The Best PEOs of 2021
Due to its flexible contract and pricing structure, custom PEO solutions, and easy implementation, we recommend Oasis, a Paychex company, as the best PEO for startups in 2020. Oasis has flexible plans that allow startups (with at least five employees) to get exactly what they need from a PEO. One of the major challenges for startups is scaling to effectively meet customer needs. By partnering with a PEO like Oasis, the task of scaling your internal support for things like human resources, payroll administration and employee benefits can be taken off your plate. Because Oasis is a major PEO provider with IRS, Employer Services Assurance Corporation and Better Business Bureau accreditation, you can rest assured that you'll have top-shelf services throughout your time with the company regardless of your business's size.
Oasis Outsourcing
Oasis Outsourcing
The Best PEOs of 2020
The Verdict
Oasis, a Paychex company, is our choice as the best PEO for startups, due to its flexible contract and pricing structure, custom PEO solutions, and easy implementation.
We chose Oasis from dozens of PEO services. To learn more about how we selected Oasis, you can find our methodology, plus a comprehensive list of PEO services, on our best picks page.
Editor's note: Looking for the right PEO service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.
Oasis Pricing and Terms
In line with industry standards, Oasis requires businesses to have a minimum of five employees to use its PEO services. Companies that partner with Oasis have to sign up for a full year; however, you can cancel at any time with a 30-day written notice. This ability to modify or cancel services is essential for startups.
Oasis generally provides a bundled PEO package and lets you mix and match additional services to tailor your own PEO solution. This means you will have access to all the essential HR functions and can add or remove services to fit your business's needs. This is a major advantage for growing companies that don't have the resources or desire to pay for services they will not use.
Oasis PEO Features
Oasis is great for startups that want a custom PEO specific to their industry. Oasis specializes in PEO solutions for businesses working in architecture, banking, country clubs, financial services, franchises, hospitality, law, light manufacturing, property management and retail. It offers bundled services like HR administration, employee benefits, payroll, risk and compliance management, and training, with the option to add on features like master medical or master workers' compensation policies.
HR administration: Oasis can manage all of your administrative HR tasks, offering handbook and policy development, job description development, employee recruiting and onboarding, new-hire reporting, regulatory compliance, HR consultations, return-to-work programs, workforce management, program development, behavioral assessments, and employee termination and dispute assistance.
Employee benefits: Since Oasis is a Paychex company, it can offer some Fortune 500-level employee benefits, including health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, 401(k) retirement plans, prepaid college funds, HSAs and FSAs, commuter plans, employee assistance programs, and health and wellness coaching.
Payroll processing: Oasis manages your payroll and offers software for you to track employee payroll information, such as time and attendance, paid time off, expense reports, and workforce management.
Risk and compliance: Oasis can help your business stay up to date with laws and regulations through its risk and compliance measures, which include workers' compensation, safety program development, employee screening, safety training, OSHA and ACA guidance, and return-to-work programs.
Employee training and development: Oasis provides one of the best training programs of any company we reviewed, with thousands of online books, videos, and courses on professional development, soft skills, computer and technical skills, HR, workplace safety, and conflict management.
Oasis Pros
One of the biggest advantages of partnering with Oasis is its ease of use. The company offers several online demos for new users to learn about applicant tracking, employee onboarding, its NextGen technology, performance management, and time and attendance. Its cloud-based platform and mobile application are both easy to access, so you and your employees can view payroll and HR information even when you are on the go.
As a good PEO should, Oasis can professionally simplify your human resources functions, especially if your business is in one of its specialty fields. Oasis specializes in PEO plans for architecture, banking, country clubs, financial services, franchisees and franchisors, hotels, information technology, law, light manufacturing, mortgage lending, property management, private equity, restaurants, retail, and senior living. If you're starting up in one of those industries, Oasis is a particularly good choice of PEO, as it can address HR and regulatory needs specific to your field.
Oasis is accredited by ESAC and the IRS. The ESAC accreditation verifies Oasis as one of the best PEO companies on the market today, while the IRS certification confirms that Oasis is a financially stable and healthy company that can meet small businesses' PEO needs. Oasis is also accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has an A+ rating on the site. This rating is higher than many other companies we reviewed have with the BBB.
Oasis Cons
Although Oasis is a great PEO option for startups, there is one caveat. Oasis, like many other professional employer organizations, requires you to have at least five employees to sign up for its PEO services. This is a common requirement, but startups are less likely than other businesses to meet this minimum. If you are a new company with fewer than five employees, you will either have to look for another PEO or wait until you hire more employees to sign up with Oasis.
Customer Support
We posed as a small business owner looking for PEO services and interacted with Oasis representatives by email and phone. The Oasis sales team answered our questions and worked to understand our needs as a business so we could learn more about the PEO process and how Oasis could meet our needs. They didn't push for a sale or overemphasize their services.
Oasis' team of experts is structured differently from those of its competitors. Instead of having representatives for each area of the PEO model – risk management, payroll, benefits administration, HR consulting – Oasis provides you with two key people to help you with all areas of your account. You'll work with an HR generalist and a payroll account manager to streamline your PEO services.
Ready to choose a PEO solution? Here's a breakdown of our full coverage:
Best Professional Employer Organizations 2020
A Guide to PEOs and Employee Leasing
Best PEO for Small Businesses
Best PEO for Tailored Industries
Best PEO for Customer Service
Editor's note: Looking for the right PEO service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.