Question 1

What is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO)?

Accepted Answer

A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) is a company that enters into a co-employment relationship with your business, taking on responsibility for payroll processing, payroll tax compliance, HR administration, employee benefits, workers' compensation, and risk management. The PEO becomes the employer of record for tax purposes, while you retain full control over your employees' day-to-day work. PEOs like KeyHR allow small and mid-sized businesses to access Fortune 500-level HR services and benefits at a fraction of the cost of building an in-house HR department.

Question 2

How is a PEO different from a payroll service?

Accepted Answer

A payroll service processes your payroll but leaves you as the employer of record with full compliance liability. A PEO like KeyHR becomes your co-employer — filing payroll taxes under our EIN and assuming legal responsibility for payroll tax compliance. PEOs also provide HR compliance, employee benefits, workers' compensation, and risk management services that payroll processors do not offer.

Question 3

How much does a PEO cost?

Accepted Answer

PEO fees are typically structured as a percentage of total payroll (usually 2–12%) or a flat per-employee-per-month fee. NAPEO research shows that businesses using a PEO save an average of 27.2% on HR administration costs compared to managing these functions in-house, when accounting for the full cost of staff time, software, benefits purchasing, and compliance penalties avoided.

Question 4

How long does it take to switch to a PEO?

Accepted Answer

Most businesses complete the transition to KeyHR within two to three weeks. Our onboarding team handles data migration, parallel payroll runs, employee portal setup, and benefits enrollment. We design the transition to be seamless — your employees typically notice only improvements, like access to the Enwage self-service portal and better benefits options.

Question 5

Does a PEO work for businesses in all 50 states?

Accepted Answer

Yes. KeyHR is licensed and operating in all 50 states. We handle multi-state payroll compliance, state-specific HR requirements, and workers' compensation coverage nationwide. Multi-state compliance is one of the most common reasons businesses partner with a PEO.

Question 6

Is KeyHR accredited?

Accepted Answer

Yes. KeyHR is an ESAC-accredited PEO (Employer Services Assurance Corporation), a member of NAPEO (National Association of Professional Employer Organizations), and a member of FAPEO (Florida Association of Professional Employer Organizations). KeyHR has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies three consecutive years.

Característica	PEO / Arrendamiento (Key HR)	Agencia de Personal
¿Quién contrata al empleado?	Usted (el empleador)	La agencia
¿Quién dirige al empleado?	Usted	Usted (pero la agencia supervisa)
Tipo de empleo	Permanente	Temporal / Contrato
Nómina y beneficios	Gestionados por Key HR	Gestionados por la agencia
Costo típico	3–8% de nómina	25–50% del salario del trabajador
Seguro de salud grupal	✅ Tarifas grupales	❌ No para sus empleados
Cumplimiento laboral	✅ Responsabilidad compartida	⚠️ Limitado
Soporte en español	✅ Completo con Key HR	⚠️ Varía por agencia
Retención de empleados	✅ Alta — son sus empleados	⚠️ Baja — alta rotación

PEO vs Agencia de Personal: ¿Cuál Necesita su Empresa?

Comparación Directa

Preguntas Frecuentes

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre un PEO y una agencia de personal?

¿Cuándo debería usar una agencia de personal en lugar de un PEO?

¿Puede usar un PEO y una agencia de personal al mismo tiempo?

¿Un PEO es lo mismo que el arrendamiento de empleados?

¿Necesita un PEO para sus Empleados Permanentes?