As your business grows, you as an owner can expect a deluge of paperwork, HR and payroll tasks, and a wide variety of compliance and risk-management issues. You can’t expect these problems to get resolved on their own, but you can outsource this work to a PEO service provider, which will professionally and efficiently handle those tasks so you can focus on the work that matters most.

ADP Total Source and TriNet are both excellent options for many businesses, but which PEO service provider is best for your business in particular? You can learn more by reading below.

TriNet Overview

TriNet is a business that since its creation in 1988 has focused on providing an excellent PEO option for clients, growing rapidly and making acquisitions to provide an increasing array of services and benefits. Based in California, TriNet now works with over 15,000 businesses.

Of more recent note, TriNet has been working to improve its technology solutions and to develop new platforms to handle common HR and management problems. Clients can expect a consistent development and commitment to the same service and excellence as its always provided. We would advise you to think of it as a “complete package” PEO provider.

Standout Features:

• Industry-specific service packages that will make sure your business is working with appropriate services and experts.
• Operates equally in all 50 states, making it a great choice for nationwide or remote businesses.
• Only a 30-day notice required to cancel service.
• A wide variety of well-managed benefits on offer.
• Additional perks and benefits such as nationwide chain and software discounts.
• Proactive in receiving accreditation and certifications.

Weaknesses:

• A full service product that comes at a premium cost.
• Less flexible than most PEO service providers
• Potential onboarding difficulties at the start.
• Somewhat limited customer service options.

To learn even more about TriNet, you can read our full review here.

ADP Total Source Overview

ADP Total Source, the PEO service of human resources and data processing company ADP, is a massive organization, with ADP providing services to over 700,000 businesses in more than 113 countries. Due to this, ADP can provide the very best services available and is an extraordinarily stable business with a lot of weight to throw around.

This comes in the form of a wide variety of options for clients, each of them still maintaining a standard of excellence. You should note that while ADP is known to work with high-value clients, you and your business can nonetheless expect a high level of treatment from their professionals and representatives.

Standout Features:

• A fantastic and proven payroll management system.
• Highly scalable services and an excellent choice for growing companies of any size.
• A full set of compliance and safety support options, including onsite training.
• An extremely large service with a lot of resources, preventing potential disruptions of service.
• Excellent data processing and analysis options for your business.
• Excellent customer service as noted by clients and previous clients.

Weaknesses:

• A minimum salary total is required to work with ADP Total Source.
• The variety of options and sub options can potentially be a lot to take in. This can result in sub-optimal setups or missing potentially beneficial courses of action.
• Online platforms used have been noted to have bugs and design flaws, hindering the client experience.
• Regional variations that can dramatically affect the services offered, included group health insurance options.

To learn even more about ADP Total Source, you can read our full review here.

Major Differences

TriNet is an amazing choice for businesses looking for industry-specific services or options, and those in heavily regulated businesses will find shelter from the storm in TriNet. That being said, it’s a far less flexible option than ADP Total Source and requires signing up for the full suite of services. It also happens to be more uniform across the country, making it a better option for a good number of businesses.

ADP Total Source is the clear winner when it comes to size, capability, and range of services, but it might simply be too much for some smaller businesses and its uneven services across the country make it a poor choice for remote businesses and businesses that might be heavily affected by those regional variations, especially when compared to the much more uniform TriNet. ADP clients can also expect better data processing services and customer service (as a general rule).

Recommendations

Your business will have a unique outlook and unique needs, so you’ll want to make sure that you pick a service that is right for you. We can’t pick an overall better service for all business, so instead we ask that you review the points below and use them as a guide:

Your business should work with TriNet if:

• Your business is fully or partially remote or you worry about ADP Total Source’s regional variations.
• You would like to have an industry-specific package.
• You would like to work with the smaller and easier to understand company.
• Your business could use the full suite of services TriNet offers.

Your business should work with ADP Total Source if:

• You want the larger range of services.
• Your business could use better data analysis and collection options.
• You are looking for excellent customer service.
• Your business can work with the regional variations.

Conclusion

While both services will fit most businesses just fine, it will be up to you to make the ultimate decision for your business. Regardless of your choice, we hope that the information above made the process easier and that your business continues to succeed in the future.

Do you have any relationship to either of the above services? What are your thoughts on them? Please leave a comment below if you would like to join the conversation.