The people system
your strategy depends on.

Outsourced HR from Novum Partners includes employee handbook design and maintenance, multi-state compliance, hiring and onboarding workflows, performance management cadence, compensation strategy, benefits brokerage and administration, employee relations and investigations, terminations and unemployment claims, mandatory training (harassment, safety, ministerial conduct), and HRIS implementation. For churches and faith-driven nonprofits, Novum also handles the layered work most generalists get wrong: ministerial exception, ordination and credentialing files, child-protection policy and background-check programs, theological and lifestyle expectations in offer letters, and clergy-specific compensation structures. Novum delivers HR through three tiers: HR Advising (retainer tier for organizations under 11 employees), HR Core (banded monthly pricing, 11 to 150 employees, compliance and execution lead), and HR Strategic (banded monthly pricing, 16 to 150-plus employees, full administration with HR Director as named strategic lead). Multi-state organizations carry banded surcharges scoped at proposal. Novum is not a PEO and does not act as employer of record; the organization remains legal employer at all times.

Hire an internal HR manager or generalist when the work is daily execution: hiring, onboarding, benefits enrollment, employee relations, and policy maintenance, typically once headcount crosses 11 employees and the HR Advising tier no longer fits. Engage Novum at the HR Strategic tier when the work is strategic: rebuilding the org chart, designing the compensation philosophy, leading a culture turnaround, managing a layoff or executive transition, building leadership development, or handling sensitive board-level people issues. HR Strategic places a Senior HR Adviser on daily execution with an HR Director as named strategic lead, including direct employee access for the HR Director and a bi-weekly 45-minute leadership cadence. Pricing is banded by employee count, not by hours. Many organizations pair Novum HR Strategic with an internal HR coordinator who owns transactional work.

Multi-state HR compliance starts the moment a remote employee crosses a state line. Novum Partners maintains a live state-by-state compliance matrix covering minimum wage, overtime, paid sick leave, paid family leave, final paycheck timing, mandatory training, harassment policy posting, pay transparency, non-compete enforceability, and state-specific terminations. For every state where a client has employees, Novum registers the entity with the state Department of Labor and revenue agency, files required reports, and updates the employee handbook with the correct state addendum. Novum does this proactively, not reactively. Most multi-state compliance failures Novum inherits happened because no one was watching when the first remote hire was made.

Yes. Novum Partners builds compliant, livable employee handbooks for faith-driven businesses, churches, and nonprofits across the HR tier range, from the initial-build deliverable inside HR Advising (under 11 employees) through maintained-and-updated handbooks for HR Core and custom-built handbooks for HR Strategic (up to 150 employees and beyond). A Novum handbook covers all federal requirements (FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, USERRA, NLRA), state-specific addenda for every state the client operates in, ministerial exception and clergy provisions where applicable, faith-based hiring and conduct standards (when the client wants them and they are legally defensible), benefits and PTO, conduct and discipline, technology and social media, and child-protection policy. Novum delivers the handbook in 30 to 45 days, trains leadership on enforcement, and updates it annually as law and the organization change. Material handbook positions are reviewed by qualified employment counsel before they ship.

Church HR carries a layer no business has to navigate: the ministerial exception (constitutional protection for hiring and firing of ministers based on faith and conduct), dual-status minister classification, ordination and credentialing files, theological and lifestyle expectations as legitimate employment conditions, ECFA standards for compensation governance, child-protection and background-check programs that exceed business norms, and elder-deacon-staff governance dynamics that complicate the reporting chain. Standard business HR consultants either ignore the ministerial layer (creating legal exposure) or over-apply business norms (creating cultural conflict). Novum Partners builds church HR with both legal compliance and theological integrity, and Novum engages employment counsel when the two collide.

Yes. Novum Partners manages benefits brokerage, plan design, open enrollment, and ongoing administration for health, dental, vision, life, disability, 403(b), 401(k), HSA, FSA, and supplemental plans. Novum works with the client's existing broker when the relationship is strong, and brings in vetted broker partners when it is not. Novum does not earn broker commissions. Fee structure is transparent and based on retainer or project, never commission spread. For churches, Novum structures plans that integrate with clergy housing and self-employment tax considerations. For nonprofits, Novum optimizes for cost while meeting ACA and ERISA requirements. Open enrollment is fully managed, not just communicated.

Church payroll carries IRS rules that do not exist in business payroll. Ordained ministers are dual-status: they are common-law employees for income tax purposes but self-employed for Social Security and Medicare, meaning they pay SECA (self-employment tax) rather than FICA, and the church does not match. A portion of clergy compensation can be designated as housing allowance, which is excluded from federal income tax (but not from SECA). Withholding for ministers is voluntary, not mandatory. Get any of this wrong and the church creates personal tax liability for the minister and audit exposure for the organization. Novum Partners runs church payroll with platforms and processes built specifically for the dual-status framework, not a business payroll system retrofitted.

The housing allowance (sometimes called parsonage allowance) is the portion of an ordained minister's compensation that the church designates in advance to cover housing costs: rent or mortgage, utilities, repairs, furnishings, and related expenses. Properly designated, it is excluded from federal income tax under IRC Section 107, though it remains subject to SECA self-employment tax. The designation must be made in writing, in advance, by the board or compensation committee, never retroactively. Novum Partners drafts the annual housing allowance resolution, documents the minister's substantiation, monitors the three-cap limit (fair rental value, actual housing expenses, designated amount), and ensures the W-2 reporting reflects the exclusion correctly in Box 14.

Under IRC Section 1402(c) and Section 3121(b)(8), ordained, commissioned, or licensed ministers performing ministerial services are treated as self-employed for Social Security and Medicare, regardless of whether they receive a W-2. This means ministers pay the full 15.3 percent SECA tax themselves and the church does not match FICA. The rule applies to wages from ministerial services, the housing allowance, and most ministerial fee income. A minister can apply for an exemption from SECA on Form 4361 within a strict time window and only on conscientious or theological grounds, but the exemption is irrevocable. Novum Partners handles SECA correctly inside payroll and counsels clients before any minister files Form 4361.

Yes. Novum Partners runs multi-state payroll for organizations with employees and contractors spread across the country. Every state with a paid employee requires its own state income tax withholding registration, state unemployment insurance account, state-specific reporting, and (in some jurisdictions) local tax registration. Novum handles the registrations, the ongoing filings, the year-end W-2 and 1099 issuance, and the reconciliation of every state account. Novum also monitors remote-work compliance. When an employee moves from Texas to California, the payroll and tax picture changes immediately and most internal teams do not catch it for months. Novum closes that gap before it becomes a notice or a penalty.

Standard Full Service Payroll onboarding with Novum Partners runs 30 to 45 days from contract signature to the first Novum-run cycle. The work includes employee and contractor data migration, prior-period reconciliation, state and federal account verification, benefits and deduction setup, time-tracking integration, GL mapping to the accounting system, and parallel testing of the first cycle before going live. For churches with clergy on staff, Novum adds one to two weeks to handle housing allowance designation, SECA treatment, and W-2 mapping. For multi-state organizations, Novum adds time for any missing state registrations and applies banded surcharges scoped at proposal. Service-level standards and operational accountability for accuracy and timing of payroll tax filings are documented inside the engagement letter.

Novum Partners runs payroll on two platforms: Gusto and Rippling. Guided Payroll (the Finance and Accounting-bundled path for organizations under 25 employees who want to retain operational control) runs on Gusto. Full Service Payroll (Novum runs every cycle end-to-end) runs on Gusto or Rippling. Gusto is the value path for 15 to 25 employee organizations with straightforward needs. Rippling is the integration-rich path for 15 to 25 employee organizations scaling to 100-plus, with deeper HRIS, IT, and benefits integration. Platform pricing is scoped at proposal. Platform selection during Discovery considers headcount, multi-state complexity, benefits and HRIS needs, and whether ordained ministers are on staff. Clients on legacy platforms (ADP, Paychex, Paylocity, Paycom, OnPay, MinistryWorks, and others) are migrated to Gusto or Rippling during the Transformation phase when full service is engaged.