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Do Small Businesses Need an HR Professional?

September 14th, 2023 | 6 min. read

By CSI Accounting Staff

Small business owners understand the challenges of staying up-to-date with HR requirements, as well as handling any accidents or resolving personal issues that might come forward.

It's important to have a resource to handle these situations, but how can that be done on a tight budget? Most small businesses can't afford to hire an HR professional, but what about outsourcing this assistance?

At CSI Accounting & Payroll, we've worked with small businesses since the 1960s. In all that time, we've seen how many small business owners go without professional HR guidance - and how many find out it's a mistake to leave this area uncovered. Here, we discuss:

  • Can you hire your own HR professional as a small business?
  • Is outsourced HR affordable?
  • What is HR compliance?
  • What are the different levels of HR plans?

Blog - Do Small Businesses Need an HR Professional

Can I Hire My Own HR Professional?

Oftentimes, small business owners find themselves wishing they could afford an HR professional in-house to help handle these matters.

While it's helpful to have an HR professional by your side, they often come with hefty salary requirements and may not be needed on a daily basis if your business doesn't have many employees.

Typically, small businesses don't hire their own HR professionals. Did you know that there's another option? Let's talk about outsourcing HR solutions, as well as why small business owners sometimes hesitate to do this.

Outsourced Small Business HR Solutions

Can I Afford Outsourced HR Penalty Prevention?

You may think your business is too small to need even an outsourced HR professional, but one missed law change or one accident could land you in thousands of dollars in penalties

What's one way to prevent that? Use our online HR resource for as little as $10/month.

What Is HR Compliance?

Our HR resource defines HR compliance as "the work of ensuring that your employment practices conform to federal, state, and local laws. This work requires learning which laws apply to your organization and understanding what they require you to do. That’s easier said than done."

They go on to say that, "You have to be able to decipher legalese, know where to go to ask the right questions, and create policies and procedures that minimize business risk. You have to ensure that everyone from the executive team to newly minted managers know what they can and cannot do. You have to conduct investigations and enforce your rules consistently. And all this is just the bare minimum—necessary, but not enough to create a truly successful culture."

With new legal requirements always popping up and compliance often being difficult, it's hard to keep up while juggling other roles in a company. This is where having an HR professional or HR resource on your side can really help you.

What Are the Different Levels of Outsourced HR Service?

Our online HR resource has three different tiers, each tailored to your budget and needs:

  • HR Support Center contains a large variety of documents, tools, onboarding resources, ACA, FLSA, and FMLA law libraries, and more. It is offered at $10/month.
  • HR On-Demand contains everything HR Support Center offers, plus extra customization and development. It also has a ticket tracker, live harassment prevention training, and unlimited access to dedicated support from a real HR professional. It is offered at $50/month.
  • HR Complete also gives you access to everything in HR Support Center, plus it matches you with a certified HR advisor, working one-on-one with you to create a plan and target your goals. You'll get customized tasks and goals to ensure your compliance and protection, as well as quarterly reports on them. It is offered at $450/month.

Learn more about our HR services here.

Breaking it Down

Between running your business and monitoring all aspects of HR, which one is more important to you - and which one are you better at?

If your business hasn't grown enough to justify hiring an in-house HR professional, you may want to look into outsourcing your HR (and whatever services go along with it!)


CSI Accounting & Payroll is truly the small business owner's one-stop shop. Our clients love our customer service and ongoing efforts to inform them of current events that affect their businesses. HR solutions are a great way to fully encapsulate the rest of your needs!

Ready to have a conversation about how outsourced HR might be right for you? Click the button below for a free consultation.

    MEET WITH AN ADVISOR

Not ready to talk? That's okay! First, learn more about CSI's other services.

CSI Accounting Staff

This article was composed by a member of our staff who interviewed our experts to get the facts straight. Any uncited information found here came straight from a knowledgeable accountant or payroll specialist.