Comploy is a Colorado-based provider that sells both PEO co-employment and ASO administration to small employers, operating as Vertical Insurance Group LLC dba Comploy. Its positioning is narrow on purpose: child care, construction, cannabis, hospitality and retail, roughly five to 150 employees with a sweet spot nearer ten to 75. Alongside the PEO sits an in-house commercial insurance agency, so payroll, benefits, workers' compensation and the commercial lines come from one local firm.
Companies start shopping alternatives for a short list of reasons. The renewal moved more than payroll did. The business grew past the band where a small regional PEO's master medical leverage holds up. A lender or an acquirer asked whether the provider is on the IRS CPEO list and the answer was no. One Colorado location became employees in four states.
We are an independent PEO brokerage with 28 providers on our panel, paid by the PEO a client selects rather than by the client, and plenty of our work ends with a client staying put on better terms. What follows is an even-handed look at the providers most often shortlisted against Comploy.
Quick comparison at a glance
| Provider | Best fit for | Pricing posture | Service model | Strength | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comploy | Colorado small employers in child care, trades, cannabis, retail | Quote-only, PEPM or percentage of payroll | Local in-house team, PEO or ASO | PEO, ASO and commercial insurance in one firm | No CPEO or ESAC; scale not disclosed |
| Avitus Group | Rocky Mountain firms with no back office | Quote-only, monthly or per project | Bundled, a la carte or combined | Accounting, recruiting and IT in one agreement | No CPEO or ESAC; PEO is one of several lines |
| Helpside | Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming employers, 20 to 150 staff | Quote-only, PEPM or percentage of payroll | Named local service teams | Six plan options, 800-plus clients | No CPEO or ESAC; concentrated footprint |
| INFINITI HR | Franchise and multi-unit employers, one to 500 staff | PEPM or percentage of wages | Several systems; PEO, ASO, EOR | CPEO since 2018; writes higher-risk and tiny accounts | Absent from the ESAC directory despite its marketing |
| BBSI | Higher-hazard employers where comp drives the deal | Custom rate built on risk and experience mod | Local branch team | Public disclosure, ESAC accredited, comp depth | No CPEO; California was about 72% of 2025 revenues |
| Vensure | Blue-collar and multi-state SMBs, 10 to 500 staff | PEPM or percentage of payroll | Varies by acquired brand | CPEO and ESAC, national scale, verticals | Roll-up of 100-plus brands, uneven service |
Avitus Group
Avitus Group is the closest philosophical match to Comploy on our panel. Founded in Billings, Montana in 1996 and independently held since, it makes the same pitch: buy more than payroll from one regional firm. Where Comploy adds commercial insurance, Avitus adds accounting, tax preparation, recruiting, branding and managed IT.
It wins on back-office breadth and geography. For an owner with no controller and no recruiter, handing payroll, books and hiring to one firm is worth real money, and offices in Billings, San Ramon and San Diego reach further than a single-state provider.
It loses on focus and credentials. That breadth means the PEO line is one of several priorities, and buyers who want a sharp technology stack land elsewhere. Avitus sits where Comploy sits: not on the IRS CPEO list, not ESAC accredited, publishing no staff, client or worksite employee counts. Treat a move as lateral on benefits. See the Avitus Group comparison.
Helpside
Helpside is a family-owned Intermountain West PEO founded in 1990, known as A Plus Benefits until its December 2017 rebrand and merged with High Road PEO in October 2025. It is headquartered in Lindon, Utah, with offices in Phoenix, Meridian, Overland Park and St. Louis, and by its own count serves more than 800 clients.
It wins on service depth and benefits shelf. Local named service teams rather than a national call center is its stated differentiator, and the master medical program carries six plan options, four PPO and two HDHP, plus dental, vision and a 401(k), hard to beat regionally.
It loses on industry appetite, geography and credentials. Its published industries run to construction, healthcare, legal, senior living, professional services and education, a more conventional book than Comploy's mix. The footprint concentrates in Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Wyoming, and Helpside is neither on the IRS CPEO list nor ESAC accredited, so a move here buys service, not certification. See the Helpside comparison.
INFINITI HR
INFINITI HR is a Maryland-based national PEO founded in 2008, founder-led, with about 100 corporate staff and a business built around franchise and multi-unit employers. It has been on the IRS CPEO list continuously since October 2018, and it offers EOR and ASO alongside the PEO, priced as PEPM or a percentage of wages.
It wins on the combination most buyers assume they cannot have: certification plus risk appetite. Plenty of CPEOs decline hospitality, construction and skilled trades. INFINITI HR writes them, down to a single W-2 employee, and the franchise practice is genuine, including a franchise division office in Scottsdale.
It loses on platform and on the credential picture behind that listing. Payroll, time and benefits run across separate systems, and reporting is thin next to mid-market PEOs. ESAC accreditation appears in its own boilerplate but INFINITI HR is not in ESAC's directory, so ask for a current certificate. Where it separates from Comploy is tax treatment: a mid-year move into a CPEO avoids the federal wage base restart. Compare them on INFINITI HR.
BBSI (Barrett Business Services)
BBSI is the one to quote when workers' compensation is the hard part of the deal rather than a line item. It is publicly traded on NASDAQ, headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, and averaged 138,218 worksite employees across more than 8,200 PEO clients in 2025, run through 45 branches in 15 states.
It wins on risk capability and transparency. BBSI self-insures workers' compensation in Colorado, Maryland, Ohio and Oregon and runs a captive insurer for Arizona and Utah, and the Colorado self-insurance makes it directly relevant here. It is ESAC accredited and SOC 1 certified, and because it is public you can read the 10-K rather than take a private provider's word on its solvency.
It loses on certification, geography and software. BBSI is not on the IRS CPEO list, so a buyer screening on certification alone rules out BBSI and Comploy on the same test. California produced roughly 72% of 2025 revenues, so the branch bench thins as a footprint moves east, and technology is functional rather than leading. Rates are built on risk and experience modification, not a standard tier. Bring your loss runs to the BBSI comparison.
Vensure Employer Solutions
Vensure is the national scale option. Founded in 2004, backed by Stone Point Capital and assembled through more than 100 acquisitions, it carries roughly 526,000 worksite employees. It is both a CPEO and ESAC accredited, and unlike most providers here it publishes a typical cost band of $130 to $220 per employee per month.
It wins on breadth. The verticals inherited from acquired brands run deep in construction, staffing, restaurants, manufacturing and healthcare, so Vensure writes industries other PEOs decline, the argument Comploy makes but backed by a national bench. Scale also produces real benefits buying power, which makes a step-up plausible rather than wishful.
It loses exactly where a roll-up would. The service experience varies by which legacy brand delivers the account, and a client who chose Comploy because a local team answers the phone is buying the opposite model, so ask early which entity services you. On credentials it is the cleanest upgrade here: CPEO status transfers federal employment tax liability and ESAC adds bonded assurance. Start with Vensure.
Not sure which of these fits your headcount and state? Get a free side-by-side of the PEOs that fit your company →
Other PEOs worth considering
Stratus HR
Founder-owned, Utah-based, operating since 1999 and licensed in all 50 states from a single base. It competes on a named-consultant model backed by CPA, CPP, SPHR and SHRM-certified staff and publishes a 99% client retention rate. Like Comploy it is neither CPEO certified nor ESAC accredited, so it is a service play rather than a credentials play.
FrankCrum
Family-owned since 1981, Clearwater, Florida, with more than 90,000 worksite employees across 4,800-plus clients. It owns its workers' compensation carrier, so comp is underwritten in house with pay-as-you-go premiums, which suits construction and trades. The footprint is weighted to Florida and the Southeast, and it carries neither credential.
When you should NOT switch from Comploy
Leaving is right only when the math is clearly better and the disruption is justified. Several situations argue for staying.
You are mid-contract. Comploy's agreements are typically annual, and the notice and exit terms live in the Client Services Agreement, not the sales summary. Read the termination section first, because breaking a term early usually means fees that eat the savings.
You are mid-plan-year. A mid-year switch means a W-2 split for every employee, two sets of tax filings, a 401(k) blackout during plan transfer, mid-year benefits re-enrollment and a COBRA handoff, and it restarts the federal wage base when the new provider is not a CPEO. If renewal is more than four months out, wait for it.
Your SUTA position is favorable. Your state unemployment rate today may be better or worse than what you would carry on your own or under another provider's account, so model it rather than assume the move is neutral.
Your industry, or your insurance, is the reason you are here. If Comploy writes your cannabis, child care or construction risk and the nationals will not, a better admin fee elsewhere is theoretical. Ask which policies sit on the PEO agreement and which are separate agency placements before you give notice.
Alternatives to Comploy without co-employment
Some of the people searching for Comploy alternatives do not want another PEO. They want out of co-employment itself: the PEO as employer of record on the W-2, the master health plan, the shared workers' compensation policy. There are three options, and they trade money for control in different places.
ASO (administrative services only). The same payroll, HR and compliance administration, but you stay the employer of record and buy benefits and comp in your own name. Comploy already sells an ASO tier, so a client can step down without changing vendors. You keep your plans and carriers and give up the pooled pricing that is usually the largest line in a PEO's favor. For groups under 50 employees in states with expensive small-group medical, ASO often costs more in total even though the admin fee looks lower.
Payroll and HR software plus a benefits broker. Gusto for payroll and HR, with a broker placing medical, dental and comp. Cheapest in software cost, most work for you, and benefits priced on your own group, which is fine for a healthy census and painful for a small or older one.
Employer of record for the out-of-state minority. If co-employment exists only because of a few employees in states where you have no entity, an EOR for those people plus normal payroll for everyone else can replace the PEO. It gets expensive per head quickly.
How to decide: put the PEO renewal, an ASO quote and a payroll-plus-broker quote on one page, total annual cost including benefits and comp, not admin fees. If the non-PEO total is within a few percent, the control is usually worth it. If the gap is 10% or more, pooled pricing is doing real work and the better move is a different PEO.
What to compare line-by-line
Most comparisons fall apart because companies compare the headline PEPM and skip the rest. Here is what belongs on the spreadsheet.
- Admin fee structure. PEPM versus percentage of payroll. Percentage fees grow with raises and bonuses; PEPM does not.
- Master health plan versus carve-out. Carve-outs preserve plan design and lose pooled pricing leverage.
- Workers' compensation master policy versus your own. A master policy bundles you into the provider's experience modifier; your own preserves your mod but costs more administratively.
- CPEO status. IRS recognition and federal employment tax certainty, and different mid-year wage base treatment.
- ESAC accreditation. Independent financial assurance. Ask for the certificate, not the marketing copy.
- Industry and class code appetite. Get a written yes or no before you spend time on a quote.
- Technology stack. Self-service, reporting, integration with your accounting and time systems. Demo it with real data.
- Dedicated service versus ticketing. Named team or a case number? Both work, at different prices.
- Exit terms. Notice period, termination fees, data return, COBRA handoff.
- Renewal cap language. A cap on year-over-year increases is rare; providers who offer one are telling you something.
- SUTA spread. The provider's state unemployment rates versus your own.
Want to know what your current arrangement really costs before you shop? Request a current-PEO audit.
How to do the comparison without burning months
The standard process takes 60 to 90 days, runs five sales cycles in parallel and ends with a spreadsheet nobody trusts. Start instead by getting clear on what you need versus what Comploy delivers today. BBSI's branch model is beside the point if your comp risk is light, and a national roll-up is the wrong conversation if the local relationship is why you are in a PEO.
Then pull the data alternatives need: full census with compensation, state and class code, benefits enrollment and renewal history, comp loss runs and experience modification, retirement plan details, and your current invoice with the full fee breakdown. Compare apples to apples, or the math is rigged before you start. Our guide to switching PEOs and the best PEOs rundown cover the rest.
Skip the five-vendor sales gauntlet. Start with a 10-minute questionnaire and we will build the side-by-side around your census, your class codes and your states.
What switching actually takes: the implementation timeline
The disruption is easy to underestimate, so plan for it. For most small and mid-sized businesses, implementation runs about four to eight weeks from a signed agreement to the first PEO-processed paycheck; employers with more locations and carriers take longer. A signed Client Services Agreement opens a benefits enrollment window of roughly two to four weeks, then payroll cutover, then the first paycheck.
The work divides cleanly, and it is worth confirming that division in writing. The incoming provider handles state registrations, tax setup and enrollment communications; you provide the employee data, the carrier elections and the cutover decisions. Where a hard-to-place risk class is involved, add time for underwriting.
Timing decides how smooth it feels. A switch aligned to the plan year is the clean case. A mid-year switch adds complexity, mainly because of W-2 reporting: every employee ends up with one W-2 from the outgoing provider and a second from the incoming one.
FAQ
Who are the best alternatives to Comploy?
For a Colorado or Mountain West small employer, the usual shortlist is Avitus Group, Helpside, INFINITI HR, BBSI and Vensure. The first two are the closest regional peers, INFINITI HR and Vensure are the certified options that still write higher-risk classes, and BBSI is the one to quote when workers' compensation drives the decision.
Does it matter that Comploy is not a CPEO or ESAC accredited?
It depends on who is asking. CPEO is the IRS certification that shifts federal employment tax liability to the PEO and removes the wage base restart on a mid-year join; ESAC accreditation adds bonded financial assurance. Comploy carries neither, and neither do Avitus Group or Helpside. Owner-operated small businesses rarely raise it; auditors, lenders and acquirers sometimes do. Of the alternatives here, INFINITI HR is a CPEO, Vensure carries both, and BBSI is ESAC accredited.
Will another PEO write my cannabis or construction payroll?
Some will and many will not, so confirm appetite before you invest time in a quote. INFINITI HR writes hospitality, construction and other higher-risk classes, Vensure inherited construction and restaurant verticals, and BBSI is built around higher-hazard comp. Ask in writing whether your class codes are quotable.
Will my benefits get worse if I leave Comploy?
Not necessarily, but design for it. Comploy is small, so its master medical leverage is limited next to a national pool, and a larger provider can widen plan choice and move the renewal math either way. Another regional PEO of similar size is usually lateral. Compare plan grids and renewal history, not brochures.
How long does it take to switch to a new PEO?
For most small and mid-sized businesses, implementation runs about four to eight weeks from a signed agreement to the first PEO-processed paycheck; employers with more locations and carriers take longer. The path is a signed Client Services Agreement, a benefits enrollment window of roughly two to four weeks, payroll cutover, then the first PEO-processed paycheck. The incoming PEO handles state registrations, tax setup and benefits enrollment communications; you provide the employee data, the carrier elections and the cutover decisions. Mid-year switches add complexity, mainly because of W-2 reporting, so the cleanest transitions are timed to the plan year.
What hidden costs should I watch for in a PEO agreement?
The ones most often missed are one-time implementation or setup fees, payroll-related charges (off-cycle runs, manual checks, amended filings, custom reports), minimum monthly fees, termination and early-exit penalties, year-end processing fees, HR project fees, state registration fees, and benefits administration charges. Renewal increases are the biggest one: attractive first-year pricing can climb at renewal, so ask in writing how renewals are handled. Request a full fee schedule and a sample invoice before signing, and ask the provider to identify every charge that could apply to your company.
The practical takeaway
Comploy does something most of the market will not: it bundles PEO, ASO and commercial insurance for Colorado small employers in industries national PEOs decline, and for a cannabis, child care or construction operator that can be worth more than a better admin fee. The tradeoff is credentials and scale: no CPEO certification, no ESAC accreditation, no published figures on staffing or worksite employees. Decide which matters more, get two or three comparable quotes rather than five sales decks, read the exit terms first, and time the move to the plan year.
If you would rather have the comparison done for you: tell us about your company and an advisor comes back with the two or three PEOs worth quoting, at no cost to you.