Justworks is a professional employer organization (PEO) designed to help small and medium-sized businesses streamline their HR, payroll, and benefits administration. Founded in 2012, Justworks aims to simplify the complexities of running a business by providing a comprehensive platform for managing various HR functions. The company offers a robust solution that combines technology with expert support to help businesses remain compliant and efficiently handle their HR needs.
In this review piece, we explore Justworks services, focusing on its core offerings, unique selling points, pros and cons, as well as real customer experiences with the company to help SMBs looking for a PEO company decide if Justworks is right for their businesses.
Alright, let’s dive in!
Pros
Ease of Use: The platform is user-friendly, with an intuitive interface that simplifies HR tasks. It is easy for both employers and employees to navigate without a steep learning curve.
Comprehensive Benefits: Offers access to a wide range of high-quality benefits, often at more competitive rates than small businesses could obtain independently.
Compliance Assistance: Helps businesses stay compliant with various labor laws, especially with payroll taxes, reducing the risk of penalties and legal issues.
Scalability: Suitable for small startups to larger SMBs, allowing them to scale their HR needs as they grow.
Cons
Features of Justworks PEO
Justworks positions itself as a multi-product solution offering payroll, benefits, compliance with payroll taxes and labor laws, time tracking, and custom HR support with HR tools for businesses. Here are some of the key features of Justworks:
1. Payroll Processing
Justworks boasts an easy-to-use payroll software. You can automate payments so that employees get paid correctly and on time every pay period. Justworks also automates tax filing, reducing the chances of mistakes and penalties that come with manual filing. The software connects with top accounting programs, helping to simplify your financial management. You can give your accountant secure access to your payroll data, which helps with collaboration and ensures everything is properly managed.
2. Benefits Administration
Justworks offers a flexible benefits solution designed to cater to businesses with varying needs and budgets. You can leverage Justworks' PEO service to access a wider range of benefits or integrate benefits access with Justworks Payroll. You can compare various health insurance plans available on the open market to find the ones that might be the most affordable or offer the best value. You can also choose to continue with the current health insurance coverage that your employees already have, making the transition smooth and hassle-free.
Justworks PEO plans often include access to benefits like 401(k) retirement plans to facilitate employee savings, and wellness benefits such as mental health services, primary care access, and fertility assistance. Justworks also simplifies benefits administration for both employers and employees. After enrollment, your employees can effortlessly manage their benefits selections and access information on the Justworks mobile app or online platform. This streamlined process can save valuable time and resources for both you and your employees.
3. Compliance
Justworks understands the ongoing challenges many businesses face in navigating HR complexities and ensuring compliance with labor laws. To address these needs, they offer a variety of resources and support options. This includes expertise in navigating local, state, and federal regulations, ensuring your business adheres to employer-related compliance requirements. Justworks handles many employer-related compliance tasks on your behalf, freeing up your time and resources to focus on core business activities.
4. Customer Support
Justworks offers a variety of resources to assist users with HR tasks and compliance. Their support team is available to answer questions on various aspects like hiring, onboarding, and payroll. Justworks’ customers may have access to additional support options, such as consultations with certified HR consultants (details and availability may vary depending on the specific PEO plan chosen).
Justworks also maintains a comprehensive resource library to empower users. This library includes a blog with informative articles on HR topics relevant to businesses, compliance updates to keep users informed of regulatory changes, and a help center offering guides and instructions on using the Justworks platform and its features.
5. HR Reporting
Justworks’ HR tools create detailed reports that help you keep track of employee work hours, payroll, and overtime. These reporting capabilities allow you to efficiently oversee these aspects. The platform makes it easy to transfer data between different systems and generate thorough reports, which helps you streamline your operations and manage your budgets more effectively.
6. Time and Attendance Tracking
Justworks offers an integrated time tracking solution that eliminates the need for manual entry, spreadsheets, and managing multiple systems. This time tracking tool lets employees record their work hours via a mobile app, a web-based platform, or Slack. The system also uses geofencing technology to confirm that employees are at the correct location when they clock in or out, ensuring accurate shift management.
Pricing
Justworks offers two main pricing plans:
Basic Plan: Starts at $59 per employee per month and includes payroll, benefits, compliance support, HR tools, and 24/7 support.
Plus Plan: Starts at $99 per employee per month and covers everything in the Basic Plan plus access to health insurance and other premium benefits.
Justworks also provides custom pricing for larger organizations or those with specific needs. Each pricing plan includes the essential HR tools and services you need, but the Plus plan provides additional benefits and administration options, along with customizations. Justworks requires a minimum of two employees, which we think makes no significant difference compared to PEOs that do not have a minimum requirement.
Ratings
Justworks has received a fair mix of positive and negative feedback from its users across various review platforms. Here are the overall ratings on different review sites:
G2: Rated 4.6 out of 5, based on 576 reviews.
TrustRadius: Scored 7.8 out of 10, derived from 90 reviews.
Capterra: Rated 4.6 out of 5, from 732 reviews.
Trustpilot: Scored 3.6 out of 5, based on 155 reviews.
These ratings indicate strong satisfaction with most Justworks clients, particularly on platforms like G2 and Capterra. Trustpilot shows a slightly lower customer satisfaction, but still positive overall sentiment.
Customers' Reviews
Customer reviews suggest that Justworks is highly used among small businesses seeking payroll and healthcare solutions, especially for those lacking HR expertise. Users appreciate its straightforward, easy-to-use interface and reliable customer service, which handle both routine tasks and more complex HR issues effectively.
In terms of pricing, Justworks is seen as a competitive choice for small businesses and startups, often providing better service than larger PEOs in similar market segments. However, feedback suggests that Justworks may not scale seamlessly for larger companies with more than 200 employees, whereas bigger PEOs might offer more tailored enterprise solutions.
Some users have reported mixed experiences with Justworks' payroll services. While the platform delivers multiple benefit options through its PEO services, a few businesses find the payroll process more cumbersome and time-consuming than their previous providers. This discrepancy has prompted consideration of switching providers for smoother payroll operations.
Overall, while Justworks receives praise for its user-friendly approach and customer support in serving small businesses, concerns about cost and scalability for larger enterprises highlight areas where improvements could benefit its broader user base.
Is Justworks Right for Your Business?
Justworks is an excellent choice for small to medium-sized businesses that need comprehensive HR solutions and are willing to invest in a robust platform. It is particularly beneficial for businesses that:
Want to offer competitive benefits packages to attract and retain talent
Need assistance with compliance and HR regulations
Prefer a user-friendly platform with strong customer support.
However, small businesses or those with tight budgets might find Justworks too expensive. Also, businesses that need highly customized HR solutions might need to look at other options.
Justworks Alternatives
There are many alternatives to Justworks, from affordable options for small businesses to more robust ones for larger companies. Even though Justworks provides complete HR solutions, it's important to look at other options to find the best one for your business. Here are some good alternatives to consider:
Suitable for businesses of all sizes.
Provides extensive HR services and customizable solutions.
Well-established reputation and comprehensive offerings.
Caters to small and medium-sized businesses.
Offers industry-specific HR solutions.
Provides a wide range of benefits and compliance support.
Suitable for businesses of all sizes.
Offers payroll, HR, and benefits administration.
Known for its strong customer support and extensive resources.
You can check out their full individual offers and compare them to Justworks.
How The Mission Can Help
Choosing the right PEO partner can be overwhelming. Sorting through options, negotiating terms, and understanding their complexities can quickly become time-consuming. At The Mission, we take the headache out of PEO selection. Our HR experts, with years of experience, navigate these complexities on your behalf.
We also have special partnerships with top PEO companies that offer best-in-class HR and PEO services at more friendly prices based on our relationships. Feel free to contact us to help you choose the best PEO for your business at the best prices.