Table of Contents
showSpending too much on recruitment, payroll or global HR?
We help you find the Best Providers at the lowest cost.
Our verdict
BBSI focuses on providing personalized Professional Employer Organization (PEO) services to franchise owners and to the construction, restaurant, hospitality, landscaping, manufacturing, restoration, towing, and trucking industries. It maintains offices with local experts in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.
Pros
- Industry-specific services provide tailored coverage
- Locations throughout the US
Cons
- Currently does not have branch offices in all 50 states
- Does not publicly list prices
Visit BBSI
How is this calculated?
We calculate the Overall Rating by combining the ratings of several testing categories.
Learn more by reading our testing and review methodology.
US only
Not publicly available
Direct deposit, payroll debit card, check
BBSI is a top domestic US Professional Employer Organization (PEO). Client businesses hire PEOs in order to outsource or help streamline non-revenue generating business operations like HR and payroll and to onboard and assume partial liability for new employees.
Most businesses working with PEOs save money and grow faster than businesses that do not (for more information see our article on the costs and savings generated by PEO arrangements).
Some national PEOs offer a one-size-fits-all service, while others, like BBSI, focus on providing the best services possible that cater to a specific set of client needs.
Join us as we delve into BBSI and its unique services, and decide for yourself whether this is the best PEO solution for you and your business.
Overview
BBSI is a national PEO focused on administering talent for the construction, restaurant, hospitality, landscaping, manufacturing, restoration, towing, and trucking industries, as well as franchised businesses. It operates in all 50 states, with local offices in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.
BBSI prides itself on providing human-centric, in-depth consulting services, fostering face-to-face client relationships through regional experts based out of their many local offices. Each client is assigned a local Business Unit, consisting of a Payroll Consultant, HR Consultant, Risk Manager, and Business Partner.
Key Features
1. PEO
Clients are free to recruit new hires on their own or use BBSI’s recruiting services if they are based within the group’s coverage area. At the start of the PEO contract, the Business unit works with clients to convert staff that owners wish to move to PEO co-employment. They also analyze the business’s needs, goals, strengths, and weaknesses, and recommend a hiring strategy best suited to its particular needs. The BBSI team and myBBSI platform help oversee onboarding and notify clients when new employees are fully compliant and ready to work.
BBSI offers flexible health and benefits packages from national providers. Plans include group medical coverage, dental, vision, life insurance, disability insurance, employee assistance programs, FSA and HSA, and supplemental plans for injury and illness.
The service offers a multiple-employer 401(k) plan as well. This plan takes advantage of economies of scale, to bring small businesses retirement packages that would normally only be available for larger corporations. All compliance, record keeping, and administration of the plan is handled by BBSI.
How does BBSI create customized and competitive benefits packages for its clients?
2. Payroll
BBSI provides a combination of consulting, technological, and PEO solutions to help businesses streamline their payroll processes and ensure accuracy. It provides a payroll processing portal through its proprietary platform, myBBSI, which simplifies payments and calculations. Each client is also assigned a Payroll Consultant who looks at the business’s existing processes and guides them through changes to increase efficiency and eliminate human error.
The Payroll Consultant also analyzes company profitability, taking into account taxes, workers’ compensation, benefits, and other factors. If there are any issues draining resources or reducing profitability, they work with business owners to find and implement solutions.
3. HR
BBSI assigns an HR Consultant to each client. At the start of the PEO relationship, the consultant performs a competitive analysis of the company, and interviews business owners to discover their long-term goals. Once they understand the basic positioning of the business within the market and where the owners want to take the business, the Consultant works with management and employees to build the capabilities the team needs to achieve their goals.
The HR Consultant helps develop leadership training and works on refining company culture to attract the best talent. The HR Consultant can help update company training manuals, and consult with management on regulatory compliance. BBSI also provides a number of templates to help standardize and streamline training and development of company culture.
4. Compliance
In addition to the regulatory compliance consultation provided by the HR Consultant and Payroll Consultant, BBSI provides a Risk Manager to mitigate safety hazards and risk exposure. The Risk Manager evaluates the company’s existing safety protocols and risk exposure at the beginning of the PEO contract and creates a risk mitigation roadmap to help the company move forward with greater compliance and less exposure.
5. Platform
The myBBSI platform is a proprietary platform accessible from a computer, phone, or tablet. It features a set of payroll processing tools including time clock integrations, pay stub access, batch payroll, and calendar tools. HR administration tools include time off requests, performance evaluations, new employee onboarding, and benefits management. It also provides auto-generated reports and customizable reporting dashboards for viewing analytic data.
BBSI also provides a number of training modules, built into the employee and management platforms. These include over 100 HR Compliance courses for both employees and managers, 100 risk management and safety courses, 200 leadership courses for management, and 200 professional skills courses covering customer service, sales, and project management.
Pricing
Pricing information is only available by requesting a quote directly from BBSI.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Benefits of choosing BBSI as your PEO include:
- Industry-specific services for construction, restaurant, hospitality, landscaping, manufacturing, restoration, towing, and trucking industries, and franchise owners.
- Extensive coverage on the West Coast, and significant coverage in the Western States and Central East Coast.
- BBSI provides a dedicated team of professional consultants to streamline business processes, achieve goals, and maintain compliance.
Cons
- Though they are a legal employer in all 50 states, they do not have branch offices in every region. Businesses based in areas where there is no branch office will have less access to in-person consultation and recruitment services.
- Industry support does not include remote working professionals.
- No full outsourcing option for businesses that wish to hand over all payroll and HR functions.
Unique Selling Point
BBSI stands out in the national PEO market by pairing each client with a Business Partner. The Business Partner goes beyond HR strategy and looks in depth at the health of the overall business, the goals of the owners, and the difficulties they may face in achieving them.
Following employee conversion and onboarding into the BBSI system, the Business Partner performs an action plan addressing risks and gaps in the organization. Throughout the relationship, they work with owners to implement processes aimed at addressing these issues and achieving the business’s goals. The growth plan is consistently reviewed and modified as goals change. This service makes BBSI much more than a workforce provider or an HR consultant; they serve as an active consulting partner working to grow the business and overcome obstacles.
This attention to customized client service is the reason RemotePad ranked BBSI best PEO for value-added services.
RemotePad Score for BBSI
8.6/10 Our expert score for BBSI
Our team came to this score by considering the following components in the following weightings:
| PEO features | 25% |
| Payroll features | 10% |
| HR features | 10% |
| Compliance features | 10% |
| Platform features | 10% |
| Pricing | 20% |
| User reviews | 15% |
For each component, BBSI received the following score:
| PEO features | 21/25 |
| Payroll features | 7/10 |
| HR features | 10/10 |
| Compliance features | 9/10 |
| Platform features | 10/10 |
| Pricing | 18/20 |
| User and employee reviews | 11/15 |
Top alternatives (competitors)
Our verdict
Owners of Construction, restaurant, hospitality, landscaping, manufacturing, restoration, towing, and trucking, franchise business based on the West Coast may find an ideal growth partner with BBSI.
Coverage is less extensive outside of the West Coast, but there are regional offices in select cities in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. For any business operating within its coverage area and in its supported industries, BBSI is worth a look.
BBSI focuses more on strengthening, streamlining, and generally improving a business’s internal processes than they do on taking over non-revenue generating functions. For businesses looking for a growth partner who will work with them one-on-one to achieve their specific goals, this service will be a perfect match. For those looking to outsource payroll or HR completely, or simply recruit and compliantly hire a few remote knowledge workers, the service may not be for them.
FAQ
BBSI was established in 1951, and became a staffing company in 1972. As a PEO and consultant it currently serves over 7,200 clients. BBSI is publicly traded as NASDAQ:BBSI.
The BBSI Business Unit Teams help small businesses to develop their short and long-term goals, and create accurate financial forecasts that serve as roadmaps to help achieve those goals.
In 2022, BBSI recorded revenue of $1.05 Billion and net income of $47.3 Million, or $6.54 per Diluted Share. This represented a 10 percent increase in revenue and a 20+ percent increase in net income on the year before.
