ACA COMPLIANCE
Silver Brook ACA Compliance
Licensing FAQ
NOTHING IN THIS DOCUMENT IS INTENDED OR SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS TAX, LEGAL, OR ACCOUNTING ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED, PROFESSIONAL ADVISOR.

Q: What is the Silver Brook ACA Compliance license based on?
A: Licensing for the Silver Brook ACA Compliance module is based on the "Total Employee Count for ALE Member" for any single month reported on the Authoritative Transmittal of the IRS Form 1094-C. The license is also restricted to a single Dynamics SL system database.

Q: How often is the license fee paid?
A: The license fee is a one-time fee granting a license for a single server/single Microsoft Dynamics SL system database and a maximum number of employees. An additional license fee is only required if the number of employees licensed.

Q: Are there any other on-going costs?
A: Yes. There is an annual support plan. As the name suggests it is purchased annually. The cost of this plan is 18% for the first year and 16% for subsequent years.

Q: Must I purchase an annual support plan?
A: Yes. The support plan is required for the first year. As a practical matter you must renew the annual support plan particularly if you are required to e-File. The file submitted to the IRS contains a software package code. This code is issued to Silver Brook Systems by the IRS each year following successful testing of the e-File process. An annual support plan is required to obtain the revised e-File generation program containing the new software package code. IRS will not accept an e-file with a prior year's software package code.

Q: Are there any other possible costs?
A: Yes. Various services such as installation, implementation, customization, and training are not covered by the annual support plan. Any such services provided by Silver Brook Systems would be billed on an hourly basis. Your Dynamics SL partner may also be able to provide these services and can advise you of their terms and conditions.

Q: Can I just license the same number as I do for HR or Payroll?
A: Maybe. While licensing the same number of persons as done for Silver Brook Human Resources and/or Dynamics SL Payroll will be appropriate for many clients, there are very important distinctions that may cause a smaller or larger license to be required.

A larger license will be required if there are employees to be issued IRS Forms-1095-C that are not maintained in either Silver Brook Human Resources or Dynamics SL Payroll. CHECK THE IRS DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE!!! Persons paid through a contractor and others may need to be included in your 1094-C/1095-C if they meet the IRS' definition. Consult a knowledgable professional advisor to determine if this applies.

A smaller license may be suitable in certain circumstances.
- An unlimited Dynamics SL payroll license was commonly acquired by organizations with more than 300 employees. There are several ACA Compliance options between 300 persons and unlimited.
- The organization may be smaller than at the time Silver Brook Human Resources and/or Dynamics SL payroll was licensed.
- The organization may have certain employees that are excluded from 1094-C/1095-C reporting. Consult a knowledgable professional advisor to determine if this applies.
- Current Dynamics SL payroll licensing is based on the number of persons paid during a month. Form 1094-C reports the number of persons employed on a single day of the month. The 1094-C count may be a significantly smaller number due to the difference in definitions. See "Effect of Turnover within the Month" below for more information.

Q: There is no price for 75 employees. Do I need to file IRS Forms 1094-C/1095-C if I have fewer than 75 employees?
A: YES! The lack of a price only means that the first pricing tier is for organizations reporting up to 150 employees. In layman's terms, all organizations with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees are required to file IRS Forms 1094-C/1095-C. Consult a knowledgable professional advisor to determine whether your organization is required to file IRS Forms 1094-C/1095-C.

Q. I heard there is transition relief in 2015 for companies with 50-100 employees. Do I need to file if I have more than 50 but less than 100 employees?
A: YES! In layman's terms, transition relief applies to the imposition of penalties only; it does not relieve the need to file for organizations with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees. Consult a knowledgable professional advisor to determine whether your organization is required to file IRS Forms 1094-C/1095-C.

Q: What is the effect of Multiple Companies?
A: If multiple organizations are being reported with separate authoritative transmittals of the 1094-C then the license is based on the sum of the counts for any single month.

For example consider an organization that separately reports two companies. Company A reports 310 employees in January and 430 employees in February. Company B reports 123 employees in January and 52 employees in February. January has a total of 433 employees (310+123) and February has 482 employees (430+52. ) The employee count for licensing purposes would be 482 and a 500 person license would be required. NOTE: We do not add the highest quantities from different months.

Q: How does turnover within a month affect licensing?
A: Some organizations may have a high turnover rate and pay many more people in a month than are employed on any single day of the month. The Total Employee Count for ALE Member is calculated for a single day - typically the first of the month. So an organization with a maximum of 250 employees can acquire a 300 person license even if the 250 employees may be 325 different persons during the month. (While this may seem strange to many of us, there are organizations that use day laborers or have very high turnover rates.)

Q: Non-Employees Reported by Self-Insured Companies
A: A non-employee covered by an organization's self-insured health plan must be issued an IRS Form 1095-C. Presumably such a person would not be included in the "Total Employee Count for ALE Member" and therefore would not be included in the license count.

Q: What will happen if the license is exceeded?
A: Exceeding the license will cause key filing components to cease functioning. For example, it will not be possible to generate an e-filing. The license deficiency can be resolved by purchasing a license upgrade and receiving a new unlocking key. An SL administrator will then be able to install the new unlocking key; the existing software and data is unaffected and does not need to be re-installed.

Q: Can a client purchase a license upgrade directly from Silver Brook Systems?
A: No. Licenses and license upgrades are purchased through a Silver Brook Systems Authorized Reseller (and Dynamics SL partner) of your choice.

Q: How long will it take to obtain a license upgrade?
A: Silver Brook Systems will be prepared to respond very quickly to requests submitted by authorized resellers during critical periods at the end of January, February, and March. Also, credit cards will be accepted for license upgrades during the January-March filing season thereby allowing issuance of new permanent unlocking keys in minutes. (Unlocking keys are not issued until payment is received; no temporary keys are issued during filing season.)

Q: Should I buy a larger license than needed?
A: No. We do not recommend buying a larger than necessary license. There will be no refunds issued for over-sized licenses.

NOTHING IN THIS DOCUMENT IS INTENDED OR SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS TAX, LEGAL, OR ACCOUNTING ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED, PROFESSIONAL ADVISOR.