Short answer: payroll reps and PEOs get clients through accountant and banker referrals, switchers, and outbound calls. The easiest to sign are businesses that haven't run payroll yet, because there is nobody to replace. Florida registers about 10,513 new businesses a week, and construction, cleaning, and food service companies tend to hire first. Reaching the owner before the first hire, with a clear picture of what a Florida employer has to set up, makes you the provider in place when the first paycheck goes out.
Where do payroll reps and PEOs find clients?
- Accountant and bookkeeper referrals. The biggest source for most providers. The person doing the books is often asked who should run payroll.
- Bankers and insurance agents. Banks bundle payroll with business accounts, and agents writing workers' comp often recommend pay-as-you-go programs tied to payroll.
- Switchers. Businesses unhappy with price or service. Real deals, but you are always replacing someone.
- Purchased lists. Established companies by size and industry, almost all of which already run payroll.
- New business filings. Companies that registered in the last few days, with the owner's name on the filing. Nobody to replace.
What a Florida business sets up before its first payroll
Most new owners don't know this list. Walking them through it is the most useful thing you can do on a first call:
| Requirement | What it means |
|---|---|
| An EIN | A federal employer number from the IRS, needed for the payroll tax filings. |
| A reemployment tax account | Registration with the Florida Department of Revenue. New employers start at 2.7% on the first $7,000 of wages per employee and report quarterly. |
| New hire reporting | Every new hire is reported to the state within 20 days. |
| Workers' comp | Required in Florida for construction businesses with one or more employees and most other businesses with four or more. Our workers' comp requirement checker covers the rules. |
| I-9s, and E-Verify at 25 employees | Every employer completes an I-9 for each hire. Florida requires private employers with 25 or more employees to use E-Verify. |
| Federal payroll filings | Quarterly Form 941, annual Form 940, and W-2s by January 31. |
| Minimum wage | Florida's minimum wage rose to $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026, and $11.98 for tipped employees. |
Florida has no state income tax, so there is no state withholding. That makes Florida payroll simpler than most states, but it doesn't make the reemployment tax, new hire reports, and workers' comp go away, and new owners miss them all the time.
Which new businesses hire first?
| New business | Why they need payroll early | New Florida filings a week* |
|---|---|---|
| Construction and trades | Crews from day one; workers' comp from the first employee | 429 |
| Cleaning companies | Hourly staff, high turnover, many new hire reports | 228 |
| Restaurants | Tipped employees, the tipped minimum wage, tip reporting | 164 |
| Trucking and transportation | Drivers on payroll versus owner-operators on 1099s | 404 |
| Medical and dental practices | Front desk and clinical staff; benefits questions early | 309 |
| Gyms and fitness studios | Trainers and front desk staff, employee versus contractor | 74 |
| Schools and childcare | Staff-to-child ratios mean hiring before opening | 70 |
*Average between August 17 and October 9, 2026, counted from business names that say what the business does. Many new companies have names that don't, so the real numbers are higher.
Don't skip every one-person company. An owner who works in an S corporation is expected to take a reasonable salary through payroll, so a single-owner S corp can be a payroll client from its first month. Holding companies and single-property real estate LLCs are the ones to drop.
What to say on the first call
Ask about hiring before you pitch anything. For example:
"Hi, is this Luis? This is Rachel with Sunshine Payroll here in Fort Lauderdale. I saw Luis Roofing registered with the state last week, congratulations. I help new contractors in Broward get set up before their first payroll: the reemployment tax account, new hire reporting, and workers' comp. Are you planning to bring on a crew this year, or is it just you for now?"
- If they are hiring soon, offer to set it all up before the first paycheck, including the state registrations.
- If it is just them, ask whether they plan to elect S corporation status. If so, they will need payroll for their own salary.
- If they aren't ready, send the setup checklist above with your name on it and follow up in a month. Hiring plans change fast in a company's first quarter.
Workers' comp is a natural partner product. Pay-as-you-go workers' comp is tied to payroll, so payroll reps and commercial insurance agents often refer to each other. Our guide to calling new businesses has voicemails and a follow-up cadence, and the calling rules guide covers what applies in Florida.
Doing it yourself vs. a daily list
New filings are published by the state every business day, about 2,527 a day statewide, with no phone numbers and no industry. Most of the file is holding companies, real estate LLCs, filing services, and companies outside your territory, and finding each owner's phone number takes 5 to 10 minutes a record.
FiledToday's payroll leads do the filtering and the research. Each weekday you get your county's new businesses with the owner's name, phone number, and mailing address, with the industries that hire first at the top. Plans are $99 to $249 a month per county, and you can get a free county sample first.
Common questions
How do I get payroll clients?
Most payroll reps rely on referrals from accountants, bookkeepers, bankers, and insurance agents, plus outbound calls to businesses that are switching or just starting. New businesses are the easiest to sign because there is no provider to replace. In Florida, new business filings name the owner within days of the company registering.
How do PEOs find new clients?
The same channels, aimed at companies with a few employees or more. New businesses are an early relationship rather than an instant PEO sale: start them on payroll or a workers' comp program, and the PEO conversation comes as they hire.
When does a new Florida business need payroll?
When it pays its first employee. That includes an owner who works in an S corporation, who is expected to take a reasonable salary through payroll. Many new companies hire within their first months, especially in construction, cleaning, and food service.
Does Florida have state payroll taxes?
Florida has no state income tax, so there is no state withholding from paychecks. Employers do pay reemployment (unemployment) tax to the Florida Department of Revenue: new employers start at 2.7% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages a year, reported quarterly.
When do new hires have to be reported in Florida?
Within 20 days of the hire date, to the Florida New Hire Reporting Center. Many payroll providers file these reports for their clients automatically, which is a good point to make on the first call.
Updated October 12, 2026 · By Ben Thalmann, founder of FiledToday