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Unraveling the Distinctions Between Payroll Services, PEOs and ASPs

MarathonHR’s scalable solutions allow you to package payroll, human resources (HR) and benefits administration services according to your needs. Businesses find that they can save time and money by outsourcing some or all their HR needs. Having an outside payroll and HR provider allows them to focus on operations and building their business instead of complex administrative tasks related to HR.

Tailoring an Outsourced HR Solution


Building on our basic payroll processing services, MarathonHR can also serve as:

  • Your Administrative Services Provider (ASP) to handle your benefits and human resources (HR) requirements, or
  • Your Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for a complete outsourced HR program. As your PEO, MarathonHR acts as a co-employer or “Administrative Employer” for your employees.

Our ASP and PEO services are popular arrangements for employers with limited resources to devote to HR and benefits management. The advantage of the PEO relationship is that small- to mid-sized businesses can take advantage of economies of scale and have access to benefits they may not be able to create or afford on their own.

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What Services Do You Really Need?


Some clients only need payroll, while others can benefit from more comprehensive services. MarathonHR’s ASP and PEO services allow you to efficiently bundle what you need, such as payroll with benefits management or HR management with payroll.

Every business must decide the right fit for their organization, whether it’s partial or complete outsourcing of payroll, HR and benefits tasks. The difference between an ASP and a PEO comes down to the level of involvement and support needed

Payroll vs. ASP vs. PEO: a Side-by-Side Comparison


ServiceDescriptionPayrollASPPEO
Payroll ProcessingWeekly or bi-weekly payroll processing, direct deposits Checkbox Image Checkbox Image Checkbox Image
Employee OnboardingNew Hire Reporting and E-Verify Checkbox Image Checkbox Image Checkbox Image
Payroll TaxTimely remittance of payments, Filing required tax reporting, W-2 processing Checkbox Image Checkbox Image Checkbox Image
HR AdministrationNew employee onboarding
Employee handbooks and forms
Open enrollment
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ComplianceCompliance with federal and state employment laws
Representation at Department of Labor unemployment hearings
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Employee Benefit Plan ManagementPlan Design and Management
Employee Enrollment
Invoice Reconciliation
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Employee Benefit PlansParticipation in Master Employee Benefit Plans including: 401(k) plans, medical, dental, vision insurance and others Checkbox Image
Risk ManagementClaims management
OSHA reporting
Counsel on accidents and injuries
Litigation support
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Workers’ Comp InsuranceParticipation in Workers’ Compensation
Insurance Master Policy
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What Works for You?


MarathonHR is flexible in how we structure our service offerings. Our payroll, ASP and PEO services are scalable to fit the employer’s business needs.

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Payroll recordkeeping can be complicated.
For compliance tips, click here.

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