Questco is the Texas mid-market PEO we put beside G&A Partners for Houston, DFW, Austin and San Antonio businesses of 10 to 250 employees: independent, based in The Woodlands, CPEO certified, with local relationships that are real and pricing that is competitive for the tier. The gap to flag is ESAC: Questco holds CPEO certification but not ESAC accreditation, which matters to a compliance-sensitive buyer whose CFO or auditor asks about it.
We've placed clients with Questco across multiple industries and headcounts. The assessment below reflects what actually happens in real engagements, not what the Questco sales deck says happens, not what the affiliate review sites report based on commission spreads, and not what aggregated G2 stars suggest.
Questco was founded in 1989 and is privately held and independent, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. It does not publicly disclose its staff count or its worksite employee count, so we cannot rank it by scale; it positions itself as a Texas-based mid-market PEO and a peer to G&A Partners, serving 10 to 250 employee companies across Houston, DFW, Austin and San Antonio and the wider Sun Belt.
Its reputation is local and it is earned locally. Questco has been recognized by the Houston Business Journal as one of its Best Places to Work, and its Texas relationships are the kind a regional PEO builds over decades: referral networks, local carriers and class codes it knows well. For a Texas employer that wants a PEO whose people are in the same market, that is the case for Questco.
Questco holds IRS CPEO certification, which transfers federal employment tax liability to the PEO and carries the wage base over on a mid-year start. It does not hold ESAC accreditation, the industry's bonded financial assurance program, which its peers G&A Partners and others in Texas do carry. That is the one credential gap and we flag it on every Questco comparison.
Questco quotes per client as a PEPM fee and does not publish a rate. The inputs are the usual ones: headcount, states, workers' compensation class codes and the benefits census. We describe its mid-market pricing as decent, and in our comparisons Questco typically comes in competitively against G&A Partners and the national PEOs for a Texas company of 20 to 100 employees.
Because Questco's industries include construction, healthcare, manufacturing and energy as well as professional services, the workers' compensation line is often where a Questco comparison is decided. Ask for class-by-class rates on your own payroll, and compare the medical rate table plan by plan; Questco's benefits are rated average for the tier, so the medical line is where a larger PEO may pull ahead.
Contracts are annual. Confirm notice and exit terms before signing, and if ESAC is a question anyone on your side will ask, ask Questco directly how it provides financial assurance in its absence and get the answer in writing. When you compare the proposal to G&A's or a national PEO's, keep three layers apart. Wages and employer payroll taxes are pass-through and belong in no comparison of savings. Medical and workers' comp premiums are where the scale difference between a regional and a national PEO shows. The administrative fee is the only line that is Questco's own price.
Questco has been in Texas since 1989 and is based in The Woodlands, and its relationships in Houston, DFW, Austin and San Antonio are real. For an employer that wants a PEO whose team knows the local market, carriers and class codes, that is the primary case.
Questco typically prices to win the Texas mid-market company, and in our comparisons it is competitive against G&A Partners and the nationals for 10 to 250 employee companies. It is a credible alternative on price, not only on locality.
The Houston Business Journal Best Places to Work recognition is a signal about the service organization itself: a PEO that retains its own people tends to retain the people on your account. We rate Questco's service at the upper end for the tier.
IRS certification means federal employment tax liability moves to Questco and the wage base carries over on a mid-year start, which is the credential most buyers ask about first.
We frame these as considerations rather than negatives because most are real trade-offs rather than disqualifying flaws, but they are things we make sure clients understand before signing.
Questco holds CPEO certification but not ESAC accreditation, a gap against peers such as G&A Partners. ESAC provides a bonded, third-party financial assurance behind a PEO's obligations. If your CFO or auditor asks about it specifically, an ESAC-accredited option may be the better recommendation, and that is how we handle it.
Questco is a Texas and Sun Belt PEO. An employer with significant headcount elsewhere should ask how those employees are served and compare the experience with a national PEO before assuming the Texas service travels.
Outside Texas, Questco is not a well-known name, and its technology is rated average for the tier. A tech-first buyer who evaluates a PEO by its employee app will prefer the national platforms; a buyer who evaluates it by who answers the phone will not mind.
When a client is evaluating Questco, these are the three alternatives we most often put on the shortlist. The rationale below explains when each one beats Questco and when it doesn't. For the full comparison on cost, benefits and service, read Questco alternatives compared.
The Houston peer: independent, far larger, with CPEO and ESAC together, named HR consultants and compliance depth, and now a Northeast footprint; the first comparison to run beside Questco.
Read full review →The largest private PEO group in the country, CPEO and ESAC accredited, with deep industry benches in construction, staffing, restaurants and manufacturing, for a Texas blue-collar employer that wants national scale behind the quote.
Read full review →A national CPEO and ESAC accredited mid-market PEO in all 50 states with employment-law attorneys paired to every client, for a compliance-heavy employer that has outgrown a regional footprint.
Read full review →A 15-minute call, then we shortlist the alternatives, gather quotes, and sit in the negotiation calls. Free to you, our fee is paid by the PEO you ultimately pick, at the same rate regardless of which one.
Yes, Questco holds IRS CPEO certification. It does not hold ESAC accreditation, which is the one credential gap in its profile.
Questco positions for 10 to 250 employees, with Texas and Sun Belt mid-market employers that want personalized service the core fit.
Texas and the Sun Belt, from its headquarters in The Woodlands, with its strongest presence in Houston, DFW, Austin and San Antonio.
No. Questco quotes per client as a PEPM fee. In our comparisons its mid-market pricing is competitive for a Texas company.
The missing ESAC accreditation. Questco is CPEO certified but not ESAC accredited, so a compliance-sensitive buyer whose CFO or auditor asks about ESAC may be better served by G&A Partners or another accredited option.
Both are independent Houston-area mid-market PEOs. G&A is far larger, holds CPEO and ESAC together and now serves the Northeast; Questco is smaller, CPEO only, with strong local relationships and often competitive pricing. For a Texas company, get both quotes on the same page.
Questco is privately held and independent, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, and has been in business since 1989.
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