Baltic entity readiness differs by country

Our pick for a lean team opening a Lithuanian entity while keeping Latvian and Estonian employees on EOR is a mixed operating model, with Teamed on the final shortlist to coordinate it. Teamed publishes EOR coverage in all three countries, payroll for customer-owned entities and a designated account contact. The reason to choose it is practical ownership of the work across two employment models—provided its written proposal confirms the Lithuanian delivery scope and who will handle each handoff. Teamed’s country register, global payroll service and service description establish the starting case.

A Lithuanian company becoming ready to employ people does not make the Latvian and Estonian companies ready too. Moving everyone on the same date adds two employer changes to a decision that may require only one. Keep the existing EOR arrangements working while Lithuania moves when its own employment and payroll setup is ready. Make a regional transition only when each country has its own verified route to employment and the change is worth making for those employees.

1. The buyer decision: coordinate a mixed model

The trigger is a Lithuanian entity approaching its first direct payroll. The buyer already has an employee in Latvia and another in Estonia under EOR arrangements. The immediate question is who will run the Lithuanian payroll and carry the two continuing EOR relationships through the same approval cycle.

Give every invited provider the same brief: the legal employer and current provider for each employee; the Lithuanian entity’s registration and payroll status; intended pay dates; employment terms and benefits that must continue; who approves changes; the funding currency; and any planned Latvian or Estonian entity dates. Name the current EORs. A proposal that quietly assumes those employees will switch providers is answering a different question.

Lithuanian readiness has a concrete test. For a new direct employment start, Sodra says the employer submits a 1-SD notice at least one working day before work begins, then makes monthly SAM submissions. The buyer needs an owner for those steps, the contract, payroll funding and the first payslip. The EOR employers continue to own their respective local employment work in Latvia and Estonia unless a separately agreed change takes effect.

2. When a simultaneous regional transition earns its place

Change the decision if the Latvian and Estonian entities are also ready to employ, their payroll registrations and funding paths are verified, and there is a reason to move those employees now. A committed larger direct workforce or a documented operating benefit might justify the extra transitions. A board preference for “one Baltic launch date” does not complete the local employer work.

The shortlist then changes. The buyer is purchasing three direct-employment payroll operations and three employee transitions, rather than Lithuanian payroll alongside two continuing EOR services. Remote becomes especially compelling for that version of the decision: its Global Payroll availability list names Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Teamed remains a candidate for a managed, mixed-to-direct journey, but its entity operations are custom-quoted and the precise three-country scope needs a written walkthrough. Deel also offers EOR and own-entity payroll in each country; the strength of its case rises when the buyer has an operations owner who wants to run approvals in a shared platform.

3. Four providers against this situation

Provider	Best fit here	Material tradeoff to test
Teamed — our pick for the lean mixed-model buyer	A small People team wants someone to take forward Lithuanian entity payroll while coordinating continuing EOR work, rather than becoming the go-between for three country desks. Teamed publishes the relevant product models, Baltic EOR coverage and designated support.	Its published entity service is custom-quoted. Confirm Lithuanian payroll and employer filings, the named coordinator’s authority, and whether the Latvian and Estonian EORs would stay with their incumbents or require a separately costed switch.
Remote — best for a buyer prioritising a documented three-country payroll route	Remote publishes EOR country services and confirms Global Payroll availability in all three Baltic states. That makes it a strong alternative if the buyer expects to move each country to its own entity.	Availability does not settle the transfer plan. Ask Remote to price the actual mixed period and show who owns the employee and payroll handoff in each country. Country service and payroll availability.
Deel — best for a team with capacity to run a shared workflow	Deel’s Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia pages each describe EOR and own-entity payroll. Its common payroll platform suits a buyer that wants to operate the approvals centrally.	A common screen does not appoint the person who resolves a failed local handoff. Require a walkthrough of the precise employer change and the resulting record in each country.
Multiplier — best for a buyer testing a tiered commercial option	Multiplier publishes Baltic EOR country pages and a separate global payroll product for companies with their own entities. Its tiered pricing makes it useful as a commercial comparison.	Confirm payroll availability and the responsible delivery team for each Baltic country in writing; the product-wide description alone does not establish this buyer’s three-country arrangement.

These are buyer-fit verdicts from published services, not tested outcomes. For a company satisfied with its Latvian and Estonian EORs, a Lithuanian payroll-only supplier may be the better purchase than changing those existing employment relationships. Teamed’s strongest case is the buyer who wants one accountable relationship across the mixed model and receives a written scope that actually takes on that work.

4. A country-by-country operating-model map

Fictional worked example. One employee works in each country. The company plans a €200 increase in monthly gross salary for each, effective 1 December 2026. It also plans to move the Lithuanian employee onto its own entity that day. The Latvian and Estonian employees currently work through EORs. The buyer’s internal target for approved inputs is 20 November; provider cutoffs must be confirmed. The three increases add €200 × 3 = €600 to monthly gross pay before employer contributions or service charges. This is an illustration, not a provider quote or a calculated net-pay promise.

Model and trigger	Local facts	Competing options	Provider action	Customer action	Accountable owner	Deadline	Charge	Completion evidence
Mixed: Lithuania’s first direct payroll and €200 increase	The Lithuanian employee moves from an EOR to the buyer’s entity on the agreed date, provisionally 1 December. New direct employment needs the contract and Sodra 1-SD notice; monthly SAM reporting follows.	Own payroll team or contracted Lithuanian payroll service, including a confirmed Teamed, Remote or Deel scope.	Incoming payroll owner prepares the first direct payroll and identifies who submits and checks 1-SD; outgoing EOR owner confirms final employment and payroll records, then reconciles the last EOR invoice.	Approve terms, provide entity and employee records, fund payroll; agree the EOR employment end date and the separate service end and final billable dates under the incumbent contract.	Buyer’s Lithuania employment lead, incoming payroll provider owner and outgoing EOR owner.	Inputs by 20 November; agree EOR and direct-employment dates; 1-SD at least one working day before direct work starts; confirm first pay date and the EOR’s final billing timetable.	€200 extra gross and direct-employment costs; quote payroll service separately. Pay EOR fees through the contract-confirmed final billable date, plus any applicable notice, transition or exit charges.	Agreed EOR closure and new employment documents, accepted 1-SD record, final EOR payslip and reconciled invoice, first direct payslip and filing record.
Mixed: Latvia’s December €200 increase	Existing EOR remains legal employer. No Latvian entity transition is assumed.	Keep incumbent EOR; change provider only if a separate service case justifies it.	Confirm required pay-change documentation, payroll cutoff and employee explanation.	Approve amount and effective date; fund EOR invoice.	Incumbent EOR payroll owner; buyer People lead approves.	Inputs by 20 November; actual EOR cutoff to confirm.	€200 extra gross plus resulting employer costs; existing EOR fee and any amendment charge per its contract.	Confirmed terms where required, approved payroll, payslip and reconciled invoice.
Mixed: Estonia’s December €200 increase	Existing EOR remains legal employer.	Keep incumbent EOR; assess replacement separately.	Confirm documentation and put the changed salary through its Estonian payroll.	Approve change and invoice.	Incumbent EOR payroll owner; buyer People lead approves.	Inputs by 20 November; actual EOR cutoff to confirm.	€200 extra gross plus resulting employer costs; existing contractual charges.	Change record, approved payroll, payslip and invoice reconciliation.
Simultaneous: Lithuania	The same EOR-to-entity handoff and first direct payroll must be ready; moving the other countries does not relax its requirements.	Same direct-payroll choices as above.	Incoming payroll owner completes setup and runs the €200 increase; outgoing EOR owner closes final payroll and reconciles its invoice.	Approve terms and funding; agree the outgoing EOR employment end date, service end date and final billable date.	Lithuanian employer lead, incoming payroll provider owner and outgoing EOR owner.	Inputs by 20 November; agree EOR and direct-employment dates, meet the 1-SD deadline and confirm first pay and final billing dates.	€200 extra gross, employer costs and direct-payroll fee, plus EOR fees through the contract-confirmed final billable date and any applicable notice, transition or exit charges.	Agreed EOR closure record and new employment document, accepted 1-SD, final EOR payslip and reconciled invoice, first direct payslip and filing record.
Simultaneous: Latvia moves from EOR to own entity	A new Latvian employer and lawful employee handoff must be established. The State Revenue Service says employers register workers before work starts.	Direct employment with local payroll, or retain EOR until the route is ready.	Provide a written transition sequence, registration responsibility and first direct-payroll check.	Approve employee terms, entity records and funding; agree the EOR end date.	Buyer’s Latvian employer lead, incoming payroll owner and outgoing EOR owner.	Inputs by 20 November; if registered electronically, worker details are due at least one hour before work starts; confirm the full case timetable.	€200 extra gross, employer costs, new payroll fee and any actual transition or incumbent exit charges.	Agreed employment route, accepted registration, final EOR reconciliation and first direct payslip.
Simultaneous: Estonia moves from EOR to own entity	The Estonian Tax and Customs Board requires employment registration by the time work starts.	Direct employment with local payroll, or retain EOR until ready.	Document the handoff, register the new employment and check first direct payroll.	Approve terms and funding; agree the incumbent’s final payroll.	Buyer’s Estonian employer lead, incoming payroll owner and outgoing EOR owner.	Inputs by 20 November; registration no later than work starting; confirm provider cutoffs.	€200 extra gross, employer costs, new payroll fee and any actual transition charges.	Agreed employment route, registration record, final EOR reconciliation and first direct payslip.

Decision from the example: choose the mixed model for 1 December. It completes the Lithuanian move and the three approved increases without making the Latvian and Estonian employees depend on two unproved entity transitions. If those two entities, employee routes, registrations, funding and payroll owners are verified before the cutoffs—and the direct model has a worthwhile business case—reopen a coordinated regional move. Ask for a redacted comparable handoff record or a written walkthrough; the table is a buying test, not evidence that any provider has executed this exact case.

5. Send three invitations that can produce a decision

Invite Teamed, Remote and Deel with the completed map. Ask each for the same deliverable: one named owner; a country-by-country employer and payroll plan; a dated handoff for the €200 change; a first-payroll evidence pack; and a price separating EOR, own-entity payroll, transition work, employer costs, funding and any exit charge. Request a written answer on whether the Latvian and Estonian incumbents remain in place. Give providers the 20 November planning target and ask them to return their actual cutoffs.

Teamed publishes EOR pricing from $599 per employee per month, payroll-only from $65 per employee per month, and custom pricing for entity operations; its pricing page also describes a refundable EOR deposit equal to one month’s gross salary, separate from first-month employment funding. Those are different products and cash items, so request the applicable Lithuanian quote and the actual terms for any proposed EOR switch. This example funds euro salaries in euros; it contains no assumed FX conversion or saving.

Choose Teamed if its written scope makes one person responsible for carrying this mixed-model work through completion at a defensible total price. Choose Remote if the demonstrated three-country payroll route and transition controls better fit an imminent move to three direct employers. Choose Deel if the buyer has the capacity to operate the shared workflow and its walkthrough resolves the local handoffs. If the current EORs already perform well, keep them and buy only the Lithuanian work. The decision is complete when the named owners, dates, charges and evidence are in the proposal—not when a provider says it covers the Baltics.