small business research findings

Perquest, Inc. PO Box 70130 1333 Broadway, Suite 1015 Oakland, CA 94612

1.866.576.5340 www.perquest.com

Running a small or medium size

business today requires the ability

to look outside the business for • solutions,

• ideas,

• and best practices.

2008Small Business Best Practices ReportExecutive Summary

Compliments of:

Chapter 1

Perquest 2

2008 Small Business Best Practices Report Executive Summary

The 2008 Small Business Best Practices Report publishes the results of a survey of small and medium size businesses commissioned by Perquest Inc.

The survey report consists of 5 chapters.

1. Executive Summary2. Business Trends3. Business Metrics Best Practices4. Compensation Best Practices5. Outsourcing Best Practices

Complimentary copies of these chapters are available from your Perquest Agent.

Perquest 3


2008 Benchmark Best PracticesExecutive Summary: Employers have entered an era of unprecedented challenge when it comes to managing a business: rising customer ex-pectations, talent shortages, generational change, legal risks, outsourcing needs, and technology advancements are just a few factors significantly impacting the success or failure of any business. Running a company today requires the abil-ity to look outside the business for solutions, ideas, and best practices. Escalating this challenge is the Internet, globaliza-tion, and competition from larger enterprises (think SAP in software, Wal-Mart in retail, or H&R Block in tax account-ing) in all product and service lines.

Best practices are new standards for the betterment of small businesses. Practices include: 1. Focus all employees on revenue-producing activities

(eliminate internal non-core activities) 2. Make planning and daily decisions using metrics and

business analytics at both the executive and front-line levels

3. Use outsourcing partners to learn and instill best practices (processes, technology, systems) and reduce costs

4. Proactively mitigate employee, environment, competitors, and legal risks

While small businesses face a multitude of daily challenges, they have the advantages of being agile, flexible, customer centric, and more apt to develop and respond to innovation. Small businesses can also more readily adopt best practices which is one of the reasons why Perquest, a leading provider of small business outsourced solutions, is releasing the results of this survey. This report summarizes the survey results and illustrates our insights from working with thousands of small businesses. The key findings detailed in this report discuss how small businesses struggling with financial, employee, customer and time-related issues can effectively adopt best practices to compete with larger enterprises for customers and employees.

What is a Best Practice?

Best practices are the most efficient (least amount of resources) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing an activity based on proven, repeatable procedures

Leading companies use best practices—a philosophical approach based around con-tinuous learning—to find ideas and strategies to improve performance.

A best practice can be a method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique or process.

Perquest 4


Other findings include:

• Time distractions (84%) and people management issues (47%) have increased

• Finding talent remains a top concern; subsequently, retention programs are still an opportunity for improvement and competitive differentiation

• Companies who rely solely on financial compensation to attract and retain employees are missing out

• The majority of SMBs are not using business or operational metrics or analytics

• Outsourcing to instill best practices in terms of business process and systems is becoming a must

This report provides a snapshot regarding the state of small business, including:

• Business Change • Management Time • Top Business Challenges • Major Workforce Challenges • Tools to Improve Performance • Employee Motivational Tools • Outsourcing Best Practices • Payroll Solutions • Survey Respondent Demographics

Why Best Practices?

Improve Performance Continual focus on raising the bar and setting new standards of excellence is a requirement for leading firms

Remain Competitive Given today’s legal and talent landscape, large enterprises have an inherent advantage of more resources that can be overcome only with better processes and ideas.

Reduce Costs Small and medium size businesses (SMBs) do not have the financial pockets of big businesses to “re-invent the wheel.”

Avoid Mistakes Learn from others—save time, money, and headache.

Find New Ideas Given advancements in every facet of business, innovation is a requirement and key driver of American business success.

Perquest 5


Respondent Demographics Surveys were collected from executives, managers and staff across a wide range of industries throughout the US. The data for this report was collected during the first half of Q4 2007. Respondents were asked their views regarding business management and workforce practices.

Respondent by Role

Respondent by Company Size (# of Employees)

14%

10%

76%

Owner, President, C-Level Executive

Manager Non-Payroll

VP/Director

23%

14%

10%

14%

10%

19%10%

250+

1-4

5-9

10-19

20-49

50-99

100-249

Respondents By Industry

3% Business Services

3% Construction

6% Consulting

3% Customer Services

3% Distribution/Transportation

3% Energy

6% Financial Services

12.5% Healthcare/Life Sciences

3% HR Technology and Services

3% Legal

15.8% Manufacturing

3% Media/Advertising

12.5% Other

6% Outsourced Services Provider

9.5% Retail/Wholesale

6% Telecommunications

Perquest 6


About Perquest Perquest is an innovative provider of online payroll and employer services to small and medium size businesses in the United States. It delivers high quality, easy-to-use comprehensive services marketed through a network of professional agents focused on helping companies in their community grow and prosper. For more information, visit www.perquest.com.

Company History

2001 Perquest founded

2002–05 Pioneered Internet-based payroll services for small business

2003 Launched QuickBooks interface

2004 Launched client accountant access functionality

2004 Passed the IRS Assurance Testing System (ATS) and Business Acceptance Testing (BATS) requirements for software developers

2005 Became the exclusive payroll partner for Net Suite, the worlds largest on-demand accounting service

2006 Tom Sinton named CEO (renowned payroll expert & innovator, founded ProBusiness, 4th largest payroll provider in the US)

2006 Assembled the best senior management team in the industry

2007 Raised $25 million from venture capital and private equity firms

2007 Launched next generation on-demand payroll service

2007 Launched the industry’s first ever payroll analytics for small business

2007 Launched the new Perquest Portal and website www.perquest.com

Perquest 7


About the ResearchWith the intention to better understand and serve small to medium sized businesses (SMBs), Perquest launched a multiyear research initiative at the end of 2007. The research gathered information about the needs, practices, and benchmarks of SMBs and sought to discover how SMBs can be better served with our unique payroll service. By sharing the results of this research, Perquest offers business owners and managers some of the latest information about the trends, tools, and techniques available for improving SMB operations. SMBs often struggle with financial, employee, customer and time related issues. Some of the key findings detailed in the research identify ways for SMBs to effectively adopt best practices to compete with larger enterprises for customers and employees.If you want to make your business more competitive with an easy and service-oriented payroll solution designed specifically for SMBs, contact Perquest.

About the AuthorCharles Bedard is a partner in the Houston office of Ephor Group and heads the firm’s SMB Outsourcing and Marketing Practices. Bedard specializes in market research and SMB growth strategies. At Ephor Group, Bedard shepherds client’s growth strategies and leads corporate development initiatives. He has served as the VP of Marketing and Sales for multiple HRO, HR Technology, CRM and Marketing Service, Workforce Management, and BPO companies. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Southwestern University and his Masters of Business Administration from Texas Christian University.

About Ephor GroupEphor Group is well recognized as an industry thought-leader for outsourcing and B2B technology and service-based businesses including BPO/HRO/HCM/FAO/CRM and healthcare services. Ephor Group has been researching and analyzing the needs and trends of small business since 2001 by conducting multiple quarterly surveys of founders, executives, finance, accountants, payroll and HR managers, and front-line staff.

Perquest, Inc. PO Box 70130 1333 Broadway, Suite 1015 Oakland, CA 94612


© 2007 Perquest, Inc. All rights reserved. Perquest, the Perquest logo, and Perquest payroll are trademarks of Perquest, Inc. All other company or product names are trade-marks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. 000v1_0208

1333 Broadway | Suite 1015 | Oakland CA 94612

Ph 510.740.6300 Fax 510.238.8835

www.perquest.com

Perquest 2008 Benchmark Best Practices Report

What is a Best Practice? Best practices are defined as the most efficient (least amount of resources) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing an activity, based on proven, repeatable procedures. Leading companies utilize best practices - a philosophical approach based around continuous learning – to find ideas and strategies to improve performance. A best practice can be a method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique or process.

Why Best Practices? Improve Performance: Continual focus on raising the bar and setting new standards of excellence is a requirement for leading firms. Remain Competitive: Given today’s legal and talent landscape large enterprises have an inherent advantage of more resources which can only be overcome with better processes and ideas. Reduce Costs: SMBs do not have the financial pockets of big business to "re-invent the wheel". Avoid Mistakes: Learn from others – save time, money, and headache. Find New Ideas: Given advancements in every facet of business, innovation is a requirement and key driver of American business success.

2008 Benchmark Best Practices EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Employers have entered an era of unprecedented

challenge when it comes to managing a business:

rising customer expectations, talent shortages,

generational change, legal risks, outsourcing needs,

and technology advancements to name a few factors

significantly impacting the success or failure of any

business. Today, running a company requires the

ability to look outside the business for solutions,

ideas, and best practices. Escalating this challenge

the Internet, globalization, and competition from

larger enterprises (think SAP in software, Wal-Mart in

retail, or H&R Block in tax accounting) in all product

and service lines.

Best practices are new standards that must be

embraced by small business such as:

1. Focus all employees on revenue producing

activities (eliminate internal non-core

activities)

2. Make planning and daily decisions using

metrics and business analytics at both the

executive and front-line levels

3. Utilize outsourcing partners to learn and instill

best practices (processes, technology,

systems) and reduce costs

4. Proactively mitigate employee, environment, competitors, and legal risks

While small businesses face a multitude of daily challenges, they have the advantages of being agile, flexible,

customer centric, and are more apt to develop and respond to innovation. Small businesses can also more


Ph 510.740.6300 Fax 510.238.8835

www.perquest.com

2 Perquest 2008 Benchmark Best Practices Report

readily adopt best practices which is why Perquest, a leading provider of small business outsourced solutions,

conducted this survey.

This report summarizes the survey results and illustrates our insights from working with thousands of small

businesses. The key findings detailed in this report discuss how small businesses that struggle with financial,

employee, customer and time related issues can effectively adopt best practices to compete with larger

enterprises for customers and employees.

Other findings include:

► Time distractions (84%) and people management issues (47%) have increased

► Finding talent remains a top concern; subsequently, retention programs are still an opportunity for

improvement and competitive differentiation

► Companies who rely solely on financial compensation to attract and retain employees are missing out

► The majority of SMBs are not using business or operational metrics or analytics

► Outsourcing to instill best practices in terms of business process and systems is a must

This report provides a snapshot regarding the state of small business and includes the following tables and

graphs:

1. Business Change…………………….………………………………………….…………………………..……3

2. Management Time…………………..………………………………………….…………………………..….…4

3. Top Business Challenges……………………………..………………………..…………………………..……5

4. Major Workforce Challenges…………………………….……………………..……………………………..…5

5. Tools to Improve Performance………………………………………………...………………………….…….6

6. Employee Motivational Tools….………………….……………………………………………………….….…8

7. Outsourcing Best Practices………………………………………………………………………………….…...9

8. Payroll Solutions………………………………………………………………………………..…………….….11

9. Survey Respondent Demographics……………………………………………………………………………12


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BUSINESS TRENDS 2008 Economic Outlook:

While industry specific forecasts should be examined for each business, numerous economists forecast the

overall economy to have moderate growth with a 2-4 percent GDP increase in 2008 after a near-term

slowdown in Q4 20071. Slow to moderate growth should keep inflation and interest rates under control as

economists expect consumer prices to rise less than 2.5 percent next year and interest rates to stay within .25-

.5% of current levels. This forecast should allow the market to move directionally upward.

OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, WHAT HAS CHANGED IN SMALL BUSINESS:

Business Change

5%

0%

0%

0%

5%

11%

0%

5%

0%

37%

0%

21%

0%

26%

32%

21%

58%

11%

16%

11%

53%

37%

37%

26%

21%

32%

63%

37%

32%

0%

11%

21%

0%

11%

21%

26%

5%

Costs

Number of employees

Legal and compliance issues

People management issues

Performance relative to competitors

Profits

Time distractions

Total revenues

Decreased by More than 25 Percent DecreasedNo Change IncreasedIncreased by More than 25 Percent

Business is getting more complex and demanding and profits are struggling to keep pace with rising costs.

Illustrated by the green bars in the chart above, costs and revenues are rising but profits are not in proportion

as indicated by the lack of green. Also, in regards to “Performance relative to competitors,” only 1 in 5 firms

illustrated improvement over the last two years highlighting the need for new ideas and business processes.

1 Courtesy of CNN.com via The National Retail Federation, Sales expected to rise 4% in December which is the lowest increase since 2002 of 1.3%. Also of note: ShopperTrak RCT Corp reports that sales on Black Friday rose 8.3% - sales on Black Friday are usually about 5% of all holiday sales.


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2008 TOP TEN WORKFORCE TIPS

10. BENCHMARKING DATA – Benchmarking brings new methods, ideas and tools to improve effectiveness. It helps “crack through resistance” by demonstrating better methods of solving problems used by others. 9. BUSINESS ANALYTICS – Analytics is the process of turning data into useful information for decision making. Tools and visuals to analyze key performance indicators, such as Paid Time Off (PTO) Liabilities, Overtime Analysis, or Employee Turnover are readily available. 8. OUTSOURCING – Use external providers to focus managers and employees on revenue activities and at the same time improve business processes while spending proportionally less than competitors. 7. PAY FOR PERFORMANCE – Align all employee activities with business goals though compensation, incentive, and award programs. Transparency between employee and manager on performance is key. 6. MITIGATE RISKS – Legal, employee issues, competitor suits - don’t wait for a landmine! 5. PLAN FOR SUCCESSION – Whether for knowledge transfer, promotion, or growth, emphasizing cross-training and diverse experiences increases retention of younger and older workers, plus delivers a more capable, profitable team.

Top Ten Workforce Tips is Continued on Page 7

Activity Preference

Administrative HR Less time (40%)

Day-to-day people management Less time (30%)

Strategic people management More time (20%)

Payroll Outsource (20%)

Recruiting Less time (30%)

Strategic HR More time (20%)

How Would You Prefer to Spend Your Time?

MANAGEMENT TIME: Time distractions have clearly increased for the vast majority of employers (84%); it is noteworthy that 0

percent had time distractions decrease. Employers will face more and more paperwork as the push for more

disclosure, either regulatory or market driven, continues.

Today there are many time saving options to consider. More than 80 percent of small businesses outsource

some component of their business to save time, reduce

costs, and improve performance - from IT to payroll to

tax accounting etc. How to best spend time is open for

debate, but choosing how to best allocate executives’,

managers’, and employees’ time on revenue producing

activities is critical.

In summary: costs, challenges and time requirements

are increasing; the small business that learns how to cope (spend less on a percentage basis than rivals) will

thrive while those that ignore rising issues will lag behind and potentially fail.


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BUSINESS CHALLENGES FOR Q1 2008:

Small businesses face a multitude of

daily challenges ranging from financial

considerations such as payroll and cash

flow, to people issues, yet many SMBs

do not have the economies of scale or

resources of larger firms. However,

SMBs must compete with corporations

for employees and customers.

According to research, a major issue

facing small business is ensuring

adequate cash flow for operations. That

is no real surprise as most small business owners say cash flow is the issue that keeps them awake at night.

TOP 3 WORKFORCE HEADACHES:

Each of the challenges in the graph to

the right is a cost, time, or strategic issue

that must be dealt with for any business

to succeed. Nothing makes employees

more uneasy than an unsatisfactory

working environment – whether it is a

bad boss, misaligned work activities, or

fear of not being paid. Companies must

meet the basic needs of employees such

as timely and accurate payment of

compensation and provide a motivating

organization environment.


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Business Metrics What is not known will potentially destroy a small business. Operating on "gut instinct" means assumptions,

confusion, and emotions rule decision making. By monitoring key business metrics, (most consultants would

recommend 8-10 indicators), the probability of success is increased as firms that use hard data and facts gain

visibility and a decision making tool. However, the majority of small businesses are not leveraging business metrics to make better management decisions for their companies2. Driving this issue is the

fact that 50 percent of firms do not use budgets or forecasts to help manage their business and 32 percent do

not have specific metrics in place to monitor performance on a daily or weekly basis.

BUSINESS PERFORMANCE NEEDS: Only 1 in 5 participants agreed that metrics are as important to them as their financial statements thus

illustrating the need. Another finding indicated only 21 percent of participants measure their return on

investment of marketing

and sales dollars, and

only 11 percent stated

that they regularly

monitor non-financial

indicators, like customer

retention or employee

turnover to further

evaluate business

performance.

What is the point of

metrics and benchmarking? Bottom-line: it is a means of empowering employees, mitigating risks, creating

results, and capturing market opportunity.

2 2007 CPA2Biz survey of 500 small businesses with less than $2M revenues: subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs.

Tools to Improve Performance

31%

22%

22%

22%

16%

9%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Benchmarking data (industry / competitor trends)

Business analytics (metrics)

Performance and compensation alignment

More time to focus on your core business

Tactical day-to-day people help

Strategic help


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Implementing Metrics is as Simple as 1,2,3:

1. Define the Metrics. For each business goal or objective, create a ratio to track progress towards success on a time (weekly, monthly, etc.) and group (by location, division, group, etc.) basis.

2. Benchmark and Monitor. Monitor the firm’s top 8-10 metrics on a weekly basis against last week, last month, last year and against competitors as applicable.

3. Communicate Metrics with Employees. Metrics are only as important as their affect on employee actions and activities. Collaborate with key employees, align employee compensation and rewards as needed to ensure that employees are focused on activities that match the business’ goals. Then everyone will make decisions that improve the business.

Example metrics: Professional Services: average hours worked per project, number of proposals in the pipeline, number of prospect appointments set per month Restaurants: number of seats filled per dining time and day of week, average total ticket per table, total daily sales broken down by food or beverage category Retailers: daily sales against last month and last year’s sales, average total sales receipt per customer, repeat visits (use of store coupon or card) Keep in mind metrics are indicators – they will be the yellow flag if something is off and needs improvement.

2008 TOP TEN WORKFORCE TIPS – Continued from page 4

4. METRICS – Monitor 8-10 top metrics to stay on track – both financial and non-financial signposts are needed to reflect performance and make decisions – remember what is measured is completed. 3. AUTOMATE WORKFLOW – Go paperless: streamline processes to improve efficiency and provide better visibility for reporting. 2. FOCUS ON RETENTION – Re-recruit top performers before they receive better offers. Replacement costs per employee are an average of $10k for nonsalaried and $50k per salaried worker. Remind top performers they are valued and discuss career opportunities and development on a quarterly basis.

1. OPTIMIZE WORKFORCE EFFECTIVENESS – Has the business optimized talent such that it is generating the highest return on the investments in the workforce? Step two: How effective and sustainable is leadership across the business?

Because business dynamics can change like stocks – knowing when to respond to trends, like buying and

selling at the right time, can be the difference between a poor and profitable year. Since “Hope is not a

strategy,” a key management responsibility taking advantage of simple tools to better manage profitability and

performance. Common sense tells us that businesses that utilize metrics sleep better.


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Employee Motivation Tools

48%

45%

42%

39%

30%

27%

21%

9%

3%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Cash rew ards

Performance review s

Vacation

Spot rew ards

Paid-time-off (PTO)

Flextime

Team rew ards

Work from home time

None

COMPENSATION BENCHMARKS Benchmarking compensation on an annual basis is a standard operating practice. Aligning employee’s daily

activities with the business’s goals and using a pay-for-performance and/or incentive reward program is a

salient best practice. Annual compensation data can be readily found online using websites such as

Salary.com and searching by job title and zip code.

EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION: Firms that over rely on cash compensation miss the boat on attracting and retaining employees as all ships

rise in rising water, but during tumulus

times are exposed.

Wondering how to motivate employees?

Incentive programs inspire and

recognize employees for a job well done.

Realize that a misaligned, non-

communicated, or poorly planned

program can be counter-productive or

worse yet, downright devastating for a

business (think overcompensating or

disenchanting key employees). All of the

following should be weighed: individual vs. group, cash vs. non-cash, and incentives vs. base pay.

COMPENSATION LANDMINES: Legal, regulatory, and compliance issues have increased for almost half of the respondents. Common issues

in 2008 for most small businesses include:

1. Deferred compensation and non unilateral agreements and/or practices 2. Liability management: Discrimination, substance abuse, harassment and violence 3. Recruitment – Standard selection, screening, testing, and hiring process 4. Payroll - Federal and state tax requirements, PTO liabilities, minimum wages, overtime pay, hours

worked, equal pay, and responsibility in maintaining records 5. Independent contractors – The IRS looks at two issues: first, should the contractor really be an

employee and second, is the company providing 1099s to all legal contractors

Business can decrease liability by periodically reviewing operations and policies, comparing

current with projected results, and charting a path to proactively mitigate risks.


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OUTSOURCING BEST PRACTICES The concept of outsourcing non-core activities may never reach full market acceptance, yet it continues to

receive significant market attention. The three most common reasons SMBs outsource3 are:

1. Cost savings

2. Time-saving for strategic activities

3. Improved performance / Service quality improvements

Outsourcing by Function

38%29%

21%21%

8%8%

4%1%

0%30%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Payroll

AccountingBenefits

Legal / ComplianceFinance

RecruitingInformation technology (IT)

TrainingPerformance management

None

The majority of firms with more than nine employees outsource two of the following:

Payroll: This is the most commonly outsourced function. It includes paycheck processing, tax filings, direct deposit, wage garnishments, and year-end tax forms.

Benefits administration: Providers help procure competitive rates for comprehensive benefits packages including health and dental insurance, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, 401(k) plans, COBRA, and unemployment insurance.

Recruiting: A provider will manage the hiring process from job postings to testing applicants, and running background checks while ensuring compliance with non-discriminatory labor laws. They can handle hiring and firing, review compensation packages, and help structure programs to retain employees.

Regulatory compliance: The primary goal is here is to ensure 100 percent compliance with all federal & state laws. This includes audits and reporting for all tax filings and corporate regulations, such as FMLA, HIPAA, and Sarbanes-Oxley.

3 Towers Perrin Research Report reports: #1 cost savings (37percent), time-saving for strategic activities (23 percent), improved performance / Service quality improvements (14 percent). Aberdeen Group 2006 Benchmark report reports: #1 cost reduction (69%), focus (63%), and improved end-user service (33%).


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Risk management: Providers help determine policies for workplace safety, develop training programs and safety meetings for employees and ensure workplace follows OSHA regulations.

Technology: This includes various online applications for accounting, marketing and sales i.e. customer relationship management (CRM), and human resource solutions including payroll and benefits solutions.

HR management: HR outsourcing providers manage compliance and HR policies, direct recruiting, and provide training.

Choosing an Outsourced Provider Scorecard:

1 2 3 4 5

Experience in similar industry sector

Organizational and cultural fit

Defined goals and objectives for relationship

Sharing of best-in-class processes and technology

Customer support and communication

Product / service quality (accessibility, features, reporting)

Additional Features

Cost-benefit ROI (price vs. value comparison)

SCORECARD TOTAL

SCORE

FactorRelevance (Percentage

Weight of Total Score)


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PAYROLL SOLUTIONS:

Payroll Solution

In-house - Payroll manager

23%

In-house - Bookkeeper,

controller, off ice manager, admin

30%

Outsourced CPA /

Accounting f irm8%

Outsourced Payroll Provider

31%

Unsure8%

More than half of companies with more than nine employees outsource payroll. Many companies utilize

outsourced payroll services to realize:

1. Smoother workflow;

2. Most effective way to do payroll;

3. Fewer mistakes and errors; and

4. Comprehensive services – provider takes care of everything.

CONCLUSION As this report details, firms must find methods to effectively compete against stiffer competition and escalating

costs as business performance is closely linked to workforce effectiveness.

Best practices are a method for continuous improvement and can be delegated so that it is each employee’s

daily responsibility. Small businesses have many options for reducing costs, streamlining work and saving

time; where to focus effort and resources depends on analyzing the cost-benefit as well as benchmarking

against competitors and/or industry standards. Small businesses that develop business models with lower

costs and more efficient operations on a percentage basis versus the competition are building wealth creation

enterprises.


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RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS Surveys were collected from executives, managers and staff across a wide range of industries throughout the US. The data for this report was collected during the first half of Q4 2007. Respondents were asked their views regarding business management and workforce practices. RESPONDENTS BY: INDUSTRY:

Respondents by Industry

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%16%18%

Busine

ss Serv

ices

Constr

uctio

n

Consu

lting

Custom

er Servi

ces

Distrib

ution

/ Trans

porta

tion

Energy

Finan

cial S

ervice

s

Health

care

/ Life

Scie

nces

HR Tech

nology

and S

ervice

sLeg

al

Manufactu

ring

Media/Adve

rtising

Other

Outsou

rced S

ervice

s Prov

ider

Retail/W

holesa

le

Telec

ommunic

ation

s

ROLE:

Respondents by Role

VP / Director 10%

Manager Non-Payroll14%

Ow ner, President, C-

level Executive76%

COMPANY SIZE BY EMPLOYEE COUNT:

Respondents by Company Size (# of employees)

1 – 423%

5 – 914%

10 – 1910%

20 – 4914%

50 – 9910%

100 – 24919%

250+10%


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Perquest 2008 Benchmark Best Practices Report

About Perquest www.perquest.com Perquest has created the easiest payroll service ever! We do this by offering a 100% web based real time payroll service. It was designed by users to make payroll quick, easy, and error free. We’ve taken old style paper reports and transformed them into useful charts and graphs to help you make better decisions.

Perquest, Inc. PO Box 70130

1333 Broadway, Suite 1015 Oakland, CA 94612


Company History

2001 Perquest founded

2002–05 Pioneered Internet-based payroll services for small business

2003 Launched QuickBooks interface

2004 Launched client accountant access functionality

2004 Passed the IRS Assurance Testing System (ATS) and Business Acceptance Testing (BATS)

requirements for software developers

2005 Became the exclusive payroll partner for NetSuite, the worlds largest on-demand accounting

service

2006 Tom Sinton named CEO (renowned payroll expert & innovator, founded ProBusiness, 4th largest

payroll provider in the US)

2006 Moved headquarters near the technology capital the world

2006 Assembled the best senior management team in the industry

2007 Raised $25 million from venture capital and private equity firms

2007 Launched next generation on-demand payroll service

2007 Launched the industry’s first ever payroll analytics for small business

2007 Launched the new Perquest Portal and website www.perquest.com

small business research findings

Business

best practices tocompete

surveyof small

compensation best practices5

business trends3

bettermentof small businesses

thousands of small businesses

survey report

failure ofany business