For Marty Smith, co-owner of a small accounting firm in Charlotte, the Affordable Care Act means less money for training and new technology.

For financial adviser Richard Joyce, it means not hiring any more part-time employees, working longer days and filing more paperwork.

And for Rick Seifert, owner of the Pest Control Authority, it means administrative headaches and group insurance premiums potentially three times higher than last years.

None of these small-business owners is subject to the new health laws employer mandate. That provision, which starts in 2015, will require owners of businesses with 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees to offer workers health insurance or pay a fine.

But like many small-business owners, the health care overhaul already has brought complications and higher premiums and a hit to their bottom line.

Small businesses have an outsized effect on the economy: In Mecklenburg County, for instance, 97 percent of all employers have fewer than 100 workers. So their experience with the Affordable Care Act will have a major impact on how the law plays out.

Its been mass chaos and confusion, Seifert said. Everything has changed so fast. I dont even know how to play the game.

Among North Carolina companies with fewer than 50 employees, just under one-third offer health insurance, according to 2011 figures from the Department of Health and Human Services. Those that do so say it helps them attract top talent and encourages employees to stick around longer. But it comes at a price: In general, its their second-biggest expense, behind payroll.

Those companies now face a choice: offer a group medical plan, subsidize employees plans on the new individual exchange, or stop coverage altogether and risk seeing employees walk away.

And according to many small-business owners, the higher premiums are making the last two options more attractive.

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Health care act hits home for small businesses