January & February
ERISAfire sends a list of returning clients to account teams for confirmation of engagement.
💡Pro Tip: This is a great time for account teams to ensure employer information is updated in ERISAfire Projects.
Add new employers and employers crossing the 100-participant threshold to ERISAfire Projects. If your agency does not have a volume Form 5500 contract with ERISAfire, we will need a Form 5500 engagement agreement signed by the financially responsible party.
User & Organization Management > Add New > Employer company
Upload 2025 and 2026 open enrollment guides on the employer's plan manager
Plan Manager > Search for employer > Select appropriate plan year > Scroll down to the Files section > Under "Open enrollment guide," click "Upload Files"
Verify that the account team and employer contacts are current
Add a New Employer Contact: User & Organization Management > Employer Companies > Click employer company's name > Click "Add New", then "User Invitation"
Remove an Outdated Employer Contact: User & Organization Management > Employer Companies > Click employer company's name > Click three dots menu > Deactivate
Add Account Team Member: User & Organization Management > Employer Companies > Click employer company's name > Under "Team," select the "Account Team" tab > Add New > Account team member > Search for and select your colleague > Add
Remove Account Team Member: User & Organization Management > Employer Companies > Click employer company's name > Under "Team," select the "Account Team" tab > Click three dots menu > Remove
March
ERISAfire sets up project pages for engaged clients, which means less work for you. Each project page contains information requests and a Schedule A tracker. With carrier contact information, we can fetch Schedules A for you.
Both account teams and employer contacts will receive a welcome email with action items listed—your cue to visit the project page on ERISAfire Projects and provide requested information.
💡 Pro Tip: Confirming insured coverage lines and carrier contact info by April 10 will ensure the policy is in the first wave of Schedule A requests, which will help avoid extensions. You can review coverages and add carrier contact information on the plan manager.
Plan Manager > Search for employer > Select appropriate plan year > Scroll down to the Coverages and benefits section > Click three dots menu > Edit > Update or add missing information
💡Pro Tip: You can now upload files on your client's project page or plan manager. Uploading documents up front are key to a smooth audit process.
April
Schedules A requests to carriers begin April 30 and continue in waves. If you receive a Schedule A from the carrier directly, please upload it to the project page on the Schedule A tracker, shown below.
May
ERISAfire sends status updates to both account teams and employer contacts and notes any information we still need to complete the Form 5500 filing.
💡Pro Tip: Use the Schedule A tracker to—you guessed it—track Schedule A progress! Check out our new Schedule A tracker above or on any Form 5500 project page in ERISAfire Projects.
June
To avoid extensions: By June 5, ERISAfire should have all Schedules A, open enrollment guides, plan documents and participant counts.
ERISAfire sends draft Forms 5500 to the account team for optional review. This email also directs you to the project page where there are drafting notes, clarifying questions and compliance findings. If we don't hear from the account team on the optional review of the draft Form 5500, ERISAfire will send the Form 5500 to the employer's signer 14 days following the account team email.
💡Pro Tip: If you are done reviewing the draft Form 5500, visit the project page in ERISAfire Projects and click the open box to mark the project note containing the draft as completed. This will expedite our sending the Form 5500 draft to the employer for review and signature.
July
Employers receive Forms 5500 for signature. ERISAfire files completed Forms 5500 with the DOL and posts final documents to the project page.
Extensions: ERISAfire files extensions for any Forms 5500 that are still missing information or an employer's signature. Please note that extensions are subject to a $50 fee.
💡Pro Tip: You can check the status of your project anytime in ERISAfire Projects on the project page, Projects homepage or Compliance Dashboard. If the status is "Nearly There," we have everything we need and are ready to file! You'll be notified once we have filed your clients' Forms 5500.
Questions? Email us at support@erisafire.com or ping us on the in-app messenger.