A PEO for a restaurant with 25 employees

What pricing looks like at 25 employees

At 25 employees, small differences in a per-employee fee compound into a material annual amount, and benefit participation can support more meaningful plan comparisons. Normalize percentage pricing to PEPM using actual payroll and compare the plan designs as well as premiums.

Restaurant operations present cut, burn, slip, lifting, and delivery exposures. The carrier should classify table service, fast food, delivery, and any separate catering or entertainment operation from the duties described in the application.

Your leverage

A complete census, loss information, and a documented request for proposal can create useful competition. Ask each finalist to model state unemployment and workers compensation explicitly and to state how benefits renewal notice works.

When a PEO is the wrong answer at this size

If an experienced internal operator already manages HR, benefits, payroll, and compliance, a PEO may duplicate part of that role. Compare the PEO with an ASO or payroll platform while keeping the existing insurance and internal expertise.

Worth pricing when tipped payroll, variable-hour tracking, multi-location administration, or repeated compliance work consumes management time. Restaurant-specific payroll plus a benefits broker and direct insurance may be better when the operator can manage those functions separately.

What a restaurant should ask every PEO

• Tip credit rules differ by state, and federal rules require specific notice, tip-retention, pooling, and overtime treatment when an employer claims the credit.
• Frequent starts and stops increase onboarding and payroll changes, so the proposal should define when a new hire becomes billable and when a terminated employee stops generating fees.
• Scheduling laws (predictive scheduling in some cities) and minor labor rules add compliance surface most operators cannot track.
• ACA hours tracking for variable-hour employees is genuinely hard to do by hand.

Model eligibility, expected enrollment, waivers, employer contribution, and variable-hour measurement on the restaurant’s own census. Ask how the fee treats employees who decline coverage instead of assuming an industry participation rate.

Common questions

How do PEO fees work with high turnover?

Under a per-active-employee model, 30 occupied seats can produce the same monthly administration charge whether the workers are stable or frequently replaced. That is hypothetical fee logic, not a market estimate. Use the proposal's billing rules to model starts, terminations, leave, and inactive employees month by month.

Does a PEO handle tip reporting?

Do not assume it from a hospitality label. Ask the PEO to demonstrate cash and charged tips, tip pools, service charges, overtime, allocated tips, and Form 8027 support in its current payroll system. Then document which filings and state-specific settings are included in the service agreement.

Different team size?