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Run the Payroll Fee Auditor →Blog · Payroll Management · Financial Services
Financial Services & Accounting Firms: Signs Your Business Needs to Outsource Payroll (2026)
A financial services firm outsources payroll when the compliance work outgrows the processing work: a first penalty notice, a second state, a classification question about financial advisors and CPAs, or a rule specific to financial services firms that nobody in-house owns, such as DOL Fact Sheet #17M. BEG: $45 per employee per month inside the payroll software you already use, live in 3 to 5 days.
Triggers specific to financial services firms
Financial services employees generally meet the administrative exemption duties test when their work includes collecting and analyzing a customer's income, assets, investments or debts, determining which financial products fit, and advising on their advantages and disadvantages. An employee whose primary duty is selling financial products does not qualify for the administrative exemption.
To be exempt as executive, administrative or professional employees, workers must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week, equal to $35,568 per year. The highly compensated employee threshold is $107,432 per year, including at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis.
For non-exempt staff paid by commission, salary or other basis, overtime must be computed on the average hourly rate found by dividing total pay for the workweek by total hours actually worked. The regular rate includes all remuneration except statutory exclusions such as discretionary bonuses and gifts.
Triggers common to every employer
An IRS or state notice, which means the process already has a gap; an employee in a second state, which doubles the registrations; a garnishment order, which carries employer liability if mishandled; the person who ran payroll leaving; and headcount reaching a federal threshold, e-filing at 10 returns, COBRA and the ADEA at 20, FMLA and the ACA at 50. Any one of these turns a financial services firm payroll from a task into a compliance function.
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.
- Financial services employees generally meet the administrative exemption duties test when their work includes collecting and analyzing a customer's income, assets, investments or debts, determining which financial products fit, and advising on their advantages and disadvantages. An employee whose primary duty is selling financial products does not qualify for the administrative exemption. [DOL Fact Sheet #17M]
- To be exempt as executive, administrative or professional employees, workers must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week, equal to $35,568 per year. The highly compensated employee threshold is $107,432 per year, including at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis. [DOL WHD Earnings thresholds for the EAP exemption]
- For non-exempt staff paid by commission, salary or other basis, overtime must be computed on the average hourly rate found by dividing total pay for the workweek by total hours actually worked. The regular rate includes all remuneration except statutory exclusions such as discretionary bonuses and gifts. [DOL Fact Sheet #23]
Read the full guide to signs you need to outsource payroll, and the rest of the financial services firm payroll library.
Managed Payroll, Handled.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the clearest sign a financial services firm should outsource payroll?
A penalty notice. It is evidence the current process has a gap, and it rarely closes itself. Financial services employees generally meet the administrative exemption duties test when their work includes collecting and analyzing a customer's income, assets, investments or debts, determining which financial products fit, and advising on their advantages and disadvantages.
Does a financial services firm with deferred compensation structures need a managed service?
Not always, but deferred compensation structures is the pay structure most often configured wrong in self-service software for financial services firms, and the errors compound every pay cycle until an audit or a wage claim finds them.
What does managed payroll cost for a financial services firm?
$45 per employee per month, all-inclusive, inside the payroll software you already use, with no monthly minimum. Deferred compensation structures, FINRA recordkeeping and performance fee payroll 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 Financial Services & Accounting Firms. 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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