Choosing the proper professional employer organization (PEO) to aid in the growth of your company is crucial.
The right PEO will manage human resources and other back-end responsibilities for you, which frees up valuable time and mental energy so that you can focus on all the other tasks that you’re responsible for each day.
The wrong PEO will drain even more time and money from your already tight budget and limited resources, leaving you without the mental energy or cash flow needed to take your company to the next level.
I found the best Michigan PEO service after evaluating more than 900 different PEO services, closely examining the top 15, then rating the top 9.
But before I get into giving you my best Michigan PEO service recommendation, there’s something about PEO services that you should know.
The Best PEO Isn’t Always the Right PEO
I’ve spent more hours than I care to disclose researching 900+ PEO services, and have determined the Michigan PEO service with the greatest average score across a variety of different rating factors. However, the PEO service’s high score isn’t an indicator that it’s the best PEO service for your business.
- Some PEO services are designed to provide industry-specific services, which means they can offer you one-of-a-kind advantages and assistance.
- Some PEO services create strong relationships with insurance companies, so they can offer you better insurance options with additional features (like vision insurance) and lower costs.
- Some PEO services concern themselves primarily with compliance, which means that they ensure that your business will meet federal and state compliance guidelines.
There’s only one way to ensure that you choose the right Michigan PEO for your business, and that’s to discover the specific needs of your company and its employees, then compare those to the offerings of each Michigan PEO service. With this approach, you won’t just get the best-scoring PEO service, but will find the PEO service that scores best for your company based on metrics that are important to you.
If you’d like a free company analysis and personalized Michigan PEO recommendation, then fill out the form below and submit it. I’ll contact you within 24 hours with a company analysis and personalized Michigan PEO recommendation.
If you’d simply like to learn about which Michigan PEO scored highest on my list, here are my recommendations for the best Michigan PEO.
1. Vensure — 9.45/10 (Best Overall PEO)
Vensure is my choice for the best overall Michigan PEO because while they don’t stand out for any reason in particular, they handle all your business needs with ease. Their main distinction, I suppose, is that you will never have any problems with them.
Pros
They offer all the goods and services that you need from Michigan PEO companies:
- Human resources solutions
- Employee benefits management
- Tax withholding
- Compliance assistance
- Tax rates
- Payroll
- 401k
- Employee contracts
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Risk management
- Health insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- Administrative services
- HR support
- Payroll services
They also offer excellent customer service to back up their services. If you have a general inquiry, you can expect an email reply within 24 hours, or you can call them directly if you have an urgent concern.
Vensure’s strongest quality is that, while it has the technological capacity to satisfy the needs of huge companies, they focus primarily on small and medium businesses.
This means they can not only meet you where you are, but also help you get to the next level.
Cons
Vensure’s one flaw (if it can even really be considered a flaw) is that they don’t do anything extraordinary.
- You’ll find all the Michigan PEO services that you need, but they don’t include any premium or luxury services.
- Their customer service adequately answers your questions, but they don’t add any personal touches that make them really stand out (like sending you a birthday card).
- Their services are well and competitively priced, but they’re not as low as some other Michigan PEO companies. They’re definitely not losing money on their price point.
The company is fantastic in general, but there isn’t one unique feature that will really rock your world.
Overall
Vensure is my first pick because they provide services to meet all your business needs, and they do it all well. They provide a broad range of products and services at great prices, backed up by exceptional customer service.
The prices that Vensure offers vary based on the size and needs of your company. To get a personalized quote for your business, click here: Vensure.
NOTE: If you want to know my research and review process, click here to skip the reviews.
2. CoAdvantage PEO — 7.90/10 (Best Customer Service PEO )
CoAdvantage PEO is my second choice, but that doesn’t rule them out as a viable PEO service option. They narrowly missed my top suggestion, and they do outperform Vensure in one area.
Pros
CoAdvantage PEO, like Vensure, provides a comprehensive variety of products and services. Health insurance, vision insurance, workers’ compensation, employee benefits management, payroll processing, human resources solutions and support, and assistance with tax filings are all available.
They offer cheap prices and a user-friendly interface for getting started with their system.
While I did find certain flaws in their Michigan PEO services, I did also find one area where they really shine: their customer service.
The average response time for customer service emails was 46 minutes, and on average my wait time to speak with a customer service representative was under 2 minutes in the three customer service tests I conducted.
Their assistance was not only prompt, but also astonishingly helpful. They responded to my inquiries without transferring me (or requiring me to describe my problem multiple times to multiple agents) or getting management involved.
They may not have sent me a birthday card yet, but that’s honestly the only thing that could make their customer service better.
Cons
CoAdvantage missed out on my top spot because even though their system is simple to use and they offer competitive prices, they still fall short of Vensure.
There were a few times when their system was a little confusing and I had to phone their excellent customer service team to figure out how to get around.
Although CoAdvantage PEO’s prices are competitive, the three price quotes I got for my three imaginary businesses were roughly 10% more than the quotes I got from Vensure.
These aren’t automatic deal breakers for most people—especially if you place high value on customer service—but they were just enough to push Coadvantage down to second place.
Overall
CoAdvantage is a fantastic professional employer organization that checks a lot of boxes. They provide a comprehensive choice of products and services at very affordable prices, as well as excellent customer service. Their system isn’t the most user-friendly, and they’re a little more expensive than Vensure but still a great alternative, especially if you want really stellar customer service.
As with any professional employer organization, their prices are dependent on the needs and size of your company. So to get a quote designed for your business, follow this link and give them your information: CoAdvantage.
3. PEO Companies — 7.41/10 (Best Value PEO)
PEO Companies is my third-best option for the best professional employer organization in Michigan. They’re a good and dependable alternative with competitive prices. However, they really let me down in a few areas.
Pros
PEO Companies, like the other two professional employer organizations on my list, provides a comprehensive suite of products. You’ll get health insurance and vision insurance, help meeting compliance requirements, workers’ compensation, payroll processing, assistance with tax filings, human resources solutions and support, and employee benefits management.
Their system is generally simple to set up, though I did have some difficulty with navigating it after I had it set up and running. Their customer service agents were quite knowledgeable and able to respond to my queries quickly.
But it was in the area of pricing that their services really shone. All three of the quotes I got from them were among the top three cheapest I received from the professional employer organizations on this list, and the small business quote I received was ranked first. These prices included every option they offered, which really demonstrates the value they provide for their services.
Cons
As I’ve stated before, while PEO Companies is an excellent deal, it does have certain limits.
Setting up their system was a straightforward process. However, after I was set up and trying to conduct some fairly common operations, I ran across some navigational difficulties.
I contacted their customer service for help with these problems, and while they answered in an acceptable amount of time, their assistance was not nearly as good as CoAdvantage’s.
They’re competent, but not exceptional in any area.
Overall
PEO Companies is a trustworthy, well-supported professional employer organization with competitive rates. While their system can be a little confusing at times and may pose a problem with people who lack strong technological skills, and their customer service isn’t always the most helpful or patient, they were the least expensive Michigan PEO I got quotes from.
Like the other two professional employer organizations on my list, PEO Companies' pricing depends on the needs and size of your company. So if you want a full quote that’s tailored to the needs of your business, click here: PEO Companies.
4. Justworks
Justworks is a newcomer to the professional employer organization industry in Michigan, having launched in 2012 and now serving the entire United States.
They supply everything you need, just like the other Michigan PEO companies—health insurance, workers’ compensation, payroll processing, employee benefits management, compliance assistance, and human resources solutions and support. However, Justworks has one advantage over the other Michigan PEO companies on my list: transparency.
Anyone can check the price structure on their website. This is a huge plus in an industry that tries hard to conceal its prices and requires every prospective customer to explain their business needs before they can get a quote.
But the main reason I put Justworks at #4 is because of their age, which is a critical factor in the professional employer organization industry.
Joining a PEO and becoming established in their system is a time-consuming procedure. It’s not something you want to repeat in the event that the start-up Michigan PEO you selected has ceased operations.
Before you entrust 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’d like more information about Justworks and their PEO service in Michigan, you can check out their site here: Justworks.
5. Infiniti HR
In the competitive professional employer organization industry in Michigan, Infiniti HR has managed to stand out.
They provide a full range of human resources solutions and support, as well as health insurance, employee benefits management, payroll services, workers’ compensation, and assistance with compliance and tax filings.
They go above and beyond by aiding with recruitment of employees. If your experience is anything like the rest of the country’s, you’ll understand how valuable good employees can be, so receiving assistance in locating the proper employees is a huge benefit.
The disadvantage of Infiniti, like that of Justworks, is their age. They’re still young in the Michigan PEO world, with just ten years under their belts. They lack the long track records of some of the more established Michigan PEO companies, so it’s best to give them a few years before you join up.
6. TriNet
Trinet is the market’s oldest and most established Michigan PEO. They were founded in 1988 and now have over 16,000 companies and 330,000 employees.
They provide all the Michigan PEO services you need for your company and its employees, like payroll services, insurance, workers’ compensation, employee benefits management, and human resources solutions and support.
While they offer all the services your company needs to foster business growth and check all the boxes, they seem to depend on their big name and reputation in the Michigan PEO industry to attract clients.
They don’t go above and beyond in terms of customer service, they don’t develop and come up with new solutions to issues that already exist, they aren’t eager to impress, and they don’t work hard to earn your business.
While they’re a dependable, consistent, and functioning PEO, TriNet will never surpass the Michigan PEO industry norms or your expectations.
7. Oasis Outsourcing
Oasis is another member of the Michigan PEO’s old guard. PayChex just bought them after they had serviced small businesses for more than 20 years (although they continue to operate using their own name).
Oasis offers a variety of industry-specific Michigan PEO solutions for industries such as hotel, finance, retail, and education (just to name a few) and has all the HR solutions you need. They also provide the PEO services that you and your employees need, such as employee benefits management, workers’ compensation, payroll services, and assistance with both tax filing and compliance.
They ultimately scored badly due to their policy of only permitting 12-month contracts. In a business sector where month-to-month contracts are the norm, locking prospective consumers in for a year is both strange and unnecessary, so Oasis lost points for it.
8. ADP Totalsource
ADP Totalsource is a big name in the PEO industry, and not just in Michigan. They offer PEO services in more than 140 different countries.
They provide a broad variety of services, as well as several industry-specific services, similar to Oasis Outsourcing. This means that you can find workers’ compensation, various types of insurance, payroll management, employee benefits management, and HR solutions among their PEO services.
The great thing about ADP Totalsource is that their customer service team is accessible to you, the company owner, as well as your employees. Instead of phoning you, if any of your employees have questions about their salary or payroll problems, benefits, tax rates, or other HR services, they may call ADP directly. It’s a huge bonus to be able to avoid these time-consuming phone calls.
The disadvantage of ADP Totalsource is the same as that of TriNet. If you own a small business, you’ll find that you’re virtually unimportant in the scheme of ADP’s overall operations, and you won’t receive the attention needed for success and business growth.
9. Insperity
Insperity is a Michigan PEO service that promised much but disappointed me in many areas.
They offer all the PEO services that other Michigan PEO companies provide, like workers’ compensation, payroll management, employee benefits management, insurance, and a number of HR services.
Their potential began with a 30-year track record of earning awards for their Michigan PEO services and customer service. Reading this filled me with hope for a smooth and enjoyable experience with this professional employer organization. When I noticed that you’re able to terminate your subscription at any time (so long as you give 30 days notice), I assumed that this was a Michigan PEO company that prides itself on providing a good product.
One aspect, in particular, persuaded me otherwise: health care.
As you may be aware, health care is a major problem that necessitates a great deal of flexibility in order to meet the unique demands of your employees. Each employee is unique, which means they also have unique health requirements, so you’ll need a variety of health care alternatives to ensure they receive the coverage they need.
Insperity only provides health care plans from one provider, for whatever reason. There’s just one. Why? I’m not sure. They just do.
If you pick Insperity, your employees’ health care choices will be severely restricted, and there’s a significant possibility that your employees won’t receive the help they need.
The Best PEO For Your Business
Finding the proper PEO for your company might be difficult with over 900 different PEO companies currently accessible to Michigan businesses of all sizes.
I’ve spent over 230 hours researching the PEO sector over the previous six years and have identified Vensure, CoAdvantage, and PEO Companies as the top three performers.
While these PEO companies will be dependable solutions for any business, you will require customized and tailored advice based on certain factors:
- The number of employees on your payroll
- What you want the PEO to help with (payroll, HR compliance, workers’ compensation insurance, employee benefits management, etc.)
- The 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's needs.
The Best PEO Selection Process
My search for the best Michigan PEO company required a lot of time and extensive research. But before I tell you about that, there are a few things you should know about me.
Why You Should Trust Me
You should trust my advice since I know PEO service providers better than almost anybody on earth, thanks to my experience developing small businesses and assisting others.
My own experience with PEO companies began with my health company. I was so preoccupied with learning the fundamentals of everything associated with starting a small business—developing websites, draft articles, and managing my employees—that I just didn’t have time to deal with the HR foolishness and employee benefits management problems that were taking up so much of my time.
At first I tried using a staffing business to manage my employees, but it wasn’t enough, so I hired a fantastic PEO company.
After coping with everything involved with that business, I took a break before launching my second small business—a cafe! It’s an understatement to say that operating a small business online was a little different from owning a cafe.
Despite their major contrasts, there was one thing that remained similar in both small businesses: misery that came from HR and employee benefits management. Once again, I turned to PEO companies to meet my HR requirements and manage my employee benefits. I researched websites, read reviews, and listened to salespeople attempt to sell me services when all I needed were simple answers to easy questions. It was a LOT of work and information. I ultimately found the ideal PEO that helped support my company and allowed for business growth.
I quickly discovered that I lacked the personality required for hospitality, so I closed my cafe and contemplated what I should do next. The answer came unexpectedly when old friends from my website and cafe days sought me out for assistance with their back-end company operations.
The more suggestions I made, the more people approached me, and I ultimately began writing them down. Since those humble beginnings, I’ve helped over 1,200 clients find the right PEO companies to foster growth in their businesses, giving me more expertise in the Michigan PEO industry than almost anybody else.
How I Selected the Best PEO
My method is a four-stage procedure that reduces a list of more than 900 different PEO companies in Michigan down to a short list of candidates. This is how I discovered the best PEO.
Stage 1: Reviews
Reading internet reviews was the initial step in my investigation.
Any Michigan PEO company that has been in operation for more than a year should have amassed a substantial amount of online consumer feedback. This feedback lets me quickly and effectively choose which Michigan PEOs were worth investigating further and which ones I could dismiss.
I went through the popular web review sites to find Michigan PEOs that don’t satisfy basic product, price, or service expectations and cut them from my more in-depth research.
Stage 2: Offering Analysis
Michigan PEO service is not a one-size-fits-all industry. Different Michigan PEOs provide a variety of goods and services at different pricing ranges.
The second part of my investigation is to look at which Michigan PEOs provide what goods and services at what pricing points. This helps me to rule out Michigan PEOs who either don’t provide a comprehensive range of services or do so at an exorbitant price.
Stage 3: Speaking with Real Customers
Online reviews are a terrific method to get an overall sense of a business, but they have two major drawbacks.
The first constraint is that individuals are more likely to post a review if they have had either an extraordinarily favorable or bad experience. This implies that basing your judgment solely on online customer reviews will give you a skewed image of how the business functions.
The second constraint is one of space. Most online reviews are about 200 characters or fewer, which is inadequate to determine if a Michigan PEO is worthwhile to use.
To get around these limitations, I spoke to actual customers in the next round of my research. I solicited input from genuine Michigan PEO customers using my website and existing ties. I asked probing questions, received thoughtful responses regarding employee benefits, payroll management, costs, and other various aspects of professional employer organization services, and was able to piece together a thorough picture of what it’s like to deal with various Michigan PEOs.
Stage 4: Speaking with Their Sales Teams
But, most significantly, I examined how they manage criticism and feedback in order to gauge how it would be to work with them in the long term. Are they fixed in their ways or do they change constantly? Do they attempt to place blame on the client or do they own up to their mistakes? The best Michigan PEOs are distinguished from the rest on the field by these qualities and values.
Ranking Factors
When choosing the best PEO, I considered five factors to rate each Michigan PEO.
Factor 1: Offerings
The first is a list of their existing product options.
It’s pointless to partner with a Michigan PEO if they don’t offer the health insurance, payroll, or employee benefits that you need. Therefore, I established a thorough database of available goods and services to ensure you get the finest Michigan PEO for your particular circumstance.
Factor 2: Price
The price of a Michigan PEO was the second criterion I used to evaluate it.
Because the costs of various goods and services may fluctuate significantly among Michigan PEOS (and this information is only accessible by engaging in a sales call, which is sneaky), I assessed Michigan PEOs based on how much value for the money they offer.
Factor 3: Ease of Sign-up
The third factor I used to evaluate each Michigan PEO was how simple it is to join up for their services.
Some Michigan PEOs may need you to search through drawers for obscure bits of information that you don’t require, while others focus on automation and may get huge volumes of information from government websites and require little effort on your end.
I evaluated each Michigan PEO based on how efficient and automated their onboarding process is to ensure that you don’t choose a PEO that wastes your time.
Factor 4: Ease of Use
The ease of use of each PEO’s system was the fourth factor I evaluated.
Some PEOs have spent millions of dollars on automating their systems while emphasizing user experience, while others have simply added functionality to old systems and then created enormous manuals to explain their complicated navigation methods.
Clearly, working with a customer-centered, simple-to-use system is preferable to being trapped with an obsolete system. So that you make the best decision possible, I evaluated each PEO based on how simple their system is to navigate and use.
Factor 5: Customer Service
There will always be questions, no matter how much effort or money is spent developing the most intuitive system. This is when the vital role of customer service comes into play.
Some PEOs will put you on hold for hours until you finally speak to an inexperienced agent who can’t do anything except promise to raise your issue with management (which they never do). Other PEO services will take your call within a matter of minutes and address your issue in even less time, allowing you to get on with your day and focus on other important tasks.
The Best PEO For Your Business
While Vensure is likely to be a good match for many Michigan businesses, it may not be the greatest option for yours.
Without understanding the size of your business and how many employees you have, your normal payroll expenditures, the sort of insurance and benefits you hope to offer your employees, and the compliance requirements of your business, it’s hard for anybody to provide a suggestion for the ideal PEO for you.
Fill out the form below for a customized suggestion for a fantastic PEO to assist your company and manage payroll and employee benefits, cut insurance costs, and leave you with less paperwork.
This is a no-cost service, and after you’ve completed the form, I’ll provide you with a suggestion for the best PEO for your business.
Meanwhile, another part of your Michigan business that you should think about is its structure. There are various possibilities, including a corporation, a sole proprietorship, or an LLC. Read my post on how to start an LLC in Michigan to learn more about how to create an LLC.
If you’d like to take some of the burden out of the LLC formation process, you should consider choosing an LLC formation service. They can help with many of the forms and applications needed to form an LLC. To learn more about LLC formation services, check out my article about the best LLC services in Michigan.
While you’re looking at PEOs you should also look into registered agent services. A registered agent is a person or business entity that receives mail, service of process, and legal documents on your behalf. Read my post on the best Michigan registered agents for additional information about what a good registered agent can do for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to use a PEO?
The cost of a PEO may vary greatly based on a variety of criteria. This might include the PEO you choose, your choice of services, the employee benefits you choose, and the amount of employees you have. However, a monthly payment of $1,000–$2,000 per employee is a good baseline number.
How does a PEO charge?
PEO service providers typically use one of two price structures: a flat fee or a percentage of payroll fee.
You are charged a predetermined sum per employee under the flat fee system. This is a wonderful choice for any company that needs a lot of predictability in their monthly invoicing.
The PEO charges you a portion of the wages you pay your employees each month under a percentage of payroll arrangement. Employers in low-wage sectors should consider this alternative.
How long does it take to get set up with a PEO?
It takes time to set up a PEO service provider for any small business and get things like payroll and employee benefits established. They’ll require a lot of documentation from you, and then they’ll have to submit a lot more to the government to get you up and running.
This procedure may take anywhere from three to six weeks, although it normally takes four weeks on average.
Does it cost to change PEOs?
There are no exit costs connected with any of the PEOs I’ve listed in this article. However, every PEO charges a start-up fee owing to the lengthy setup procedure. This implies that if you wish to switch PEOs, you will not be charged anything to leave, but you will have to pay the new PEO’s start-up cost.
