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Managed Payroll for Mid-Market Companies (100-500 Employees)
Managed payroll for a 100 to 500 employee company runs every federal threshold at once, WARN, EEO-1, ACA reporting, FMLA, COBRA, on a semiweekly deposit schedule where the $100,000 next-day rule and multi-state, multi-EIN structure decide the workload. 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.
Above 100 employees the question is no longer which laws apply, because all of them do. It is volume and structure. Federal deposits are semiweekly, and any single day on which accumulated liability reaches $100,000 forces a next-business-day deposit. A company with 250 employees paid biweekly can hit that on an ordinary bonus cycle, and a missed next-day deposit carries a failure-to-deposit penalty that starts at 2 percent and climbs to 15 percent.
Structure multiplies the work. Every EIN files its own 941s, its own W-2s and its own state accounts, and the ACA aggregation rules treat commonly controlled entities as one employer for the 50-FTE test while requiring separate 1094-C filings. Multi-state companies carry a withholding and unemployment registration in every state with an employee, and a remote workforce turns every new hire into a possible new state.
WARN and the EEO-1 are annual or event-driven at this size, not theoretical. A reduction touching 50 people who are a third of one site, or 500 anywhere, is a WARN event with 60 days notice; the EEO-1 snapshot is pulled from a fourth-quarter payroll period every year. The retirement startup credit is no longer available above 100 employees.
The line most recently crossed at 100 to 500 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] |
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]
- 50+: FMLA [DOL, FMLA]
- 50+: ACA employer shared responsibility [IRS, applicable large employer]
There is no federal headcount threshold above 100. From here the variables are volume, states and entities, not new statutes.
What managed payroll costs at 100 to 500 employees
250 employees at $25 per employee per month comes to $6250, so the price is $6250 a month in your existing platform. On BEG's isolved HCM at $45 it is $11250 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
Why does the $100,000 next-day deposit rule matter more above 100 employees?
Because ordinary payroll liability at this size is large enough that a bonus run, a quarterly commission cycle or a merged pay date can push a single day's accumulated liability past $100,000, which moves the deposit to the next business day and locks the semiweekly schedule for the rest of the year and the next.
How does the ACA treat a company with several EINs?
Entities under common control are aggregated for the 50-FTE applicable large employer test, so a group of small EINs can be one large employer. Each EIN still files its own Forms 1094-C and 1095-C for its own employees.
What does a WARN event look like in payroll?
Sixty days of notice, or pay in lieu, for a plant closing or a mass layoff of 50 or more at one site where they are at least a third of the workforce there. Final pay follows each state's deadline, COBRA election notices go out on the coverage loss, and severance releases need ADEA timing. It is a sequenced project, not a batch termination.
What does managed payroll cost at 250 employees?
$6,250 a month on the existing-platform rate or $11,250 on BEG's isolved HCM, all-inclusive, with multi-state registration, multi-EIN filing and ACA reporting inside the rate.
How is the BEG price calculated at 100 to 500 employees?
250 employees at $25 per employee per month is $6250 a month in your existing platform, or $11250 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
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