PEO Billing Accuracy & Hidden Fee Audit
Your PEO invoice should be transparent. Ours is a line-by-line review of every charge — so you know exactly what you're paying for, and what you're not.
What This Audit Covers
Administrative fees, per-employee-per-month charges, and bundled service packages can obscure significant overcharges. PEOs have little incentive to flag billing errors on your behalf — and most business owners don't have the time or expertise to catch them independently.
Our billing audit takes a forensic approach to your invoices. We cross-reference charges against your contract, employee roster, and service utilization to build a complete picture of where your money is going — and where it's being wasted.
Request your free audit →Administrative fee structure
We compare your admin fee rate and structure against your contract terms and current market benchmarks for your company size.
Per-employee-per-month (PEPM) charges
We verify PEPM charges match your actual headcount and identify billing for departed employees or unfilled positions.
Bundled service fees
We identify charges for services you may not be using or were never set up to receive — a common source of overpayment.
Workers' comp and benefits pass-through markup
We examine markup applied to insurance and benefits premiums beyond the actual carrier cost.
Year-over-year rate changes
We flag unilateral rate increases that may conflict with your contract terms or weren't properly disclosed.
What We Typically Uncover
Every business and every PEO relationship is different. These are the most common issues we identify in this area — most clients recognize at least two or three immediately.
Billing for termed employees
Charges continue for employees who have left the company — sometimes for months — without automatic adjustment.
Undisclosed admin fee markup
Administrative fees exceed contracted rates, often incremented in small amounts that are easy to miss individually.
Duplicate service line items
The same service or feature appears under multiple line items, resulting in double billing for a single deliverable.
Fees for unused services
Charges for onboarding tools, HRIS modules, or HR hotlines that were never activated or used by the client.
Benefits premium markup
Carrier premiums are passed through at a markup above the actual group rate, sometimes without disclosure in the contract.
Incorrect employee classifications
Employees billed under the wrong classification tier, resulting in higher per-employee charges than contracted.
Our Audit Process for This Area
Invoice collection & contract comparison
We request 12 months of invoices and compare them line by line against your signed contract terms and rate schedules.
Headcount reconciliation
We cross-reference billing counts against your actual active employee roster to identify phantom billing.
Service utilization review
We identify which bundled services are active and used versus those being billed but never accessed.
Market benchmarking
We compare your effective per-employee cost against current market rates for companies of your size and industry.
Findings report & recovery estimate
We deliver a plain-language report with identified discrepancies, estimated overpayment, and recommended next steps.
Questions About This Audit Area
We typically review 12 months of invoices by default. If discrepancies are identified, we can extend the review further back to estimate total overpayment, though most PEO contracts limit retroactive credit claims.
In many cases, yes. We identify the discrepancies and provide documentation to support a credit request or contract renegotiation. Recovery depends on your contract terms and your PEO's policies.
Ideally, 12 months of PEO invoices and a copy of your current contract. If you don't have these readily available, we can help you request them from your PEO.
No. The initial audit is conducted using documents you already have. Your PEO is not contacted or notified during this process.
Ready to Start Your Free PEO Audit?
Free for qualifying companies with 10–150 employees. No obligation, no sales pressure — just honest answers.