Free Payroll Tool
Estimate your managed payroll cost
Enter your headcount and current spend to see what fully managed payroll would cost at $25 to $45 PEPM.
Open the Cost Calculator →Blog · Payroll Management · Franchise
Franchise Operations: How to Calculate Your Payroll Costs (2026)
A franchise payroll cost calculation has three inputs: headcount, the franchise pay codes that have to be built (joint employer liability and multi-entity payroll), and the wage base, which at the BLS national median for food service managers is $69,390 a year. BEG: $25 per employee per month in your existing platform or $45 on isolved, live in 3 to 5 days.
Managed payroll by headcount for a franchise
10 employees: $500 a month, $50 per employee; 25 employees: $625 to $1,125 a month, $25 to $45 per employee; 50 employees: $1,250 to $2,250 a month, $25 to $45 per employee; 100 employees: $2,500 to $4,500 a month, $25 to $45 per employee. The lower figure is the $25 rate inside your existing platform, the higher is $45 on BEG's isolved HCM, and the $500 monthly minimum is why the per-employee figure is high at 10. Nothing in the franchise setup, joint employer liability, multi-entity payroll, franchisor reporting requirements and high turnover, is billed as an add-on.
The employer-side tax that rides on every franchise wage
At the May 2025 national median for food service managers, $69,390 a year or about $33 an hour, the employer share of Social Security and Medicare is $5,308 per employee per year and FUTA is $42 after the state credit, before state unemployment at the assigned rate. Those costs are the same whoever runs payroll; the calculator question is only who does the work and who carries the error.
Food and beverage employers can claim a general business credit on Form 8846 equal to the 7.65% employer share of Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on employee tips, excluding tips used to bring wages up to the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage. Distributed service charges are wages, not tips, and are excluded from the credit.
The in-house line in the calculation
BLS OEWS May 2025: payroll and timekeeping clerks, national median $58,260, mean $59,630. Add roughly 30 percent for benefits and employer taxes and the software that person runs, and set it against the headcount row above. For most franchises the lines cross well under 100 employees.
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.
- Food and beverage employers can claim a general business credit on Form 8846 equal to the 7.65% employer share of Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on employee tips, excluding tips used to bring wages up to the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage. Distributed service charges are wages, not tips, and are excluded from the credit. [IRS FICA Tip Credit for employers]
Read the full guide to instant managed payroll pricing, and the rest of the franchise payroll library.
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
What does managed payroll cost a franchise with 25 employees?
$625 a month in your existing platform or $1,125 on BEG's isolved HCM, all-inclusive.
What is the employer payroll tax on one of the food service managers?
$5,308 a year in Social Security and Medicare at the $69,390 BLS OEWS May 2025 national median, plus $42 FUTA and state unemployment.
Is the franchise pay code setup an extra charge?
No. Joint employer liability, multi-entity payroll and franchisor reporting requirements are configured at implementation inside the per-employee rate.
What does managed payroll cost for a franchise?
$25 per employee per month inside your existing platform or $45 on BEG's isolved HCM, all-inclusive, with a $500 monthly minimum. Joint employer liability, multi-entity payroll and franchisor reporting requirements 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 Franchise Operations. 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. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
From the blog