# Professional employer organization

> Professional employer organization — A firm that co-employs a client's staff and runs payroll, benefits and HR under its own EIN for a fee. Only a PEO the IRS has certified (a CPEO) is generally treated as the employer for employment tax on the wages it pays.

Source: https://lopifi.com/glossary/professional-employer-organization
Part of: Lopifi — US GAAP books on autopilot, checked by a CPA (https://lopifi.com)

---

**What is professional employer organization?** In accounting, professional employer organization means a firm that co-employs a client's staff and runs payroll, benefits and HR under its own EIN for a fee. Only a PEO the IRS has certified (a CPEO) is generally treated as the employer for employment tax on the wages it pays.

## Also known as

- PEO
- CPEO

## Words this system refuses for it

- payroll provider
- employer of record unqualified

- **Category:** Payroll
- **Specified in:** [Lexicon](https://lopifi.com/md/docs/domain/11-lexicon)