Like other IBM calculators, it was programmed using a control panel.

The "Series 50" models were low-cost versions that ran at a slower speed, with half as many program steps, and fewer storage registers and counters.

Program steps execute in one machine cycle, except for steps performing multiplication or division which take as many machine cycles as needed for the operation.

Punching rate is roughly four columns per machine cycle.

The total number of machine cycles required per card varies depending on the data and programming.