Accounts Payable Services & AP Automation Providers in Grand Rapids, MI

Overview

D.K. Weiss, Holt & Associates, PLLC is a Michigan-licensed CPA practice in Kentwood. It works mainly with small and middle market companies, and also serves owners, executives, independent professionals and individual taxpayers. Buyers looking for accounts payable help should see it as a general accounting and tax firm rather than a dedicated AP automation vendor. Its payables-related support falls under its bookkeeping, QuickBooks and internal control offerings. The site does not advertise a standalone AP outsourcing package or proprietary software.

Services relevant to payables

Companies that want an outside team to keep their books in order can use several business service lines that affect how vendor bills are recorded, checked and reconciled:

• Bookkeeping for ongoing recordkeeping
• QuickBooks support for firms on that platform, plus training for in-house staff
• Internal controls work, which can help a business tighten approval and payment procedures
• Forensic accounting, backed by partners who hold the Certified Fraud Examiner credential
• Audits, reviews and compilations of financial statements
• Business financial planning, succession planning and new entity formation

The firm considers QuickBooks well suited to small and mid-sized organizations. Prospective clients already using it may find the mix of setup help, training and bookkeeping a practical fit. Tax work completes the business offering. It covers business and individual returns, proactive tax planning, estate and trust filings, IRS audit representation, unfiled returns and resolution of tax problems.

Industries served

The practice names construction, manufacturing, real estate and cannabis as industry focus areas. The partner biographies add transportation, tool and die shops, and real estate development. These sectors often involve heavy vendor activity, subcontractor payments and job costing. That is useful context for companies choosing an accounting partner to oversee payables.

Background and team

Dennis K. Weiss founded the firm in November 2000 after more than seventeen years at two Grand Rapids public accounting firms. He earned an accountancy degree at Ferris State University and a graduate taxation degree at Grand Valley State University, and he serves as managing partner. Matt Holt joined in December 2005 after seven years with another Grand Rapids firm.

He studied accounting at Michigan State University and also completed graduate tax studies at Grand Valley State University. As assurance partner, he oversees the firm's pre-issuance quality reviews. Both partners are licensed Michigan CPAs and Certified Fraud Examiners. The wider staff includes an accounting services manager, several tax managers (many of them CPAs), audit and tax associates, and administrative support.

How they work with clients

The firm describes itself as combining the know-how of a larger practice with the attentiveness and stability of a smaller one. It treats client relationships as long-term partnerships, handling financial and tax matters so owners can focus on running their operations. It names professionalism, responsiveness and quality as its guiding values.

Clients can exchange documents through a secure file delivery page and a client portal. The firm also publishes a monthly newsletter and a range of tax resources. It operates from a single office in Kentwood, Michigan.

Overview

Maner Costerisan is a certified public accounting practice that pairs traditional accounting with technology and business consulting. Its history in the profession spans more than one hundred years, and it has grown into one of the leading firms in the Great Lakes region. A team of over 200 people serves clients across Michigan.

The West Michigan group has relocated to a new, larger Grand Rapids office. The firm also reports that it keeps rising in the IPA Top 200 firms ranking.

Anyone weighing options for accounts payable support should understand what the firm is. Maner is a full-service accounting practice that treats payables as one piece of a broader outsourced accounting program. It does not sell stand-alone AP software.

Accounts payable and outsourced accounting

Maner's outsourced accounting group takes over payables and bookkeeping so that a client's own people can focus on the core mission of the organization. Every arrangement is shaped around the client's situation. Some organizations need a stopgap while a position is empty, others want ongoing help with routine payroll and reporting, and others want a partner for longer-range projects.

Before taking on work, the specialists learn the client's systems and routines, examine current practices and suggest ways to improve them. The review usually covers:

• How financial processes operate today
• The software and integrations already in use
• Where efficiencies could be gained
• Requirements for reporting to outside parties

The firm states that it aims to work alongside existing staff, and that it is not trying to replace anyone. Its wider menu of related support includes:

• Outsourced payables and bookkeeping
• Short-term accounting assistance, such as strengthening internal controls
• Preparation ahead of an audit
• Custom financial reports, dashboards and KPIs
• Grant reports that pair financial data with a narrative for the funder
• CFO advisory, fractional CFO engagements, budgets and cash flow forecasts

Technology and automation

Organizations hoping to automate payables can turn to the firm's technology practice, which uses cloud-based accounting systems to simplify intricate processes. Maner maintains strategic partnerships with Sage Intacct and with two Microsoft finance products. It also offers integration services, budgeting and reporting software, and IT support. A client can therefore pair hands-on payables help with software selection, setup and integration from one provider.

Industries and background

The firm organizes its teams around the sectors its clients work in. These include housing programs, cannabis, construction, schools, benefit plans, public agencies, health care, wealthy individuals and families, manufacturing, nonprofits, small and midsize businesses, and telecommunications. Maner cites more than 300 government clients in Michigan, over 75 cannabis clients, 60 education specialists and more than 50 nonprofit specialists. Beyond accounting, it provides audit and assurance, tax, risk management, data analytics, litigation support, transaction advisory and wealth management.

For eleven consecutive years, Accounting Today has placed Maner on its list of best firms to work for. The firm emphasizes ongoing training and a strategy built on three actions: drive, advise and grow. Client comments describe a knowledgeable, personable staff and long partnerships. For organizations that want a payables partner who can also handle audit, tax and advisory questions, that breadth may be appealing.

Rehmann is a professional advisory firm with an office on East Paris Avenue in Grand Rapids. Its work spans audit and assurance, consulting, tax, technology services, wealth management and a dedicated Client Accounting and Advisory Solutions (CAAS) group. Companies looking for help with accounts payable will mostly deal with the CAAS team. That group handles routine finance operations for clients and also provides the reporting and advisory support that leadership relies on to make decisions.

Accounts payable and outsourced accounting

Rehmann does not sell a standalone AP software product. It supports payables through its outsourced accounting service, and clients can pick a remote, fractional or fully outsourced arrangement. Service plans are built around each organization. The firm's site lists these areas of support:

• Bill payment and vendor invoicing management
• Upkeep of accounts payable and accounts receivable ledgers
• Daily transaction processing and bank reconciliations
• Month-end close support and continuing process improvement
• Payroll processing and payroll tax compliance
• Cloud accounting, cash flow management, budgets and financial dashboards
• Recruiting help for in-house accounting staff

In its published resources, Rehmann suggests that clients often hand off routine transactions, bill pay and payroll to the outsourced team. Invoice preparation, meanwhile, can stay with internal staff who know the market best. Under this split model, a business keeps control over customer-facing billing while its payables run on a regular schedule with current data, instead of being checked only at month-end or year-end.

Who the service fits

The firm says CAAS is a good match for organizations whose accounting has fallen behind their growth, that close their books late or doubt their monthly figures, or that need better reporting for lenders, investors or management.

It also targets companies that want an updated accounting system without building out a large internal department, and those that want one provider covering everything from bookkeeping through reporting and planning. For clients needing more senior oversight, there are controllership services and fractional CFO support.

Rehmann also offers consulting on accounting and related software, which is useful to buyers who are reviewing or automating their AP tools.

Industries and specialties

Rehmann serves construction, auto dealerships, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, private equity, the public sector and private clients. The CAAS group specifically mentions manufacturing, healthcare and service businesses, and the firm has appeared on Construction Executive's ranking of the top 50 construction accounting firms. The wider practice brings specialties that can support finance operations, including employee benefit plan audits, risk advisory, HR solutions, state and local tax and IT outsourcing.

Background

Rehmann recently marked 85 years in business and says it has more than six decades of audit and assurance experience. It has several offices, with Grand Rapids among them, and it belongs to HLB, an international network of advisory and accounting firms.

According to Rehmann, its approach is to start each engagement by listening to what the client wants to achieve before designing a plan. Its CAAS advisors combine data analytics and current technology with industry knowledge. For AP buyers, the main draw is having payables processing, reconciliations, payroll, tax and audit expertise all under one firm.

Westerhof CPA Group PLLC is a certified public accounting practice based in Kentwood, Michigan, on the southeast side of the Grand Rapids area. The firm has worked with individuals and companies across Michigan since 1994. Its client base includes business owners, executives and independent professionals.

For organizations looking to hand off routine financial recordkeeping, including the handling of bills and vendor obligations, it offers bookkeeping and small business accounting as part of a wider set of business services. It should be noted that the firm's site does not describe a dedicated accounts payable automation platform or a standalone AP outsourcing program.

Business Accounting and Bookkeeping

Most relevant to companies evaluating outsourced payables support is the firm's business services group. Rather than selling software, Westerhof works as a service provider, keeping the books for smaller companies and helping owners get a clear, reliable view of their numbers so they can make sound decisions. The business offerings listed on its site include:

• Bookkeeping and small business accounting
• Part-time CFO support for companies without an in-house finance leader
• Audits, reviews and compilations of financial statements
• Assistance with bank financing and business valuation
• Business advisory work, financial planning for companies and succession planning
• Help forming new businesses

For a growing company, the pairing of day-to-day bookkeeping with fractional CFO guidance can give management both transaction-level support and higher-level oversight of cash and obligations from the same team.

Tax and Compliance Support

Taxation is a large share of the practice. The firm prepares returns for individuals, businesses, estates and trusts, and it emphasizes forward-looking planning intended to legally reduce what clients owe.

It also runs a tax resolution practice that represents clients facing IRS audits, unfiled returns, back taxes, liens, levies, wage garnishments and seizures, and it can negotiate installment arrangements or an offer in compromise.

Of particular interest to employers is its work on payroll tax problems; the firm stresses that falling behind on withheld employment taxes draws aggressive IRS collection activity and recommends that business owners use a professional representative rather than dealing with the agency alone.

Industry Focus

Over the years Westerhof has built a specialty in trucking, transportation and logistics. It describes itself as a source of tax and business consulting for carriers and logistics firms of varying fleet sizes throughout Michigan. Transportation companies, which often juggle fuel, maintenance and vendor costs alongside complex tax rules, may find this industry familiarity useful when choosing an accounting partner.

How the Firm Works

The firm says its approach rests on three principles: professionalism, responsiveness and quality. It tailors its engagements to each client rather than applying a single template, and it offers prospective clients an initial consultation at no charge.

Clients can exchange documents through an online client portal and a secure file-sending tool, and the firm publishes a monthly newsletter along with tax calendars, record retention guidance and financial calculators. Buyers in Kentwood seeking a local CPA team for bookkeeping and payables recordkeeping, rather than a pure AP software vendor, may want to include Westerhof in their comparison.