New business leads for payroll, HR and PEO providers in Portland & Vancouver, WA

A new business has to decide how it will pay people before its first hire, and most owners have not picked a payroll provider, signed with a PEO (a company that runs payroll, benefits and HR for small employers) or written an employee handbook when they register. That window is short: once payroll is running, owners rarely switch. New registrations, licenses and contractor records are the earliest public sign that a business is about to employ someone.

Launch Lookout pulls new business registrations from the Oregon Secretary of State, new contractors from Washington Labor & Industries, and new liquor licenses, health practices and trucking companies every day, and maps them around your office. Hundreds of new businesses show up across the metro each week.

Not every registration will hire soon; many are holding companies or side businesses. Restaurants, clinics, contractors and trucking companies almost always do, and their records say which is which. A short note that offers to set up payroll before the first paycheck is a timely, useful first contact.