Is Your Business Ready for Open Enrollment? A Florida Employer’s Guide to Fall HR Prep

As summer winds down, many Florida business owners find themselves shifting gears. Fall brings one of the most important planning periods of the year: open enrollment season and everything that comes with it. Whether you have a team of two or twenty, getting ahead now can help you avoid last-minute stress and keep your business running smoothly through the end of the year.

At AYS Employee Leasing, we’re here to help make this season easier. While we don’t provide health benefits directly, we work closely with trusted professionals in our Florida business community who do. Our job is to make sure everything else — like payroll, HR documentation, and compliance — is set up correctly so that enrollment season doesn’t turn into a headache.

Let’s walk through what you need to keep in mind this fall.

1. Understand Your Role in Open Enrollment

Even if your business doesn’t offer health insurance, you may still have responsibilities during open enrollment. For example, you might need to distribute required notices or update employee records. If you do offer benefits, it’s important to work with your broker or benefits partner to review plans, prepare any required notices, and coordinate open enrollment meetings.

AYS helps support this process by aligning your payroll and HR systems with any changes. We’ll make sure that deductions, new hire data, and status changes are set up properly.

2. Review Payroll Deductions and Compliance

Now is a great time to check that all your payroll settings are up to date. If benefits are changing — even slightly — that can impact deductions. AYS reviews your employee payroll data to make sure everything matches up with any benefit updates. We confirm deduction amounts, double-check payroll reports, and help you catch anything that might cause issues later on.

Small errors in payroll can snowball quickly, especially around the holidays. We help catch and fix those things now so you can relax later.

3. Update Employee Files and HR Documents

Fall is a great time to do a quick audit of your employee files. Are all your I-9s and W-4s current? Have job descriptions or policies changed over the past year? Do PTO or sick leave policies need to be updated?

We help you get everything organized and compliant before Q4 gets busy. Whether it’s revising your employee handbook or making sure onboarding paperwork is complete, we’re here to support that process.

4. Communicate Clearly with Your Team

No one likes being caught off guard. If you're making changes to deductions, time off, or policies — even minor ones — clear communication goes a long way.

AYS can help you create easy-to-understand memos, reminders, or announcements that explain what’s changing and when. We also help coordinate timing with payroll so your communication and your systems stay in sync.

5. Prep for Year-End Reporting and ACA Deadlines

If your business is subject to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), fall is the time to start preparing for 1094 and 1095 filings. While AYS doesn’t file these forms, we make sure your payroll data is accurate so your benefits provider or accountant has what they need.

We also help you get ahead on other year-end tasks like preparing W-2s, reconciling fourth-quarter payroll, and confirming state unemployment insurance records.

6. Start Thinking Ahead for Florida’s Minimum Wage Increase

Just a reminder — Florida’s minimum wage goes up to $14 per hour on September 30, 2025. That gives you time now to review your pay rates, plan your Q4 budget, and update any job postings that may be affected.

AYS will help make sure your payroll system is ready before the change happens. That way, everything stays compliant and your employees stay confident in their pay.

Let AYS Make This Season Easier

You don’t have to navigate open enrollment or end-of-year prep alone. AYS Employee Leasing is here to help with payroll, HR support, employee onboarding, and compliance so you can stay focused on growing your business.

And when it comes to health benefits, we work closely with trusted partners who specialize in that side of things. We’ll make sure the right people are at the table and that your systems are aligned with any updates.

If you’re ready to take the stress out of Q4, let’s talk.

Call us at (772) 360-4195

Visit www.AYSpeo.com

Email info@ayspeo.com

AYS Employee Leasing

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