It’s vital to choose the best professional employer organization (PEO) to help your company develop.
The right PEO will free up valuable brain space and time by handling human resources and other chores for you, letting you concentrate on completing other business objectives that desperately need attention.
The wrong PEO will drain even more time and money from your already tight budget, leaving you without the necessary internal resources to keep your Massachusetts business on the right course.
After looking at more than 900 different professional employer organizations in Massachusetts, then researching the top 15 and ranking the top 9, I found the best Massachusetts PEO company.
But before I tell you about my recommendation, you should know this:
The Best PEO Isn't Always the Right PEO
I’ve spent more hours than I want to confess reviewing over 900 different professional employer organizations in Massachusetts and have determined the PEO with the greatest average score across a broad range of metrics. However, just because it received the highest average score doesn’t necessarily signify that this is the best professional employer organization for your Massachusetts business.
- Some professional employer organizations have extensive industry knowledge and may offer different perks and assistance.
- Some professional employer organizations have good working ties with insurance providers and may offer a more comprehensive selection of health insurance alternatives and better rates to lower health insurance costs.
- Some professional employer organizations have extensive compliance experience and can guarantee that you adhere to all state and federal regulations, which is great because Massachusetts is such a heavily regulated state.
The only way to choose the best professional employer organization for your business is to weigh your unique requirements against the primary benefits of each Massachusetts PEO company. That way you’ll receive the best-scoring PEO based on the parameters that mean most to you, and not just the best-scoring Massachusetts PEO overall.
Enter your information here to get a free analysis of your Massachusetts business and circumstances, as well as a personalized recommendation for the best Massachusetts PEO. Within 24 hours, I’ll contact you with your customized analysis and professional employer organization recommendation for your business.
If you just want to know which Massachusetts PEO received the highest score, here are my top picks.
1. PEO Companies — 9.45/10 (Best Overall PEO)
PEO Companies is my choice for the best overall professional employer organization (PEO) because although none of their services stand out for any particular reason, they handle all your needs with ease. Their main distinction, I suppose, is that you will never have any problems with them.
Pros
They provide the following such services:
- Human resources paperwork
- Employee benefits and employee wellness programs
- Tax withholding
- Compliance assistance
- Employee management
- Tax forms
- Payroll processing
- 401k
- Employee training
- Dental insurance
- Risk mitigation
- Health insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- Administrative services
- Employee benefits administration
- HR support
They also offer excellent customer service to back all their services up. If you have a general inquiry, you can expect an email answer within 24 hours, or you can contact them directly by phone with a more urgent concern.
PEO Companies' best quality is that, although it has the technical capacity to satisfy the demands of huge companies, its primary emphasis is on small and medium Massachusetts businesses.
This means they can meet your current business needs but also help you get to your desired level.
Cons
PEO Companies has one genuine flaw (if you can even call it that) which is that they don’t do anything particularly extraordinary.
- Their product line includes all the standard services you’ll need, but no high-end or unusual service selections.
- Their customer service will promptly respond to any questions you may have, but they will not go out of their way to provide other services, like sending you a birthday card on your birthday.
- Their cost isn’t as cheap as some other professional employer organization companies in Massachusetts, but it’s adequate, and they’re competitive in the Massachusetts market. They aren’t, however, priced so cheap that they will go out of business merely to help you save money.
The professional employer organization company is fantastic in general, but there isn’t one unique feature that will really knock your socks off.
Overall
PEO Companies is my first pick since they provide services to meet all your needs, and they deliver them all properly. They provide these services at better-than-competitive pricing, backed by great customer service.
PEO Companies price varies depending on the size and demands of your company, so get a quote here: PEO Companies.
2. Flexible PEO — 7.90/10 (Best Customer Service PEO)
Flexible PEO is my second choice, but it shouldn’t eliminate them from your consideration. They only missed out on my top Massachusetts PEO recommendation by a razor-thin margin, and they do outshine PEO Companies in one important area.
Pros
Flexible PEO, like PEO Companies, provides a complete array of services. Health insurance, benefits packages, benefits administration, payroll processing, compliance assistance, risk mitigation, workers’ compensation, and more are all available.
They provide cheap prices and a user-friendly interface for getting started with their system.
The one area they really excelled in was customer service.
In the three different customer service tests I conducted, the average response time to customer service emails was 46 minutes, and the average wait time to talk with a customer service representative on the phone was less than 2 minutes.
Their assistance was not only prompt, but also extremely efficient. They were able to address my problems without transferring me to another agent (and making me repeat my problem again) or involving a manager.
While they haven’t yet sent me a birthday card, it’s the only thing their customer service could have done to enhance their service and my customer satisfaction.
Cons
Flexible fell short of my top spot because although their system is simple to use and their cost is reasonable, it falls short of PEO Companies.
There were times when their system was confusing, and I had to call their excellent customer service to figure out how to navigate it. Flexible's costs are excellent for their services, however the three bids I got for three fake companies were all roughly 10% more than PEO Companies.
Most people wouldn’t consider these deal breakers—especially if you’re looking for good customer service—but these flaws were just enough to push them down to the second spot on my Massachusetts PEO list.
Overall
Flexible is a fantastic professional employer organization in Massachusetts that checks a lot of boxes. They provide a complete range of goods and services at affordable prices, as well as spectacular customer service. Their system isn’t the most user friendly, and they’re somewhat more costly than PEO Companies, but they’re still a great choice, particularly if you really value good customer service.
As with any professional employer organization in Massachusetts, their cost is dependent on your requirements and size, so fill in your information here to receive a detailed quote: Flexible PEO.
3. Vensure PEO — 7.41/10 (Best Value PEO)
Vensure is my third-best Massachusetts PEO suggestion. They’re a good and dependable alternative with competitive pricing, but it falls short in a few areas.
Pros
Vensure PEO, like the other two professional employer organizations on my list, provides a variety of goods and services. You’ll receive health insurance, payroll processing, expense reporting, and workers’ compensation. They’ll also ensure compliance and help you manage your employees.
Their system is quite simple to set up, but I did have some difficulty navigating it after I was up and running. Their customer service was quite knowledgeable and quick to respond to my queries.
However, price was the one area where they excelled. All three of the quotes I got were in the top three lowest, with my small business price quote coming in first. This included all the optional services and add-ons offered in every other quote, demonstrating how valuable they are.
Cons
As I have said, although Vensure PEO is an excellent deal, it does have certain limits.
Their system was simple to set up, but I ran into some difficulties navigating it after I was up and running, trying to complete some pretty standard tasks.
I contacted their customer service for help with these challenges, and although they answered in a decent amount of time, their response was not half as good as PEO Companies.
They’re competent, but not exceptional in any area.
Overall
Vensure PEO is a trustworthy, well-supported Massachusetts PEO with economical pricing. While their system may be a bit clumsy at times and may be difficult for people without strong technological skills, and their customer service isn’t always the most helpful or patient, they were the least expensive professional employer organization I got quotes from.
Vensure’s cost is contingent on your company’s needs and size (how many employees you have), and the services you choose, just like the other professional employer organizations on my list, so contact them directly for a detailed quote.
4. Justworks
Justworks is a newcomer to the PEO market in Massachusetts, having launched in 2012 and now serving companies in the whole United States.
They supply all the services you need, just like the other Massachusetts PEOs—health insurance, payroll processing, benefits management, and other standard services. They’ll also ensure compliance and help to manage your employees. Justworks has one advantage over the other professional employer organizations on my list: transparency.
Anyone can access their price structure on their website. This is a huge positive in an industry that tries hard to disguise cost and compels every prospective customer to reveal their needs and participate in a sales call to get a price quote.
But the reason I put Justworks at #4 is because of their age and experience, which is crucial in the world of Massachusetts PEOs.
The process of joining a professional employer organization and becoming established in their system takes time. It’s not something you can afford to repeat just because the start-up PEO company you selected has suddenly ceased operations.
Before entrusting your business to Justworks, I’d allow them a few more years to establish themselves and show that they’re in it for the long haul.
If you want to learn more about Justworks, go visit their website here: Justworks.
5. Infiniti HR
In the competitive sector of professional employer organizations, Infiniti HR has managed to stand out with their services.
They offer all the basic PEO services, such as various types of insurance and benefits, payroll processing, and workers’ compensation. They’ll also ensure compliance and help manage your employees.
They go above and beyond basic PEO services by aiding in recruiting employees, on top of providing the complete spectrum of HR support and services. If your experience is anything like that of most business owners, then you’ll know how much your company benefits from recruiting great employees. So, assistance with locating, recruiting, and hiring the right employees is a huge benefit.
The disadvantage of Infiniti, like Justwork, is their age. For a professional employer organization, they’re still pretty young, with only 10 years of experience under their belt. They lack the proven track records of some of the other established Massachusetts professional employer organizations on my list, so wait a few more years before making the decision to join up with them.
6. TriNet
Trinet is the market’s oldest and most established professional employer organization. They were founded in 1988 and now have over 16,000 different companies and 330,000 employees.
They offer all the Massachusetts PEO services, such as payroll management, compliance assistance, benefits management, health and workers’ compensation insurance, and other HR services. But though they offer all these PEO services, unlike the other Massachusetts PEO providers on this list, they seem to depend on their existing reputation in the PEO industry to attract new clients rather than improving their services.
They don’t excel in customer service, they don’t innovate or find creative ways to solve current issues, they aren’t eager to impress, and they don’t strive hard to earn your business.
Even though TriNet is a consistent, dependable, and competent professional employer organization, they’ll never surpass PEO industry norms or your own.
7. Oasis Outsourcing
Oasis is another member of the professional employer organization old guard. PayChex just bought them, and after serving small businesses for two decades, they’re still operating under their own name.
Oasis provides all the PEO and HR services you need to properly manage your employees, like insurance and benefits packages, payroll management, compliance assistance, and nearly any other service your company could possibly require. They also offer a number of industry-specific services for businesses in industries such as hotel, finance, retail, education, and other business types.
They ultimately scored so badly because of their policy of only allowing 12-month contracts for their clients. In the PEO industry, month-to-month contracts for client companies are the norm, so locking prospective customers and businesses in for a year looks both strange and unnecessary, and therefore Oasis lost points for it.
8. ADP Totalsource
ADP Totalsource is a PEO “big boy” with services in more than 140 countries. They provide a broad variety of basic PEO services for most businesses, like insurance, payroll, benefits management, and other HR services to help you manage your employees. They also offer industry-specific solutions for Massachusetts businesses, similar to Oasis Outsourcing.
The best thing about ADP Totalsource is that their customer service team can help not only you, the business owner, but also your employees. Instead of calling you, your employees can call ADP if they have questions about their pay, benefits, tax rates, or anything else related to HR services. Getting rid of these time-wasting phone calls is a big plus for any business owner.
The problem with both ADP Totalsource and Trinet is the same. If you’re a small business in Massachusetts that joins with ADP, you’re not a big deal to them, and they don’t give you the attention you need to grow your business.
9. Insperity
It’s a pity that Insperity, a PEO service in Massachusetts with a lot of potential, let me down so badly.
They provide all the typical HR services necessary to manage your employees, just like the other PEOs on my list.
With a 30-year track record for winning awards for their services and customer support, the company’s promise began to take shape. As soon as I saw this, it gave me optimism for a smooth and liberating experience. Seeing that clients can terminate their PEO subscription at any point (with 30 days notice), I began to suspect that this could be a company that focuses on providing customers with an exceptional product.
Health care was the one thing that persuaded me differently.
When it comes to providing your employees with the best possible health care, you’ll need a lot of flexibility. Each employee is unique, as are their health care requirements, so having a wide range of alternatives is essential if you want to ensure that they are all covered.
This PEO company has decided to solely provide health insurance and benefits from a single provider. Only one option is available, instead of multiple benefits providers. Why? I’m stumped. It’s just what they do.
The health care alternatives and benefits for your employees will be significantly restricted if you go with Insperity, and there’s a strong risk that they won’t receive the benefits and services they need.
The Best PEO for Your Business
With more than 900 different PEO providers to choose from, finding the right professional employer company for your Massachusetts business may be a challenge.
My six-year examination of the PEO industry in Massachusetts has led to me identifying the three best performers: PEO Companies, Flexible and, Vensure PEO.
While these professional employer organizations are dependable Massachusetts PEOs for any business, you need a specific and tailored suggestion based on the following criteria to ensure you get the right PEO for your Massachusetts company:
- The number of employees on your payroll
- What you want the PEO to help with (payroll, HR compliance, workers’ compensation insurance, etc.)
- Employee benefits you want to offer to your team (such as health insurance and workers’ compensation insurance)
- How much you can afford to spend on employee benefits
- The location of your small business
- The location where you conduct your business (if outside the office)
- How much customer support you will need
- Your technological capabilities
- How large you plan to scale
- Your industry
If you would like to find the right PEO for your company, simply enter your details below and I will provide a free assessment of your company needs.
The Best PEO Selection Process
My procedure for selecting the best PEO is exhaustive. But before I tell you about it, there are a few things you should know about me.
Why You Should Trust Me
Trust me, I know PEO service providers in Massachusetts better than about anyone else on Earth. I’ve partnered with PEO providers for my two small businesses and helped thousands of other people with their PEO needs, so I’m confident in my advice.
My first encounter with PEO service providers was when I started my online health care company. With so much to learn and so little time to do it, I couldn’t keep up with all the HR foolishness and issues with employee benefits that were eating up so much of my time while I also struggled to develop websites, write articles, and manage my staff.
A staffing company didn’t do enough for me, so I decided to join a professional employer organization instead, and they handled all of my needs.
After that, I took some time off before starting my second small business, a cafe! Compared to owning an online small business, owning a brick-and-mortar shop was quite a different challenge.
Both small businesses had one thing in common, despite their vast differences: HR stress. As a result, I once again turned to professional employer organizations to handle my human resources services and employee benefits. I spent hours poring through websites, reading reviews and listening to salespeople attempting to sell me their products when all I needed were answers to the most basic queries. It took a long time. But once I found the right PEO partner, they handled all of my HR needs and gave me better rates on insurance, so my small business was able to develop and expand.
I quickly discovered I didn’t have the personality required for hospitality, so I sold my cafe and spent some time pondering what I should do next. When old friends from both my website and cafe days approached me for assistance with their back-end business operations, I was surprised to find the solution.
As more people approached me for PEO suggestions, I began writing the PEO suggestions down. Since then, I’ve helped more than 1,200 people find the best PEO for their businesses, which has provided me with more experience in the PEO industry than most anyone else.
How I Selected the Best PEO
I used a four-stage method to narrow down over 900 PEO companies on the market to a handful of finalists, and then chose the best Massachusetts PEO.
Stage 1: Reviews
Reading online reviews is the initial step in my investigation.
If a PEO company has been in operation for longer than a year, you’ll find a plethora of online feedback from clients. I was able to use this feedback to quickly and effectively determine which PEO companies were worth studying further, and which ones I could eliminate from competition.
In order to remove PEO businesses that did not meet the minimum requirements for product offerings, price or customer service from my more in-depth investigation, I checked out major online review sites.
Stage 2: Offering Analysis
In the PEO industry, there is a huge spectrum of PEO providers. PEO companies provide a wide variety of goods and services, all at various price ranges.
During the second phase of my investigation, I looked at which PEOs provide which goods and services, and at what price ranges. PEO companies that don’t provide an entire range of services, or that charge high prices were eliminated from my list using this method.
Stage 3: Speaking with Real Customers
Although online reviews are a useful tool for learning about a PEO company, there are two major drawbacks when using them.
The first drawback is that customers are more likely to write a review if they have had a very favorable or bad experience. Using only online customer reviews might give you an inaccurate impression of what it’s like to deal with a PEO company.
The second drawback is space. Most online review platforms limit reviews to 200 characters or less. It’s impossible to get a thorough picture of the quality of a PEO company from an internet review that’s fewer than 200 characters long.
In order to circumvent these drawbacks, the next step in my investigation was to chat with actual clients. I requested input from actual PEO clients through the use of my website and preexisting connections. I was able to get a clear image of what it’s like to work with each of the PEO companies on my list by asking pertinent questions and receiving insightful replies from real customers.
Stage 4: Speaking with Their Sales Teams
To get a sense of what it’s like to work with each professional employer organization company on my list in the long term, I looked at how they handle criticism and feedback. Are they stubborn and set in their ways or are they open to new ideas? What are they doing to fix their mistakes—blaming the client or owning up to them? PEO companies that possess these qualities and principles really stand out from the crowd.
Ranking Factors
Here are the five factors I used to rank each PEO company on my list and determine the best PEO.
Factor 1: Offerings
The first factor I considered was the product list of each of the PEO providers on my list.
A PEO partnership to handle health insurance and other benefits is pointless if the PEO company doesn’t provide health insurance. So, in order to ensure that you receive the best PEO for your circumstance, I developed a comprehensive database of the goods and services offered by each of the PEO providers in Massachusetts.
Factor 2: Price
The price of each PEO company in Massachusetts was also a ranking factor.
It can be tricky to determine which Massachusetts PEO providers offer the best rates because they hide their price rates behind sales calls. To ensure you get the most bang for your buck, I rated Massachusetts PEO providers on the basis of how much value they deliver for the money they charge for various goods and services.
Factor 3: Ease of Sign-up
The third rating factor I considered when rating Massachusetts PEO providers was their sign-up process.
While with some PEO providers in Massachusetts you may spend weeks sifting through drawers to find information you really don’t need, other Massachusetts PEO providers may pull most of your information from government agencies.
In order to ensure that you don’t waste your time, I rated each Massachusetts PEO company on how efficient and automated their onboarding process is.
Factor 4: Ease of Use
The fourth factor I looked at was how user friendly a system was.
The user experience is a top concern for some Massachusetts PEO services, which have spent millions simplifying and automating their back-end systems, while other Massachusetts PEOs have simply grafted on new features to existing systems and then created enormous manuals to explain complicated navigation methods.
When it comes to choosing a customer-focused, easy-to-use system, or an antiquated legacy system, it’s a no-brainer. So that you can make an informed decision, I rated each Massachusetts PEO (professional employer organization) on how simple it is to use and manage their system.
Factor 5: Customer Service
No matter how many resources are put into creating the most user-friendly system, questions will eventually arise. A good Massachusetts PEO (professional employer organization) customer service representative will be able to help you with this.
Some Massachusetts PEOs will keep you on the phone for hours until you get a bored college student on the phone who can do nothing to remedy your issue other than make a promise to escalate it to management (which never happens). In a matter of minutes, other Massachusetts PEOs are able to respond to your call and resolve your issue, allowing you to continue with the rest of your day uninterrupted.
The Best PEO for Your Business
While PEO Companies is a wonderful PEO (professional employer organization) choice for most Massachusetts businesses, recommending the best PEO for your Massachusetts business requires a thorough understanding of your company and its needs.
I can’t recommend the best PEO for your circumstance until I know about your business sector, its size, number of employees, the benefits you want to offer, and other important information about your Massachusetts business.
If you’d like a personalized recommendation for your Massachusetts business, fill out the form below to get a free business analysis and personalized Massachusetts PEO (professional employer organization) recommendation.
After you submit the form, I will assist you in finding the best PEO for your Massachusetts business and needs at no cost to you.
In the meantime, you should consider choosing a business structure for your Massachusetts business. You have a few options, like a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or LLC (limited liability company). Massachusetts is a heavily regulated state, so it’s important to learn about all the rules and regulations regarding each business type. For more information about how to form an LLC, check out my article about how to start an LLC in Massachusetts here.
While you’re learning about business structures, it’s a good time to learn about LLC formation services. LLC formation services have one sole purpose: to make the formation process go more quickly and easily for Massachusetts business owners. For more information about Massachusetts LLC formations services, check out my article about the 9 Best PEO Companies in Massachusetts.
Another thing for every LLC owner to consider is registered agent services. This is especially important in Massachusetts, where businesses are heavily regulated. A registered agent is a person or business entity that will accept mail, legal documents, and service of process on behalf of your business. For more information about what a registered agent can do for you, read my article on the 12 Best Massachusetts Registered Agents here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to use a PEO?
When it comes to PEO (professional employer organization) costs in Massachusetts, a broad range of variables might affect the final cost. The benefits you provide, services you choose, and the amount of employees or personnel on staff are all examples of this. However, a monthly budget of $1,000–$2,000 per employee is a decent place to start.
How does a PEO charge?
Any PEO company you encounter will either charge you a fixed fee or a percentage of payroll fee.
With a flat fee system, you’ll pay a predetermined sum for each employee. This is an excellent alternative for any company that needs to know exactly how much they’ll be charged each month, or any company owner who doesn’t like surprises when it comes to bills.
A percentage of payroll fee is when the PEO company charges you a percentage of the wages you pay each month to your employees. If you’re an employer in a low-wage sector, then these payments may be a good solution for you.
How long does it take to get set up with a PEO?
It takes time to get a small business set up with a PEO company, even if you choose one of the best PEO companies. To get you set up and running, they’ll require a ton of documentation from you, and they’ll have to submit even more paperwork with the appropriate federal agencies.
On average, it takes about four weeks to complete this process, but it may take anywhere from three to six weeks.
Does it cost to change PEOs?
There isn’t a Massachusetts PEO company on my best PEO list that specifically charges an exit fee, so it shouldn’t cost you an admin fee specifically to leave a PEO. However, every PEO charges a start-up fee because of the lengthy setup procedure. A new PEO’s start-up fee should be the only cost you have to pay when you leave your current PEO. But it doesn’t cost anything to leave a PEO.
