Reno companies launch a PEO

Reno firms Clark and Associates, an insurance broker for small to medium-sized businesses, and Solutions At Work, a human resources, benefits and payroll service provider, are teaming with A Plus Benefits, a professional employer organization based in Lindon, Utah, to launch a professional employer organization.

They’re positioning the PEO as an option for small businesses that are dealing with healthcare reform.

“With the healthcare changes we were looking at different strategies to offer clients to save on healthcare plans and help them be compliant with healthcare in general. It’s difficult and challenging to stay ahead of the curve,” says Valerie Clark, president of Clark and Associates. “One of the things we looked at was starting a PEO. We didn’t want to start one from scratch so now have a joint venture with A Plus Benefits.”

A PEO provides businesses with employee-management services such as payroll and tax compliance, benefits and risk management. The PEO becomes the employer of record for its member companies and can offer better rates on such things as workers compensation and other types of insurance.

A Plus Benefits works with about 700 businesses with a total of 13,000 employees in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

“We have hundreds of clients that have less than 10 employees,” says Jake Lunt, chief executive officer of A Plus Benefits. “We offer them buying power and scale.”

Sarah Sommers, CEO of Solutions at Work, says they’re in the final stages of completing the paperwork on the PEO and are marketing it through mailers, seminars and other events both Reno firms have been conducting on the new health care law.

“There’s been a huge uptick in compliance issues and changes in employment law. Couple that with healthcare reform and there’s a real snowball effect,” says Sommers. “It rounds out what we’re able to do assist businesses.”