Many companies with fewer than 200 people will literally sign away legal control of their employees and pay multiple times more for payroll services.  Just so they don’t have to think about state tax settings.

Here are five examples of mundane breakdowns that I’ve seen lead to payroll errors:

A PEO is an insurance broker, a guardrail, and a payroll provider. But it’s not a brain. Some people need a PEO. Some need a person. Most don’t know which they are.

Most teams frame it like a software switch. In reality, you’re rebuilding your company’s approach to employee data, payroll, benefits, and compliance from scratch.