PEO in North Dakota [2024]

Companies can use a professional employer organization (PEO) to delegate some of their most time-consuming HR duties. By co-employing a workforce, the PEO assumes responsibility for administrative tasks like running payroll, managing compliance with employment laws, and registering employees for taxes. PEO providers can also help small and medium-sized businesses access benefits packages that are otherwise only available to big companies. 

If you lead a small business in North Dakota—or employ remote workers in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, or elsewhere in the state—joining a PEO can save your company time on cumbersome busy work and money on robust benefits packages.

This guide will help you gauge the best PEO options for your company’s HR needs, including what a PEO does, the benefits of using one, and which features to look for. Rippling PEO, for instance, makes it easy to hire, onboard, and manage your North Dakota-based workforce by automatically registering employees for taxes, distributing laptops to new remote workers, and much more.

Benefits of using a PEO in North Dakota

Businesses with a footprint in North Dakota have a lot to gain by partnering with a PEO. Here’s a look at the biggest perks.

Offload administrative HR work

PEOs co-employ your workforce, meaning your company and the third-party PEO divvy up employee-related responsibilities. Your company remains the worksite employer with full authority over personnel decisions, salaries, and anything related to core business operations. 

The PEO, in turn, becomes your trusted administrative employer—responsible for payroll, tax registration, benefits administration, compliance, and other HR tasks on your behalf by hiring your workers using their employer identification number (EIN). In North Dakota, PEO responsibilities are specified in the Century Code, and PEOs are regulated by the Secretary of State’s office. 

Outsourcing your administrative burden to a PEO takes time-consuming paperwork off your plate, allowing HR teams to focus on strategic projects. If you’re looking to scale, PEO clients have up to 9% faster growth rates than average small businesses, according to the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO). 

Better employee benefits, at a lower price

PEOs co-employ 4.5 million workers across 200,000 businesses, according to the NAPEO. The collective workforce creates economies of scale, allowing PEO providers to bargain for more affordable benefits packages with third-party vendors. They also help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) access benefits that are typically only available to large companies, like:

• Health insurance (including mental health, dental, and vision coverage)
• Disability
• Retirement
• Meal stipends
• Commuter stipends

Worry-free compliance with North Dakota laws

It’s crucial to comply with any local, state, or federal laws that apply to your employees. Keeping track of all the constant changes and subtle differences gets tricky, especially if you employ a distributed workforce—since North Dakota state employment laws won’t perfectly mirror those in other states. 

A PEO can ensure compliance with varying laws, relieving your HR team of the headaches that come from combing through every regulation wherever you hire. For example, they can help you keep track of minimum wage fluctuations. While North Dakota and Iowa both have a wage floor pegged to the federal minimum, other nearby states like South Dakota and Missouri have higher state-mandated regulations. Rippling PEO automatically flags compliance issues like wage violations wherever your employees live. 

PEOs also offer reliable compliance support for:

• Payroll. Correctly classify your workers and register and file for North Dakota’s payroll taxes, making the right withholdings on deadline. 
• Benefits. Stay on top of federal healthcare requirements for the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, FSA, and HSA, along with the state unemployment provisions Job Service North Dakota manages. 
• Employment laws. Provide workers’ compensation coverage, follow Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) requirements, and display state-mandated labor posters.

Compliance is essential for protecting employees, and penalties for violations can be steep. Misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor, for instance, can incur millions in fines and leave employers on the hook for retroactively administering benefits. And according to the IRS, 40% of small businesses pay payroll penalties annually. PEOs can help you avoid any costly mishaps.

Dedicated support team

PEOs have encyclopedic knowledge of all things human resources—even for employees located in smaller North Dakota towns like Dickinson, Jamestown, Mandan, Williston, Minot, or Valley City. If you’re looking for guidance on tax paperwork, insurance claims, Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) guidelines, or any other administrative HR question, you can lean on a PEO’s expertise.

What to consider when evaluating a PEO service in North Dakota

Which PEO option works best for your company? Here are the main things to consider. 

• Your HR needs: Think about the current size of your workforce and your future growth plans. Then take stock of any HR functions your company could use a hand with, including:
• Payroll processing
• Tax registration and filing
• Compliance and risk management
• Benefits administration
• Recruiting and onboarding
• Time and attendance tracking
• Your budget: PEOs usually charge a monthly fee per employee or a fee equal to a certain percentage of your payroll. Because of this, your subscription may get pricier as your headcount grows. 
• Experience and reputation: Which providers do your network of HR professionals swear by? Beyond word of mouth, check out review sites like G2 and Capterra to see if a PEO company's clients like the service. 
• Benefits: Figure out which specific benefits packages the PEO can help you access, the price ranges, and whether they suit your workforce. 
• Benefits renewal rates: PEO providers may offer an affordable initial rate only to hike their price up annually, leaving companies scrambling to find a more cost-effective option after only a year. Look for companies that are transparent about how renewal rates will change over time, and watch out for steep rate increases. 
• Integrations: PEOs can be more efficient if they sync with collaboration tools and systems you already use. Look for options that integrate with your tech stack and help you make the most of your employee data. 
• Does the PEO specialize in certain industries? Some PEOs are tailored to specific industries, like staffing or construction. Research whether your industry uses a specialized PEO option.
• Does the PEO specialize in certain legal or compliance issues? See which PEO options meet specific legal needs your company has. In North Dakota, you also want to ensure a provider complies with PEO statutes in the state’s Century Code. 
• Your exit strategy: Companies who initially join a PEO may want to sever ties and bring benefits in-house once they reach a certain size. Some providers make this a pain, offering no way to preserve your employee data or HR accounts. Look out for PEO providers who make it easy to move off their service once you’re ready. 

Why Rippling PEO is the right choice for your North Dakota business

Rippling PEO is the first PEO to combine HR, IT, and Finance into a single, easy-to-use software platform. Now, you can automate all that cumbersome busy work, onboard new hires in 90 seconds, immediately configure and ship their new laptops, and more. 

And you can stop fretting over compliance slip-ups. We register state and local tax accounts, automatically flag wage and overtime violations, and help you access Fortune 500-quality benefits at affordable costs. 

With Rippling, you get:

• An HR, IT, and Finance solution—all in one cohesive platform
• Customizable reporting on employee data
• Tools for managing remote teams, including state and local tax registration, remote I-9 verification, and seamless app provisioning
• Access to premier benefits packages with below-average renewal rates
• Compliance monitoring, with automated notices of infractions and recommendations for how to fix them
• Trusted expertise handling workers’ compensation claims, ACA and COBRA administration, digital labor law poster distribution, and updates to tax rates
• Full access to hundreds of HR resources, guides, and templates—like an employee handbook builder and salary comparison tool 

With Rippling, you can also transition away from the PEO with ease, keeping all your systems intact by moving to our workforce management platform and holding on to your employee data, payroll information, and logins—instead of starting from scratch.

FAQs about PEOs in North Dakota

What is a PEO, and how does it work?

Not to be confused with a type of philanthropic organization, a PEO is an entity that partners with a workforce to share HR responsibilities. PEOs co-employ your workforce and gain legal authority over administrative functions like processing payroll, registering tax accounts, providing access to benefits, and managing compliance with federal, state, and local guidelines. The company retains authority over core business processes and any strategic decisions. 

What is a Certified PEO?

A Certified PEO (CPEO) satisfies IRS criteria concerning its background, expertise, finances, and reporting. Certification isn’t mandatory and doesn’t mean the IRS recommends the PEO. 

What size company can benefit from a PEO?

SMEs typically get the most out of a PEO’s offerings. While companies of any size can join a PEO, it’s often more cost-effective for larger enterprises to bring benefits in-house. 

How will I be charged for North Dakota PEO services?

PEO providers typically charge monthly fees per employee or a percentage of payroll. 

Are PEOs regulated?

Yes. PEOs are subject to both federal and state regulations, like the North Dakota Century Code. They may seek additional industry-specific accreditations. 

Are PEOs in North Dakota required to have special certifications or licenses?

Yes. PEOs in North Dakota must meet state licensing requirements. All PEOs in the state need to register with the Secretary of State’s office to obtain a license. The provider has to pay $1,000 for an initial license and $500 for license renewals every year. Failure to comply with PEO guidelines set forth by the North Dakota Century Code can result in restitution penalties of up to $5,000. 

How can I learn more about PEOs in North Dakota?

In lieu of one state chapter, the NAPEO has a Heartlands Leadership Council where you can learn more about PEO services in North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Wyoming. 

What happens if I want to terminate my relationship with a PEO?

Moving off a PEO can be a hassle since you typically have to ditch existing systems. With Rippling PEO, however, you can transition into an employee management platform that keeps all your tried-and-true data in the same accounts.

In what states is Rippling PEO available?

Rippling PEO is available nationwide.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.