employees and midsize business owners. Businesses have access to more than 140 training courses. These courses can be conducted either onsite or online. You can also develop training programs and other HR-related sessions with your HR generalist. The HR generalist serves as the point person connecting you with your Paychex team.

Support

Paychex offers excellent support options for a PEO company. You can contact Paychex by phone, email or live chat. Paychex also has FAQs pages for quick reference on PEO-related issues. These support options are in addition to the industry experts on the Paychex PEO team who will also work with your business.

We posed as small business owners and interacted with Paychex via live chat, email and phone. In all instances, Paychex sales representatives were extremely helpful. They helped us learn more about the PEO model and various PEO-related topics, like healthcare and benefits.

Contract Structure

Paychex doesn't require long-term contracts, and you can cancel at any time with 30 days' notice. This flexibility allows midsize businesses to adjust or terminate their service based on how the business grows and changes. Paychex does require a minimum of five employees to qualify for the PEO service, but that shouldn't be an issue for midsize businesses.

Services

Paychex offers solid resources and services in risk management, benefits administration, payroll processing, and HR outsourcing. These services can also be scaled and adjusted easily to fit your businesses size – Paychex offers solutions for businesses ranging from five to over 100 employees. By joining Paychex, you're joining a network of thousands of small and midsize businesses. The company offers services for all your HR and compliance needs, including the following:

• Employee document management
• Employee onboarding
• Applicant tracking
• Employee screening
• HR assessments
• Termination and dispute assistance
• Benefits orientation
• Workplace safety training
• Annual benefit enrollment
• COBRA compliance
• OSHA compliance
• ACA compliance
• Federal and state tax and labor law compliance
• Payroll processing
• Small business loans
• Health benefits packages
• Employee wellness programs
• Onsite and virtual training
• Email, phone and live chat support

Paychex, like many of the PEOs we reviewed, provides a team of experts to work with your business on HR solutions, benefits administration, risk management and payroll processing. As mentioned earlier, Paychex provides a point person who doubles as your HR consultant.

This person, known as the HR generalist, coordinates your PEO services team and works with you and your business. In addition, as your business grows and changes, you have a dedicated rep with Paychex, regardless of whether you need to ramp up or cut back service. This personalized aspect is great for midsize businesses – you can get highly scaled support without sacrificing the hands-on, personal aspect of a PEO solution.

Additional Paychex PEO Benefits 

Paychex is accredited by both the Employer Services Assurance Corporation and the IRS. The ESAC has only accredited 5% of PEOs, which means Paychex is among the industry leaders. The organization reviews and ranks PEOs based on their financial health, ethics, and operational standards. It is one of the premier PEO accrediting agencies. The IRS also verifies a PEO's financial well-being and ability to provide services. Being ranked by both these organizations means Paychex is among the best PEO options on the market.

Limitations

When we reached out to Paychex as a small business looking for more information, it took longer to respond than competitors. This was a minor bump in the Paychex review process, though, and once we got in contact with representatives, it was clear that the service is excellent.

Ready to choose a PEO solution? Here's a breakdown of our full coverage:

• Justworks Review
• Rippling PEO Review
• TriNet PEO Review
• ADP TotalSource Review
• Oasis Review
• Insperity PEO Services Review

Editor's note: Looking for the right PEO service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to be connected with vendors that can help.