BASIC
Tech-Powered Solutions for Every HR Need
BASIC

Fritz Teutsch, President , BASICFritz Teutsch, President
Managing human resources in earnest spirit, maintaining compliances, and meeting regulatory responsibilities is a mammoth task for companies of all sizes. While smaller firms sometimes lack HR departments, larger companies are stretched thin catering to the needs of an expansive workforce.

Headquartered in Portage, Michigan, BASIC offers one-stop, tech-powered solutions covering the entire gamut of HR needs. With a tagline, ‘HR Solutions Come Full Circle’, BASIC’s services range from payroll and tax filing to benefits management covering HRA, HSA,FSA and COBRA to FMLA and ERISA Compliance. BASIC’s solutions include an Absence Management which streamlines the call off process, reducing employer administration while documenting every absence uniformly across all locations or department. Then automatically notifies the department or shift manager giving the ability to manage replacement workers as soon as possible. BASIC has automated, eased, and replaced expensive outsourcing contracts through its diverse and integrated platform. It is now a nationally recognized TPA for HR benefits and payroll processing.

BASIC’s expertise in compliance management sets it apart from other firms in the space. “Our services help companies manage technical aspects and regulations of compliance of different departments, be it the IRS or Department of Labor. We leverage technology to enable them and hence streamline operations,” informs Anna Mulder, the Marketing Manager. BASIC also holds webinars twice a month for their clients to discuss and explain changes in regulations and their effect.

The idea to offer automated HR services stemmed from an internal challenge. In 1989, the President of the company, Fritz Teutsch, realized that HR administration companies were charging exorbitant fees to small companies.


BASIC now offers services to 15,000 employers and its services cut across small firms, to giants which have over 30,000 employees


“We were an innovator from the beginning and took it as our mantra. So, we developed a self-administrative platform using DOS software,” Teutsch recollects. Ever since, the company continued to update its technology, often through proprietary software and technology partnerships.

Teutsch, who was an insurance broker when he started his career, chose to market his services uniquely, via insurance brokers. “I was a sole proprietor at the time and found it a lot easier to present this solution to brokers to sell on our behalf. We still use that model and over 90 percent of our sales still go through them,” he says. BASIC also understands the needs of the broker’s clients and devises ways to fulfill them.

BASIC now offers services to 15,000 employers and its services cut across small firms, to giants which have over 30,000 employees. The companies can go for the entire bouquet of HR resources or pick from a variety of solutions across benefits management, HR services, and HR compliance. “The idea is that a company can call us and say I need help— our company hasn’t filed the necessary 5500 forms, how do we make it right or I’m not sure if this absence is covered under FMLA,” says Teutsch.

Mulder explains how their solutions helped simplify benefits management during a merger. “A client for whom we manage Health Savings Accounts bought another company. They were worried that their acquired company’s employees must close their existing HSA accounts to open new ones. We told them that we could use their existing accounts and administer them on our platform. The client was thrilled because the transition for the employees who were already feeling purchased, was easier,” she says.

The ability to service employers where employees have HSA accounts at several different banks is one of the unique propositions of BASIC. The other is the welcoming attitude that staff has developed with each other and their clients. Teutsch wanted to offer a service where a client can break through complexities and get expert answers for every query. His culture of offering personalized attention trickled down to its staff. BASIC does not have a call center. It appointed a dedicated account manager to every client to ensure that no client of theirs would ever have to talk to a stranger.