Our employer of record companies methodology

How were the criteria chosen for nearshore and Latin American hiring?

The criteria follow the decisions a US hiring team must make before signing: what work to buy, what it costs and who is responsible when something changes.

Start with the role. A team with a chosen finalist needs different help from a team that has yet to interview anyone. Put candidate search and employment administration on separate rows. Then check which party handles each task.

The same approach applies to management. Ask who sets priorities, reviews the person's work and handles a performance concern. A contract should make those duties clear enough that your hiring manager knows whom to call.

Price comes after scope. Compare proposals for the same role, seniority and location. Include the same working hours and start-date assumptions. Otherwise, a cheaper quote may simply cover less work.

We use these criteria to support a decision about a specific hire. We do not assign a weighted total that lets a strong result in one row erase a failed requirement elsewhere. If a provider cannot support the intended employment arrangement, a quick shortlist does not solve that problem.

A search for the best employer of record companies should end with terms you can use. Write down your requirements before reviewing sales proposals. That keeps the shortlist tied to the job you need done.

What does each scorecard row mean, and what supports it?

Each row answers a separate buyer question. Read the value alongside its scope and any conditions. A published promise, a company-reported result and a contract term carry different kinds of evidence.

Separate a published claim from a contractual promise

Company statements describe what the company says it does. A signed agreement sets out the terms for your engagement. Use the comparison to prepare questions, then confirm the answers in the agreement.

Opus is included under this same approach. This site is an Opus-owned reference; recommendations are editorial.

For example, the Opus dollar-rate entry is "Not published." That label should lead you to request a written quote for your role. It should never become a guessed price or a zero in a cost comparison.

Use the same reading rule wherever "Not published" appears. It describes the published entry. Ask for the relevant amount or term before deciding whether the proposal meets your needs.

Compare EOR and managed recruiting models with Opus.

Compare costs on the same basis

Keep salary, employer costs and service fees distinct when reviewing a proposal. Ask the provider to show what the quoted total includes, even when it bills one monthly amount.

Check whether deposits are refundable. Ask how exchange-rate changes affect the invoice and when a rate can change. Record one-time charges separately from recurring costs.

Use your intended employment period for the comparison. A monthly fee alone will not answer what you owe if the engagement ends early. Request a worked example for both the expected term and an early exit.

Avoid turning a salary estimate into a provider price. A salary figure describes pay under a particular definition. Your proposal needs to account for the full scope you are buying.

Keep hiring milestones separate

Candidate delivery, offer acceptance and the first working day are different events. A comparison should preserve those distinctions.

For context, SHRM describes its 2025 median time to fill as roughly a month and a half. Its measure runs from job requisition to offer acceptance. That definition belongs beside the figure whenever it is used. SHRM's 2025 recruiting findings explain the measure.

A provider's shortlist promise cannot be placed beside that benchmark as if both measure the same work. Ask when the clock starts and what stops it. Also ask how interview delays, approvals and candidate notice periods affect the planned start.

For reported outcomes, request the group counted and the reporting period. A retention percentage needs a clear denominator. Without the calculation, use the claim as a question for the provider rather than proof of what your hire will do.

Check working hours by city and schedule

"US overlap" needs a schedule attached to it. Ask for the hire's working hours in both local time and your team's time zone.

Bogotá stays on UTC-5 without daylight saving time. Mexico City stays on UTC-6, while Tijuana follows seasonal clock changes. These distinctions appear in the IANA records for South America and North America.

Check the proposed schedule across the year. Name the meetings the hire must attend and how handoffs will work. A country label alone does not establish whether the person will be online for your release window.

Read replacement and exit terms separately

A replacement row should identify what the provider promises to do if the hire leaves or performance falls short. Ask whether the remedy is a new search, a credit or another action.

Then read the employment exit terms. Check who handles the process and how any resulting costs are charged. Also ask what happens to the monthly bill while a replacement search runs.

Do not use the length of a guarantee as a substitute for reading its conditions. The useful comparison is the remedy you can request under your agreement.

How often do we re-check?

Treat each comparison as a dated assessment. Before relying on it for a purchase, confirm the terms in a current proposal.

The review standard is to re-check affected claims when a page is revised. Price changes, revised service terms and supported corrections are reasons to revisit a row. A changed guarantee should also prompt a check of any nearby recommendation that relies on it.

Read the page's review date separately from the date attached to a benchmark. Updating the prose does not make an older study new. A company result should retain its reporting period when one is stated.

The last check belongs at the point of purchase. Confirm the employing entity, complete price and exit terms before signing. If the written proposal differs from a comparison row, resolve that difference with the provider.

Disclosure

This is a commercial reference with editorial recommendations. Read its conclusions alongside the terms offered for your own hire.

Ownership should remain visible when you assess a recommendation. A detailed description of one service does not establish that it is the right choice for every buyer. Use your required scope to decide which rows deserve the most attention.

The scorecard is a way to organize that review. It does not certify a provider's compliance or predict an individual hire's performance. Ask the provider to explain how its agreement addresses your role and location.

How to report a correction

Make a correction specific enough to check. Identify the page, heading or table row, then quote the wording you believe should change.

Include a dated public link that supports the proposed correction. For a pricing change, identify the currency, billing period and included services. For a guarantee, point to the terms that define its scope.

A private quote may explain why your buying experience differs. Remove names, contact details and confidential terms before sharing an example. A custom offer should not automatically become the published rate for every buyer.

Submit the details through the site's contact route and identify the page as a methodology or comparison correction. The proposed change should address the disputed claim and any recommendation that depends on it.

Compare EOR and managed recruiting models with Opus.

<!-- Not saved to disk: this session permits read-only filesystem access. Live provider terms were not checked; confirm them before signing. -->