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Childcare Centers & Preschools: Managed Payroll for Small Businesses (Under 25 Employees) (2026)
Managed payroll for a small childcare center is a complexity decision, not a headcount one: at $45 per employee with no monthly minimum a 10-person childcare center pays $450 a month. BEG: $45 per employee per month inside the payroll software you already use, live in 3 to 5 days.
What managed payroll costs a small childcare center
At $45 per employee per month with no monthly minimum and no setup fee, a 5-person childcare center pays $225 a month, a 10-person one $450 and a 20-person one $900, all-inclusive. The cost grows one employee at a time, so there is no headcount to wait for. Payroll software at roughly $40 to $150 a month plus $5 to $12 per employee is cheaper in raw dollars for a single-state, all-W-2, hourly-and-salary payroll. The question is whether this childcare center is that payroll.
The complications that decide it for childcare centers
Since the 1972 FLSA amendments, preschools and daycare centers are covered enterprises regardless of annual dollar volume and whether public, private, for profit or nonprofit. Every nonexempt employee must be paid at least $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime after 40 hours in each workweek, not after 80 hours in two weeks.
Licensing-tied payroll records, subsidy payment coordination, part-time variable-hour staff and teacher certification pay: each is a pay code that self-service software ships blank, and each is a place a small childcare center with no payroll specialist gets it wrong for years before an audit or a wage claim finds it. One of these, or an employee in a second state, or a first garnishment order, is the point where the managed price stops being a premium.
What a small childcare center is already subject to
Since the 1972 FLSA amendments, preschools and daycare centers are covered enterprises regardless of annual dollar volume and whether public, private, for profit or nonprofit. Every nonexempt employee must be paid at least $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime after 40 hours in each workweek, not after 80 hours in two weeks.
Below 50 employees the federal lines already crossed are e-filing at 10 information returns, OSHA logs at 11 unless the industry is on the exempt list, Title VII and the ADA at 15, and the ADEA and COBRA at 20. None of them wait for a payroll department to exist.
The rules behind this page, with sources
General information, not legal advice. Every rule below was read on the agency page linked next to it.
- Since the 1972 FLSA amendments, preschools and daycare centers are covered enterprises regardless of annual dollar volume and whether public, private, for profit or nonprofit. Every nonexempt employee must be paid at least $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime after 40 hours in each workweek, not after 80 hours in two weeks. [DOL Fact Sheet #46]
Read the full guide to managed payroll by company size, and the rest of the childcare center payroll library.
Managed Payroll, Handled.
BEG manages payroll at $45 per employee per month, all-inclusive. Get an instant cost comparison for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is managed payroll worth it for a childcare center under 20 employees?
When there is a complication: licensing-tied payroll records, a second state, a garnishment, or a classification question about lead teachers and assistant teachers. Without one, software is the cheaper price for a simple payroll and this page says so.
What does a 10-person childcare center pay?
$450 a month: 10 employees at $45 per employee, all-inclusive, with no monthly minimum and no setup fee.
Which childcare center rule most often breaks a self-service setup?
Since the 1972 FLSA amendments, preschools and daycare centers are covered enterprises regardless of annual dollar volume and whether public, private, for profit or nonprofit. Every nonexempt employee must be paid at least $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime after 40 hours in each workweek, not after 80 hours in two weeks.
What does managed payroll cost for a childcare center?
$45 per employee per month, all-inclusive, inside the payroll software you already use, with no monthly minimum. Licensing-tied payroll records, subsidy payment coordination and part-time variable-hour staff are configured at setup, not billed as add-ons.
Related Resources
Anthony leads payroll solutions at Business Executive Group, a national managed payroll firm serving businesses across industries including Childcare Centers & Preschools. BEG manages payroll at $45 PEPM, all-inclusive, with deep expertise in compliance, multi-state filing, and industry-specific payroll requirements. Get instant pricing at beghr.com.
Authoritative source: U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Division
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