Maine PEO Service Benefits
Maine Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) give you peace of mind, knowing that your payroll and tax reporting is being processed accurately, your employees can access affordable benefits, and your business is complying with federal and state employment-related laws.
PEOs have been around for over 40 years and have experienced double-digit growth over the last 15 years. Maine employers look to PEOs for many benefits, including:
- Workers’ Compensation
A PEO service can have a big and immediate impact on reducing costs under the PEO's master workers' compensation insurance policy. So, how does a PEO provide workers’ comp savings? PEO companies have hundreds of clients, taking in millions of dollars in work comp premiums and good risk management practices lead to a favorable experience rating.
- Payroll Outsourcing
In 2014, 1 in 3 businesses incurred payroll related tax penalties due to mistakes thus requiring additional time and headaches communicating with the IRS to resolve the issue. As one of the largest expenses for small to medium sized businesses, the main reasons companies outsource payroll with a PEO is to reduce costs, stay in compliance, ensure accuracy and save time.
- Employee Benefits
The best benefits attract the best employees. But for many small to mid-sized businesses, it can be hard to offer a cost-effective benefits package that competes with a larger employer. Partnering with a PEO who works with hundreds of other companies of similar size gets you access to benefit packages and discounts as if you were a larger organization.
- HR
Dealing with the ever-increasing amount of information and yearly changes to business employment is a daunting task for any HR manager. Smaller companies with limited HR resources are particularly strained and exposed. Partnering with a PEO to outsource human resource management is a smart and easy way for smaller companies to get the expertise when they need it, without hiring additional personnel.
What is a PEO Co-Employment Relationship?
According to the National Association of PEOs, co-employment is “a contractual allocation and sharing of certain employer responsibilities between the PEO and the client, as delineated in a contract typically called a client service agreement (CSA).” In a PEO relationship, both the employer and the PEO have rights and obligations as an employer. You are always the executive of your business, maintaining control over your employees, their job duties and day-to-day functions, as well as hiring and firing decisions.
The PEO assumes many of the administrative, non-income producing burdens of being an employer and that allows you to spend more time on building your business. Time-consuming and stressful tasks such as payroll, HR, risk and benefits management are taken off your shoulders, so you can do what you do better.
Maine PEO Services Work For Almost Any Business
PEOs are widely used in virtually every industry, but there are differences in PEOs. Some even target certain industries and employee sized groups. They do this based on several reasons including following:
- The PEO's payroll/ HR software and its ability to deliver the specific needs of certain industries, states of operations, and group sizes.
- Employee benefits- many smaller to mid-sized PEO companies aren’t large enough to offer a master group benefits plan.
- Workers’ compensation insurance- Some PEOs specialize in higher risk industries, such as construction, towing, or arborist. Others only want to work with low risk, high wage-earning physician or professional groups.
How Much Does a PEO Charge?
Pricing through a PEO varies widely depending on the services you need, the PEO company’s location, the level of support it provides, and many other factors. However, most PEOs charge for their services in one of two ways:
- Per employee flat fees are charged monthly and can range between $40 to $150 per employee, per month. Again, pricing varies based on your particular organization.
- Percentage of payroll fee: rate plans typically charge between 2 and 12 percent of your total payroll, with the percentage varying based on the size of your organization and even by the type of worker. Most PEOs charge a lower percentage for salaried workers than they do for hourly employees.
Best Maine PEO Companies
If you’re considering a PEO for your Maine business, let ELQ help. Why choose us? As the industry’s preferred PEO brokerage since 2001, we've done the research for you – that’s what we do! You'll save the time from scrolling sites and trying to understand what makes one provider different from the other, plus, you’ll save lots of money!
Our industry longevity and wholesale pricing will save you at least 20% compared to a direct sales rep. More importantly, you’ll get the right PEO for your business. Call or request your Maine PEO quote today and get targeted, competitive proposals from the top PEOs operating in Maine.
