Milestone 03
Growing to 10 to 20 employees
This is when spreadsheets stop working and benefits start to matter. It’s also the stage where a PEO most often starts paying for itself.
Your growth path
Each step has a guide
What you need now
- A PEO or HR software. Payroll, onboarding, and compliance in one place instead of five.
- Health benefits. Competitive coverage helps you hire and keep people at this size.
- A retirement plan. Many states now require employers to offer one, and a 401(k) usually satisfies the rule.
- Workers’ comp that scales. Make sure coverage keeps up with headcount.
What can wait
- A full-time HR hire. A PEO or good HR software covers most of the work until you’re closer to 50.
- Custom benefit plan design. Pooled plans are usually the better value at this size.
- Performance management software. Simple, regular check-ins work fine for now.
Coming next: Federal COBRA continuation coverage generally applies once you have 20 or more employees, and many states have their own rules for smaller employers. Hiring in a new state adds its own setup.
Guides and tools for this stage
When does a growing company need a PEO?
Five signs it's time, what it costs, and when it isn't the right fit yet.
Do I need a PEO? Take the 2-minute quiz
Six questions. We'll tell you whether a PEO makes sense yet, or what to look at instead.
Get matched with a provider
Tell us about your company. A person reviews it and suggests one or two providers that fit.
How we get paid. GetAStart is free for you. When a business we introduce signs up with a provider, that provider may pay us a referral fee. It never changes the price you pay.
Not sure where to start?
Answer six quick questions and we’ll tell you whether a PEO makes sense for your company yet, or what to look at instead.