Most PEO evaluation checklists are long and unfalsifiable: responsive, experienced, dedicated. This one is short and every item is either a document you can obtain or a fact you can look up, because in a market where nothing is published the only useful evaluation is the one that produces evidence.
The documents to obtain before signing
The summary of benefits and the employee contribution schedule at your own headcount and demographics. The workers' compensation classification code proposed for every role. The client service agreement including term, notice, renewal and the allocation of duties. And the fee stated in the same shape as every other quote you hold, with every pass-through named. Four documents; a provider that supplies all four quickly has done this before.
The facts to verify independently
Certification status on the IRS public listing, for the legal entity in your contract. State registration in each state where you employ people. Both take minutes and neither depends on what the provider tells you, which is precisely why they are worth doing first.
The two questions that reveal most
What does leaving look like, and who runs my account when my named contact is away. The first tells you whether the provider is confident you will stay; the second tells you whether the service is a person or a process. Neither appears on any checklist the industry publishes, and between them they predict more of the experience than any feature comparison.
Questions people ask about peo evaluation
How should I evaluate a PEO?
Restrict the checklist to things that produce evidence: the benefits documents and contribution schedule, the workers' compensation classification codes, the service agreement, the fee in a comparable shape, and the IRS certification and state registration you can verify yourself.
What questions reveal the most?
What leaving looks like, and who runs your account when your named contact is away. The first tests confidence, the second tests whether the service is a person or a process.
Should I ask for references?
Yes, but specify an employer of your size and trade rather than accepting a list. The value is in hearing from somebody whose problems resemble yours.