Bulk PCORI Filing: Every Client, One Upload, Separate Returns

The July Problem for Firms

PCORI is an annual obligation that lands on every self-insured client at once — the second-quarter Form 720, due July 31. For a firm with forty applicable clients that has historically meant forty separate hand-keyed returns in a compressed window, each with its own EIN, plan-year dates, and covered-life count, and each an opportunity for a transposition error. The counting work is genuinely per-client and cannot be automated away; the re-keying can.

How the Batch Flow Works

1. Download the CSV template and fill one row per employer client: legal name, EIN, plan-year start and end, and the average covered lives you calculated.
2. Upload once.Every row is validated — EIN format, dates, counts — and each valid row becomes its own PCORI-only Form 720 draft under that client’s EIN.
3. Review each draft.The preparer checks each client’s return exactly as they would a hand-built one; nothing transmits until you say so.
4. Submit and track. Each return transmits individually and receives its own IRS acknowledgment, all visible in one account — so on August 1 you can show every client their accepted filing.

Why Separate Returns Matter

The PCORI fee is the plan sponsor’s own excise liability — there is no consolidated filing across unrelated employers. Bulk import respects that: it batches the data entry, never the returns. Each client’s Form 720 stands alone under its own EIN with its own acknowledgment, which is exactly what you want when a client, an auditor, or the IRS asks for one company’s record. The four-year excise recordkeeping requirement is per client too — and each return, acknowledgment, and payment record stays retrievable in your account.

Roles for How Firms Actually Work

Team accounts carry four permission levels — owner, admin, preparer, and viewer — so seasonal staff can load and prepare the client list while submission authority stays with a principal. The counting itself stays your professional work: our PCORI compliance checklist covers the Actual Count, Snapshot, and Form 5500 methods (including the divide/don’t-divide rule that catches people), and the PCORI fee guide covers rates by plan-year end.

Firm & TPA FAQs

Disclaimer:Bulk import handles PCORI (IRS No. 133) filings; covered-life counting and each client’s plan classification remain the preparer’s professional responsibility. General information, not tax advice. File720Online is an IRS-authorized e-file provider and is not affiliated with the IRS.