Employee benefits for wholesale distributors,made easy.
85% of U.S. wholesale businesses have fewer than 20 employees.
You want great benefits for your team. You don’t have the time or the resources to get them.
That isn’t on you. For decades, the benefits industry has been built for big companies, and small businesses have been left to figure it out alone. Cakewalk was built for you.
How it works
You run your business. We handle the benefits.
Tell us about your business.
Start with your business name. We fill in what we can find. Connect payroll and your team comes with it.
Hundreds of options. One tailored package.
We compare hundreds of plans for your team. You get one package, priced and ready to adjust.
We get your team covered.
We invite your team. You see who has started. Each person gets help choosing. Everyone is covered.
Benefits admin. Off your plate.
New hires and departures sync from payroll. Each employee gets a benefits wallet. Their questions come to us, not you.
Your benefits team. On the house.
You pay for coverage. Insurance carriers pay us a commission, so we can handle everything from building your package to supporting your team year round, at no cost to you.
Wholesale at a glance
Offering benefits at a distributor
Warehouse crews, commissioned sales reps, and office staff under one roof. Here’s what shapes a benefits plan for a wholesale distributor.
- of U.S. wholesale businesses have fewer than 20 employees
- 85%
- of private workers in wholesale trade have access to employer medical coverage
- 87%
Source: BLS Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026: wholesale trade
- average weekly hours in wholesale trade in 2025
- 39.2
Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics: wholesale trade, 2025
Competing with larger distributors
87% of private workers in wholesale trade have access to employer medical coverage, against 55% at workplaces with fewer than 50 workers across industries. A package helps you hire against bigger operations.
Source: BLS Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026: wholesale trade
Commissioned reps and part-time movers
Full-time status follows hours, 30 or more a week including paid leave, not how someone is paid. Part-time work is common for material movers, and their hours count toward 50 as full-time equivalents.
Sources: IRS: identifying full-time employees; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: hand laborers and material movers; IRS: employer shared responsibility questions and answers
A physical job
In 2024, nondurable goods wholesalers recorded 3.1 injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers, against 2.3 across private industry. Income protection is worth a look for warehouse teams.
Sources: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2024; BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2024
How part-timers count toward 50
To see whether you’re near 50, add part-timers’ monthly hours (up to 120 per person) and divide by 120. Forty full-time employees plus 20 people working 60 hours a month comes to 50.
Source: IRS: employer shared responsibility questions and answers
Benefits are your choice under 50
Employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees, counting full-time equivalents, aren’t subject to the federal requirement to offer coverage. Offering benefits is a decision you make for your team, not a mandate.
Source: IRS: applicable large employers
The small business tax credit
The federal credit can cover up to 50% of premiums for employers with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees and average wages under $68,200 in 2026, if you pay at least half of employee-only premiums and buy through the SHOP marketplace. Owners and their families don’t count toward the totals. SHOP plans aren’t offered everywhere, so check your state’s guide.
The whole benefits package.
Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and income protection. Built around your business and the people who power it.
Start with your team’s needs and your business’s budget. Explore medical coverage online, or work with a benefits advisor to understand your options and choose your next step.
Questions distributors ask.
As full-time equivalents: add their monthly hours, up to 120 per person, and divide by 120. Forty full-time employees plus 20 people at 60 hours a month is 50.
Tell us about your team.
We’ll follow up to learn about your business and walk you through your options. There’s no cost to work with us.
Prefer to start on your own?