PEPM (per employee per month)

Per-employee-per-month is the pricing convention most PEOs use to quote a service fee: a flat monthly charge for each covered employee, invoiced alongside payroll. The PEPM figure typically excludes statutory taxes, workers'-comp premium, and benefit contributions, which flow through at cost.\n\nComparing PEPM quotes across providers is only meaningful when service scope is normalised. A low PEPM may exclude HR advisory hours, retirement plan administration, or safety programmes that a higher PEPM bundles in. See the certification register for the certified providers common at the enterprise end of the pricing curve, master health plan for how bundled benefits shape the number, and EOR for the international analogue. The help documentation documents scope-normalisation questions, and the calculators hub hosts comparison tools.\n\n## What this doesn't cover\n\nPEPM does not capture the total cost of a PEO relationship; benefit premiums, workers'-comp modifier, and one-time setup fees can dwarf the headline service charge in a client's first invoiced quarter.