CASE STUDY

How BPM Helped a Law Firm Navigate a Smooth PEO Transition  

August 20, 2026

Services: PEO Transition

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A San Francisco law firm with almost 400 employees reached out to BPM  for help moving onto ADP TotalSource, a professional employer organization (PEO) platform. They had an extremely condensed timeline and lots of data, and the internal team didn’t have the resources to manage this significant of a shift in their business.   

The Problem 

The firm decided to move onto ADP TotalSource largely for the value: PEOs can sometimes offer more robust employee benefits at a more reasonable cost than a firm might secure on its own. But getting there was not simple. Moving to a PEO meant migrating years of payroll and HR data from a prior system, running the first few payrolls correctly, keeping compliance requirements in order throughout the switch, and coordinating open enrollment for new benefits, all while continuing to run a busy legal practice. 

The short timeline made this transition especially complex. Within six weeks, the firm needed to verify and migrate all data to the new system, educate employees on their new benefit options, complete enrollment, and run payroll in ADP TotalSource for both K-1 partners and staff. In addition, their complex benefits structure, and mid-year transition to new benefit plans required significant coordination and employee education.  

The firm needed a partner who could manage that transition from start to finish rather than handle it piecemeal in-house.  

The Solution

BPM’s HR consulting group stepped in to project to manage the entire transition onto ADP TotalSource. That meant overseeing the data migration from the firm’s prior system, supporting the first payroll cycles to confirm everything landed correctly, and keeping a close eye on compliance at each step.  

BPM also guided the firm through open enrollment for its new benefits offerings, making sure colleagues understood their options and the transition felt seamless rather than disruptive. As a preferred partner of ADP TotalSource, BPM brought platform familiarity to the table along with the kind of hands-on project management that PEO transitions often require but rarely receive.  

The Outcome 

The transition ran smoothly, and what started as a single project grew into a year-long engagement. The firm continues to reach out to BPM from time to time, reinforcing the kind of  trusted relationship that started with restructuring work. For BPM, the engagement is a clear example of how a firm’s memory of good HR consulting work can turn into an ongoing trusted relationship, and how a strong working relationship with a partner like ADP TotalSource helps make complex PEO transitions feel manageable for clients who need that extra layer of support.  

Considering a move to a PEO platform like ADP TotalSource, or need help managing an HR system transition? Connect with BPM’s HR consulting group to learn how we can help.