HR advisory · nationwide · HQ Charlotte, NC · firms of 10–150
HR that bears the load.
Fixed-price HR audits, projects, fractional support, and PEO or HRIS transitions for law, accounting, engineering, and medical firms in any state. Headquartered in Charlotte, founder-led, and priced before we start.
Not a PEO. Independent, fixed fee, and we'll say so if a PEO is the wrong answer.
Start here
What's going on at your firm?
Four ways firms arrive. Each one has a service, a price, and a first step. Pick the closest and the call starts there.
The deliverable
You get a Load Report, not a slide deck.
Every audit ends in one document: nine areas, each marked pass, watch, or fail, with the statute or standard it was checked against in each state you employ in, and the fix, owner, and week it should be done by.
- Each finding cites the rule (state code, FLSA, IRCA, ACA) so counsel can verify in minutes.
- Fixes are sized: do-it-yourself, project, or ongoing.
- If a PEO is the right fix, we say so and run the comparison free. If it isn't, we say that too.
| Area · rule checked | Pass | Watch | Fail | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Hiring, I-9 and E-VerifySC office not enrolled · SC Code §41-8-20 | Fail | ||
| 02 | Classification and wage-hour2 paralegals exempt without duties test · 29 CFR 541 | Fail | ||
| 07 | Records and retentionMedical files mixed into personnel files · 29 CFR 1602 | Fail | ||
| +6 | Six more areas checkedHandbook, payroll, benefits, leave, safety, offboarding 3 watch 3 pass | |||
90-day plan attached
Schedule A
Five services. Most firms start with the audit.
The audit tells you what to fix, what to leave alone, and whether a PEO, an HRIS, or a person is the right next move. Every price on this sheet is quoted before work starts.
| Mark | Service | Scope | Duration | Price | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR AuditThe entry point. Every engagement starts here. | Nine areas, checks for every state you employ in, document review, 4 interviews | 2–3 weeks | $2,500–$6,000by headcount | The Load Report: scored findings + 90-day plan | |
| HR ProjectsFixed scope, fixed fee. | Multi-state handbook, FLSA classification review, I-9 remediation, comp benchmarking, performance system, AI-use policy | 2–6 weeks | $1,500–$7,500per project | Finished documents, trained managers, sign-off memo | |
| Fractional HRA senior HR lead, part-time. | Advisor (8 hrs/mo), Partner (20 hrs/mo), Embedded (40 hrs/mo) | 3-month minimum | $2,000–$6,000per month | Named lead, weekly cadence, quarterly re-audit | |
| TransitionsInto a PEO, out of one, or between systems. | PEO exit, PEO switch, PEO implementation, HRIS or payroll migration (Gusto, Rippling, Paylocity, ADP, BambooHR) | 6–12 weeks, timed to Jan 1 or a quarter | $3,000–$10,000 | Cutover plan, data validation, first two payrolls checked | |
| PEO BrokerageFree to you. Paid by the provider you pick. | Full-market comparison, quote normalization, contract review, renewal advocacy | About 60 days | $0 to youcommission disclosed | Side-by-side proposals, our written recommendation |
Money, in plain terms
Four fixed fees. One disclosed exception.
You should know how your advisor gets paid before you take advice from them. Ours is short enough to print on the engagement letter, and it is.
Multi-state is the default
Every state is its own rulebook. Most firms run one.
A remote hire in another state makes you an employer there: new registrations, new thresholds, new notices. We check every state your people work in. Our home pair, North and South Carolina, shows how different two neighbours can be.
State employer guides publish one state at a time. The audit does not wait for them: it checks every state you employ in today.
| Requirement | North Carolina | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| E-Verify | Required at 25+ employees | Required for all employers, within 3 business days of hire |
| Workers' comp | Required at 3+ employees | Required at 4+ employees |
| Wage notice at hire | Written notice of pay rate and payday (NCWHA) | Written notice; 7 days' notice before any change |
| Pregnancy accommodation | Federal PWFA at 15+ | State act at 15+, plus Lactation Support Act |
| Final pay | Next regular payday | Within 48 hours, or next payday (max 30 days) |
| Paid sick leave | No state mandate | No state mandate |
Who we build for
Firms whose product is their people.
The risk changes by industry. The document doesn't: the same nine areas, checked against the rules that actually apply to you.
Industry pages ship with the state guides. Until they do, the scope call covers your industry in the first five minutes.
Why Pillar exists
"I ran a company and paid the fines myself. A late deposit, a misfiled form, an employee we called exempt because everyone did. Pillar is the firm I needed then: someone independent who checks the whole structure and tells you what it costs to fix, before you sign anything."
Caleb Sherrill, founder
Ledger · proof
Questions firms ask first
01Are you a PEO?
No. We are an independent advisory firm. We audit, fix, and run HR for firms, and when a PEO is the right fit we compare the market for you at no charge, paid by the provider you choose. We disclose that commission in writing.
02What does an HR audit cost, and what do I get?
A fixed fee between $2,500 and $6,000 depending on headcount, agreed before we start. You get the Load Report: nine areas scored pass, watch, or fail against the specific federal and state rules that apply to you, with a 90-day fix plan that names an owner and a week for each item.
03We have people in several states. Does that change anything?
Yes, and it is the most common finding we make. Each state has its own registrations, E-Verify rules, wage notices, leave laws, and final-pay timing. The audit checks every state where you have an employee, including remote hires. Our home pair, North and South Carolina, is the example on this page; the method is the same in all 50.
04Can you replace our HR person, or work with them?
Either. Fractional HR gives a firm of 10 to 150 a senior lead for 8, 20, or 40 hours a month. If you have an office manager carrying HR, we back them up instead of replacing them.
05We want to leave our PEO. How long does that take?
Plan 8 to 12 weeks, timed to January 1 or a quarter start to avoid duplicate W-2s. We run the cutover: benefits replacement, payroll and tax registrations in every state, HRIS setup, and the first two payrolls checked by hand.
Scope sheet
Book the 20‑minute scope call.
Twenty minutes with Caleb. You leave with a scope, a price, and a date. No pitch deck, no discovery series.
Or call (704) 787-1261 · Mon–Fri 8–6 ET