For business owners, Billings-based Avitus Group covers the administrative details

Does the name Avitus http://www.avitusgroup.com/ ring a bell? If not, no doubt it soon will.

Avitus Group is the new name for Montana’s fifth-largest employer, a nationwide business with headquarters in Billings.

Still wondering what kind of widgets its 2,400 Montana employees make? Forget widgets and think relief. Avitus Group, a professional employer organization, or PEO, takes the headache out of business ownership.

The concept seems a no-brainer. A PEO provides the administrative services that most business owners dread, said Art Geiger, CEO of Avitus Group.

"If there are issues at the worksite, we are the HR department," he said. "If they need help with accounting or payroll, they get it all."

A partnership with Avitus unlocks the door to an instant corporate structure that will cover just about every aspect of employment services and personnel management. No more heartburn over retirement plans or worker’s compensation. Instead, the business owner is free to focus on what he or she does best.

By LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA
Of The Gazette Staff

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/08/13/news/business/25-avitus.txt

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What’s in a name?:’Idea factory’ partners with Billings firm to create new image

By LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA
Of The Gazette Staff

Picking the low-hanging fruit is the easy way out, but beating that tree for the very best idea takes hard work and long hours.

That’s the philosophy of Nicholas Cryder, owner and creative director of 406 Inc. http://www.406inc.com/ , an advertising agency based in Billings.

Late last year, on the brink of celebrating its 10th anniversary, Better Business Systems – now Avitus Group – hired 406 Inc. to rev up its image with a new name and brand identity.

"The industry is exploding and they’re really proud of what they do," Cryder said. "Their identity just needed to catch up with what they’re doing."

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/08/13/news/business/30-idea.txt