Free Payroll Tool
See what your payroll provider really charges
Most providers hide per-run and add-on fees. Audit your real cost per employee in about 30 seconds, free.
Run the Payroll Fee Auditor →Blog · Payroll Management
Managed Payroll for 50-Employee Businesses
Managed payroll for 50 employees means FMLA and the ACA employer shared responsibility provision have just attached, which adds job-protected leave tracking and annual Forms 1094-C and 1095-C built from payroll hours. BEG runs it for $25 per employee per month in your existing platform or $45 on isolved, all-inclusive, live in 3 to 5 business days.
Fifty is the heaviest federal threshold. The ACA applicable large employer status is decided on the prior year's average of full-time employees plus full-time equivalents, and once it applies the employer must offer affordable, minimum-value coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees and their dependents or face a section 4980H assessment. The evidence for that offer is Form 1095-C for every full-time employee and Form 1094-C for the company, both assembled from monthly hours and coverage data, which is payroll data.
FMLA attaches to employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks. An employee becomes eligible after 12 months of service and 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months, provided 50 employees work within 75 miles of their worksite. Leave is unpaid but job-protected with health benefits maintained, so payroll keeps the benefit deductions running while wages stop, and has to know the leave balance in weeks, not days.
The retirement startup credit steps down at this size: 100 percent of eligible costs at 50 or fewer employees, 50 percent from 51 to 100. Federal contractors at 50 employees also pick up affirmative action plan and EEO-1 duties that other employers do not see until 100.
The line most recently crossed at 50 employees
| 50+ | FMLA. Employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks are covered; an employee is eligible after 12 months and 1,250 hours if 50 employees work within 75 miles of their site. Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave with benefits maintained, which means leave tracking and benefit deductions continue while pay stops. [DOL, FMLA] |
|---|---|
| 50+ | ACA employer shared responsibility. An employer with 50 or more full-time plus full-time-equivalent employees on average in the prior year is an applicable large employer. Part-time hours are aggregated at 120 hours a month per FTE. Offer affordable coverage to 95 percent of full-time staff or face a 4980H assessment, and file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C every year from payroll hours data. [IRS, applicable large employer] |
Already in force below that
- Any size: FLSA minimum wage and overtime [DOL, FLSA salary levels]
- Any size: Federal employment taxes [IRS Publication 15]
- 10+: Electronic filing of information returns [IRS Topic 801]
- 11+: OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping [OSHA recordkeeping, 29 CFR 1904.1]
- 15+: Title VII, ADA, GINA and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act [EEOC, coverage of federal EEO laws]
- 20+: ADEA (age discrimination) [EEOC, coverage of federal EEO laws]
- 20+: COBRA continuation coverage [DOL, COBRA]
Next lines ahead of 50 employees
| 100+ | WARN Act. Employers with 100 or more full-time employees must give 60 days written notice of a plant closing or mass layoff. Pay in lieu of notice and final-pay timing on a layoff of 50 or more at one site get planned with counsel, not run as an ordinary termination batch. [DOL, WARN] |
|---|---|
| 100+ | EEO-1 report. Private employers with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more, file the EEO-1 workforce demographic report each year. Job category, sex and race or ethnicity have to sit in the HR record for every employee before the filing window opens. [EEOC, EEO-1 data collection] |
What managed payroll costs at 50 employees
50 employees at $25 per employee per month comes to $1250, so the price is $1250 a month in your existing platform. On BEG's isolved HCM at $45 it is $2250 a month. Both are all-inclusive: processing, federal and state deposits and filings, new hire reporting, direct deposit, W-2s and 1099s, garnishments, and the threshold-driven filings above. Live in 3 to 5 business days from signing.
Managed Payroll, Handled.
BEG manages payroll at $25-$45 per employee per month, all-inclusive. Get an instant cost comparison for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the ACA employer mandate apply at 50 employees?
When the company averaged 50 or more full-time employees plus full-time equivalents during the previous calendar year. The first year as an applicable large employer is the year after the count is crossed, and the 1094-C and 1095-C filings for that year are due the following spring.
Which employees are eligible for FMLA at a 50-employee company?
Those with 12 months of service, at least 1,250 hours worked in the previous 12 months, and a worksite with 50 employees within 75 miles. All three must hold; a remote employee is counted at the site they report to.
What does an ACA penalty look like at 50 employees?
Under section 4980H(a), an employer that fails to offer coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees and has even one full-time employee receive a premium tax credit owes an annual assessment per full-time employee, less the first 30. The amount is indexed each year and published by the IRS.
What does managed payroll cost at 50 employees?
$1,250 a month on the existing-platform rate or $2,250 on BEG's isolved HCM, all-inclusive, including the 1094-C and 1095-C build from payroll hours.
How is the BEG price calculated at 50 employees?
50 employees at $25 per employee per month is $1250 a month in your existing platform, or $2250 on BEG's isolved HCM at $45. Both are all-inclusive; the $500 minimum does not bind at this size.
Related Resources
Anthony leads payroll solutions at Business Executive Group, a national managed payroll firm serving businesses across industries. BEG manages payroll at $25-$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
From the blog