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Run the Payroll Fee Auditor →Blog · Payroll Management · Real Estate
Real Estate Agencies: Payroll Software vs. Managed Payroll Service (2026)
Payroll software gives a real estate brokerage the fields; managed payroll gives it someone accountable for filling them correctly, which for real estate brokerages means commission-only agent payroll, agent contractor vs W-2 classification and split commission processing configured against the rules cited here rather than left at defaults. BEG: $45 per employee per month inside the payroll software you already use, live in 3 to 5 days.
What software leaves to a real estate brokerage to get right
The outside sales exemption from minimum wage and overtime requires that the employee's primary duty be making sales or obtaining orders or contracts, and that the employee be customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer's place of business. The salary requirements of the regulation do not apply to this exemption.
Administrative and office staff who do not meet an exemption must receive overtime at one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The standard salary level for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions is $684 per week ($35,568 per year).
The honest comparison
Software at roughly $40 to $150 a month plus $5 to $12 per employee handles a single-state, all-W-2, hourly-and-salary payroll well, and the customer owns every configuration decision, every deposit and every notice. Managed payroll at $45 per employee per month, with no monthly minimum, owns the configuration, the deposits, the filings and the corrections. For real estate brokerages the deciding question is who documents the exemption status of licensed agents and administrative staff and who rebuilds the pay codes when the rule changes.
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.
- The outside sales exemption from minimum wage and overtime requires that the employee's primary duty be making sales or obtaining orders or contracts, and that the employee be customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer's place of business. The salary requirements of the regulation do not apply to this exemption. [DOL Fact Sheet #17F]
- Administrative and office staff who do not meet an exemption must receive overtime at one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The standard salary level for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions is $684 per week ($35,568 per year). [DOL WHD, Earnings thresholds for the EAP exemption (29 CFR 541.600)]
Read the full guide to fully managed versus self-service payroll, and the rest of the real estate brokerage 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
What does payroll software get wrong for real estate brokerages?
The outside sales exemption from minimum wage and overtime requires that the employee's primary duty be making sales or obtaining orders or contracts, and that the employee be customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer's place of business. The salary requirements of the regulation do not apply to this exemption.
When is software the right answer for a real estate brokerage?
A single state, all W-2, hourly and salary pay, no commission-only agent payroll, and under about 20 employees, where software's lower per-employee cost outweighs what a managed service adds.
What does managed payroll cost for a real estate brokerage?
$45 per employee per month, all-inclusive, inside the payroll software you already use, with no monthly minimum. Commission-only agent payroll, agent contractor vs W-2 classification and split commission processing 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 Real Estate Agencies. 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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