I have worked with PEO Consultants since 2018. Chris helped tremendously throughout the entire process and continued throughout the first year with his support where needed. He continues to check-in to see how things are going and it is comforting to know that if we have any problems he will be there to go to bat for us if needed.
Find the right PEO. Without the sales pitch.
We compare PEOs side by side for your business, negotiate for you, and stay in your corner after you sign. The PEO you choose pays us. You never get a bill from us.
Or talk it through with Chris Peterson, the founder.Book 30 minutesDenver · Since 2012 · (720) 316-7806
Four waypoints from where you are to the right fit.
You tell us about your business once. We do the legwork, lay every option side by side, and stay with you after you sign.
Waypoint 01Diagnostic
A diagnostic, not a sales call.
A one-on-one conversation with a consultant about how your business runs today. Nothing to buy and no pitch. We look at:
- Your payroll setup
- Health plans and what your people need
- Workers' comp rates and claims
- Compliance in your industry and states
Waypoint 02The market
We shop the market.
You give us your information once. We send targeted requests to the PEOs in our network that match your size, industry and states, and Mallory tracks every proposal so the quotes come back complete and comparable.
Waypoint 03The grid
The side-by-side grid.
Bundled costs, health premiums, workers' comp, technology, service model and contract terms, all on one page and on the same basis. Chris or Bill walks you through it. Sometimes the answer is to stay where you are.
See a sample gridWaypoint 04Your corner
We stay in your corner.
Once you choose, we help with the move: payroll data, benefits enrollment and onboarding. After that we review each renewal with you and hold the PEO accountable if service slips.
What Chris needs to start
- 01An employee census
- 02Workers' comp class codes
- 03Your current PEO invoice or renewal notice, if you have one
Documents go through Chris's secure process, never into a chat or a call. Bennett will never ask you for them.
Every option on one page, on the same basis.
Your PEO today next to the options that fit, line by line, so you see the whole picture and not just the headline fee. Chris or Bill walks you through every row.
Your PEO today
- Bundled cost
- Today
- Health premiums
- Today
- Workers' comp
- Today
- Technology
- Meets what you asked for
- Service model
- Call center
- Contract terms
- Auto-renews
Option A
- Bundled cost
- Similar
- Health premiums
- Lower
- Workers' comp
- Higher
- Technology
- Meets what you asked for
- Service model
- Call center
- Contract terms
- Long notice
Option B
Best fit- Bundled cost
- Lower
- Health premiums
- Lower
- Workers' comp
- Similar
- Technology
- Meets what you asked for
- Service model
- Dedicated rep
- Contract terms
- Short notice
Option C
- Bundled cost
- Higher
- Health premiums
- Similar
- Workers' comp
- Lower
- Technology
- Limited
- Service model
- Dedicated rep
- Contract terms
- Setup fee
Illustration. Your grid uses your real quotes.
Higher, Similar and Lower are compared with what you have today. Option B isn't the lowest on every line. Best fit is the whole picture, and sometimes it's the PEO you already have.
A PEO isn't for everyone. Here's an honest first read.
The team compares the open market too, so the answer isn't always a PEO. These are general patterns. Your census, class codes, states and contract decide the real answer.
Strong signals
Likely a fit
- Somewhere around 5 to 500 employees, without a full HR department.
- Benefits are hard to offer or keep. A PEO's master plans can open up large-company style health, dental, vision and 401(k) options for a small team.
- People in more than one state, each with its own payroll, tax and compliance rules.
- You or your office manager lose real hours every month to payroll and HR paperwork.
Run the numbers
Worth a comparison
- You're on a PEO and the renewal just went up. The grid shows whether that's the market or just your PEO.
- Service has slipped: slow answers, payroll mistakes, a rep you can't reach.
- You run payroll software with your own small-group plan. Depending on your group, a PEO's plan can price better or worse.
- You're adding a state this year, or hiring fast.
- Heavy workers' comp classes, like construction or field crews. Some PEOs pool them well; others limit or decline them.
Other tools may fit
Probably not yet
- Fewer than 5 employees. A payroll tool often covers it for less.
- A strong in-house HR team that already runs well.
- Very favorable rates of your own, like a low unemployment rate or a low comp mod, that pooling could dilute.
- You want full control of plan design. An ASO (HR and payroll help without co-employment) or your own benefits broker may fit better.
- You're hiring mainly abroad. An employer of record is built for that.
Not sure which column you're in? Bennett can give you a first read in a couple of minutes.
Start about 90 days before your renewal.
Many PEO contracts need written notice well before the renewal date, and many renew on their own if the window passes. Starting early keeps every option open, including staying where you are.
90 days out
90 days out
Find the exit terms.
Pull your PEO contract and look for the notice period (often 30, 60 or 90 days, in writing) and whether it renews on its own if that window passes. Then start the comparison.
60 days out
60 days out
Gather and compare.
Send Chris the census, comp class codes and your renewal notice through his secure process. The grid takes about two weeks from there.
30 days out
30 days out
Decide with the grid.
Switch, negotiate with your current PEO, or stay. If you're moving, plan the notice, enrollment and data transfer with Chris before any deadline passes.
Renewal date
Renewal date
Sign with eyes open.
Check contract length, renewal increases and exit terms before you sign. Employees usually get about two weeks to review new benefits.
On start dates: January 1 is usually the cleanest, since wage bases and deductibles start fresh. Otherwise the first day of a quarter.
General timing, not legal advice. Your contract's notice terms set the real dates.
The PEO you select pays us. You never get a bill from us.
The comparison is free to you. Here's how an independent consultant differs from a PEO's own sales rep. Both can be useful. They do different jobs.
Side by side
PEO consultant
PEO sales rep
- Who they work for
- ConsultantIndependent. Works with you across many PEOs.
- Sales repOne PEO, and represents its products.
- The goal
- ConsultantExplain the options and how each one fits your business.
- Sales repShow you what their PEO does well.
- What they can offer
- ConsultantOptions from multiple PEOs, plus the open market.
- Sales repThe services and packages their company offers.
- Expertise
- ConsultantBenefits, workers' comp, payroll and contracts across many PEOs and pricing models.
- Sales repDeep knowledge of one PEO's platform and pricing.
- After you sign
- ConsultantStays on through implementation, renewals and service issues.
- Sales repUsually moves on to new clients once you're enrolled; the PEO's service team takes over.
- How they're paid
- ConsultantBy the PEO you select. Never by you.
- Sales repBy the PEO they work for.
A good rep knows their PEO inside and out. What they can't do is put a competitor's quote next to their own.
Sometimes the best answer is staying where you are.
If your current PEO is the best value, the grid will show it, and you go into your next renewal with the numbers to back it up.
In their words, and on their routes.
PEO Consultants put multiple options in front of us in an easy to read grid format, and after considering the options we decided to make a change to one of PEO Consultants recommended vendors. This should result in a $42,000 annual savings while also offering better medical plans to our employees.
Five case studies
As reported by the team
Vail Valley Cares
Non-profit
PEONew PEOA double-digit health renewal and a network too narrow for its employees.
17% lower health premiums and a larger network.
Custom Direct
Marketing
PEOOpen marketA double-digit renewal increase from its PEO.
22% lower combined medical and workers' comp.
Entegra Power
Open marketPEOSharp increases on its open-market medical and comp.
$264,000 a year less in combined medical and workers' comp.
Bridgeview IT
Information technology
PEOStayedWanted to know whether its current PEO was still competitive.
Current PEO validated as the best value. They stayed.
JG Johnson Architects
Architecture
ComparedOpen marketHigh premiums and plans with heavy out-of-pocket costs.
26% lower health premiums with better plan design. The open market beat the PEO options.
Results reported by PEO Consultants on its case studies page. Every business is different: results depend on your current arrangement, industry, headcount and claims history.
The person in your corner.
Chris Peterson
President & Founder
Founded the firm in 2012 to fix what he kept seeing: owners overpaying for PEOs and getting locked into deals that didn't fit. The people who build your grid are the people who walk you through it, and the ones you call when something goes wrong later.
Bill Dyrenforth · Senior Consultant
More than a decade in PEO and HR technology. Runs the full client lifecycle, from the first analysis through implementation.
Mallory Kingsbury · Senior Analyst
“I build the numbers.” Mallory tracks every proposal and builds the side-by-side analyses you see in your grid.
10 PM, staring at a renewal notice? Ask Bennett.
Bennett is PEO Consultants' AI guide. He explains what a PEO actually does, how the pricing works, what to check before a renewal, and whether a comparison makes sense for you. He takes down what Chris needs, books your 30 minutes with him, and remembers you next time. He can't give insurance, tax or legal advice, and he says so. He never sells you a PEO.
10:04 PM Sun · Brewery owner, Five Points
“Our PEO renewal says health is up 14% on January 1. Is that normal? What do I even do?”
Bennett: Renewal timing checked, 75 days out. Notice windows explained. The free comparison started and the documents Chris needs listed, for his secure process.
Illustrative moments. People and times are examples.
Straight answers.
Still have a question? Call (720) 316-7806 or book a PEO Chat with Chris.
What does the comparison cost me?
Nothing. The comparison is free to you. The PEO you select pays PEO Consultants, and you never get a bill from us.
How do you get paid?
The PEO you select pays us. You don't. Because the team works across many PEOs, the recommendation is about fit, and sometimes the best answer is to stay where you are.
How long does it take?
About two weeks from the time the team has your information to your side-by-side grid. If you switch, the move itself depends on your start date. January 1 is usually the cleanest; otherwise the first day of a quarter.
What do you need from me?
To start, the basics: your company, rough headcount, the states your people work in, how you handle payroll and benefits today, and your renewal month. For quotes, Chris will ask for an employee census, your workers' comp class codes, and your current PEO invoice or renewal notice if you have one. Those documents go through Chris's secure process, never into a chat or a call.
Do I have to switch?
No. Not every comparison ends in a switch. Sometimes your current PEO is the best value, and you go into your next renewal with the numbers to back it up.
What if I'm not on a PEO yet?
That's a common starting point. The team compares PEOs against what you have now, like payroll software with your own benefits, and against the open market, and tells you plainly if a PEO isn't the right fit. With fewer than about 5 employees, a payroll tool often fits better.
Which PEOs do you work with?
The team compares across a network of national and regional PEOs and picks the ones that match your size, industry and states. The right short list is different for every business, so we don't publish one.
What happens after I choose?
The team helps with implementation: moving payroll and benefits data, onboarding and enrollment. After that they stay on, reviewing each renewal with you and stepping in to hold the PEO accountable if service slips.
Is my information safe?
Bennett, the AI guide on this site, never asks for Social Security numbers, birth dates, salaries, medical details or bank details. The documents a quote needs go through Chris's secure process. To get quotes, the team shares what PEOs need for underwriting with the PEOs being compared.
Who will I work with?
Chris Peterson or Bill Dyrenforth leads your comparison and walks you through the grid. Mallory Kingsbury tracks the proposals and builds the numbers.