Accelerated urges fall reviews of payroll, benefits and workers’ comp before 2027

Accelerated, LLC is advising employers to use fall budgeting season to reassess payroll, employee benefits, workers’ compensation and other recurring costs before year-end renewals lock in 2027 expenses. The Scottsdale-based firm says early review can uncover savings, improve fit and avoid rushed decisions.

Why it matters: - Employers heading into 2027 face continued pressure from rising health care costs and other workforce-related expenses. - Fall planning gives companies more time to compare options, negotiate terms and avoid making year-end changes under deadline pressure. - A broader review can reveal when a current provider, system or program no longer fits the business.

What happened: - Accelerated, LLC is encouraging employers to use the coming months to evaluate payroll, benefits, workers’ compensation, insurance and other major business expenses. - John Iorillo, CPA, managing partner at Accelerated, said fall offers a window that companies do not necessarily have at the end of the year. - Accelerated says the goal is not change for its own sake, but to confirm that current arrangements still make sense for the business.

The details: - Payroll reviews should go beyond fees and examine whether the system fits the company’s size and complexity, integrates with other tools and provides the reporting and support the business needs. - Employee benefits reviews should weigh cost alongside plan design, employee utilization, recruiting and retention goals, and the value employees place on the offering. - Workers’ compensation costs can shift based on claims history, classifications, payroll changes, safety practices and workforce changes. - Reviewing those factors before renewal can help employers understand what is driving premiums and where improvements may be possible. - Accelerated said payroll, benefits and workers’ compensation are often managed by different vendors or departments, which can create tradeoffs across the business. - Staffing changes can affect payroll administration, workers’ compensation exposure and benefit costs at the same time. - Rapid growth can make a previously adequate payroll system harder to use. - Benefit changes aimed at lowering costs can also affect recruiting or retention. - Iorillo said employers are often handed a product when they first need help understanding the underlying problem. - Accelerated says fall is also a better time to compare options, understand implementation needs and communicate changes to employees without rushing a transition. - The firm recommends starting with the largest recurring workforce and operational expenses and identifying where costs have risen, service has declined or business needs have changed. - A review may confirm an existing provider remains the best fit. - Other reviews may lead to better terms, a restructured program, consolidated services or a different solution.

Between the lines: - Accelerated is pushing employers to treat year-end planning as a strategic operating review, not just a budgeting exercise. - The message also reflects a broader consulting pitch: the biggest savings may come from diagnosing the problem before shopping for a replacement. - The company is positioning cross-functional review as the way to avoid unintended consequences from isolated decisions.

What's next: - Employers that start reviewing expenses in the fall can still compare alternatives, evaluate implementation requirements and plan employee communication before Jan. 1. - Iorillo said January should not be the date a business realizes it should have reviewed an expense months earlier. - Accelerated is directing readers to more information about its business consulting and insurance services. - Accelerated, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded in 2003 to provide software to the California workers’ compensation insurance industry and now works with businesses in construction, manufacturing, transportation, hospitality, warehousing and automotive.

The bottom line: - Fall is the best time, Accelerated says, for employers to reassess major recurring costs before those decisions harden into 2027 expenses.