Accounts Payable Services & AP Automation Providers in Charleston, SC

Overview

Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Hoffman & Hoffman, CPA, P.A. provides certified public accounting along with business consulting. The practice describes itself as a regional office of moderate size, with enough capacity to serve most organizations while staying compact enough that clients deal directly and frequently with the professionals handling their files.

Its clientele covers a broad range of ownership forms: corporations taxed under either the standard or pass-through election, businesses co-owned by several partners, member-owned entities, single-owner enterprises, and private individuals.

Accounts Payable and Related Financial Operations

Organizations seeking help with vendor payments should be aware that the firm offers neither payables automation software nor a dedicated outsourced AP package. Instead, handling of bills and obligations falls under its general bookkeeping and small-company accounting work, in which staff maintain financial records so owners can focus on operating their businesses.

Closely connected tasks include payroll and reporting on payments to vendors. The team manages federal and state wage filings, prepares employee wage statements and contractor information returns, and keeps clients on schedule with employment tax deposit requirements. Services tied to routine financial management include:

• Recurring recordkeeping and accounting for smaller companies
• Wage processing and employment tax compliance
• Forecasting of incoming and outgoing funds to head off liquidity gaps
• Evaluations of internal safeguards that measure the effectiveness of operating routines and recommend changes
• Fractional chief financial officer support, supplying an external finance lead
• Assurance engagements offered at three tiers: audits, reviews and compilations
• Preparation of business returns, forward-looking tax strategy, and assistance responding to IRS correspondence and penalty assessments

How the Firm Works With Clients

Hoffman & Hoffman approaches every engagement as a collaborative relationship. Staff take time to understand what each organization is trying to achieve and what obstacles it faces, then tailor their methods accordingly. The team remains available throughout the calendar year rather than only in the weeks before filing deadlines.

If a matter requires knowledge beyond the firm's own technical scope, its professionals help identify an appropriate outside expert and coordinate with that person on the client's behalf. For exchanging information, clients have access to a protected upload page and a web-based portal.

Industries and Specialties

Sectors in which the firm reports experience include building and contracting, dentistry, medical services, hotels and restaurants, legal practices, production and fabrication, and property. It also identifies vehicle and machinery dealerships, retail stores, property development, wholesale supply and professional services firms as areas of emphasis.

Charitable and tax-exempt organizations are served as well, with the firm helping them categorize revenue and spending consistently with the regulations governing exempt status. Additional consulting offerings cover determining what a business is worth, getting ready for lender financing, ownership transition planning for family-run companies, investigative accounting and support during legal disputes.

Background and Credentials

The practice was established in 1985 by Lee Hoffman, who stepped away in 2017 following close to 45 years in the public accounting profession. Brandon Hoffman entered public accounting in 1999 and assumed leadership as managing partner in 2011. Since 1990, the firm's audit and accounting work has cleared every triennial peer quality review.

For businesses that would prefer to have vendor payments managed within a broader recordkeeping, payroll and consulting arrangement with one hometown CPA office, instead of adopting an independent software tool, Hoffman & Hoffman offers a comprehensive alternative.

Based in Charleston, South Carolina, JNR Advisory is an accounting and advisory firm that has joined the Archer Lewis network. Outside directory listings give 2005 as its founding year and say its clientele spans the Lowcountry and other parts of the state.

Organizations weighing outsourced payables help may find it useful because its bill payment service is part of a full accounting operation. Vendor invoices can be processed by the same team that oversees the ledger, payroll and month-end close, rather than being split off to an unrelated provider.

Payables processing and core accounting

JNR's everyday finance offerings fall under an accounting function meant to keep client books current and correct throughout the year, rather than only at filing time. Bill payment is listed among those services, so the firm suits owners who would like an external team to handle supplier invoices and disbursements. No in-house AP automation product or resold software appears in its materials. Anyone seeking a pure software solution should ask which applications the staff rely on. Companion services include:

• Bill payment (handling of payables on the client's behalf)
• Recordkeeping and bookkeeping
• Controller-level oversight
• Payroll processing
• Catch-up work on neglected or outdated books
• Part-time CFO guidance

Wider range of services

Past routine accounting, JNR provides tax planning and compliance throughout the year. This covers federal, state and local obligations, as well as representation in disputes with taxing agencies. It also handles R&D credits, cost segregation studies, the 179D energy deduction, opportunity zone investments, affordable housing, tax-exempt organizations and cross-border questions.

An advisory unit takes on valuations, exit strategy, deal support, and forensic and litigation engagements. A separate team serving individuals and families addresses estate, trust and gift matters, family office needs, succession and the concerns of privately held companies. Its Archer Lewis membership lets Charleston staff tap a nationwide group of over 600 specialists.

Attest services are deliberately walled off. Audits, reviews, compilations, agreed-upon procedures, Section 42 and HUD audits, and benefit plan audits are carried out by Jarrard, Nowell & Russell, LLC. That licensed CPA firm operates independently of Archer Lewis and adheres to AICPA standards. In practical terms, a business that hands off its payables can still get independent assurance from a related licensed firm when a bank or investor asks for it.

Sectors of focus

JNR positions itself as experienced with industries that carry unusual accounting requirements. It cites job costing and retainage for builders, floor plan financing and inventory tracking for car dealers, and cash-method elections for farming operations. Its stated sector coverage includes:

• Farming and agricultural producers, plus car dealers
• Contractors and building firms
• Tech companies and family offices
• Public-sector entities
• Medical and health providers
• Producers and fabricators of goods
• Expertise-based practices
• Property owners and developers
• Dining and food-service operators
• Stores and merchants
• Owner-run enterprises of modest size

The strongest match is likely a modest or midsize organization near Charleston. Such a client might want invoices paid by the accountants who already keep its records and prepare its returns, with the option of adding controller or CFO oversight later. JNR also provides an online client portal and electronic payment options, and its materials mention locations in Charleston and neighboring Ladson.

Overview

KMA CPA is a small CPA firm run by its owner in the West Ashley area of Charleston, South Carolina. Kathryn M. Abraham, CPA, leads the firm. It works mainly with small and mid-sized companies and nonprofit organizations around Charleston that want a hands-on accounting partner instead of a large-firm experience. Its work covers bookkeeping, payroll, tax, part-time CFO support and advisory projects. Individuals can also hire the firm to prepare their tax returns.

Buyers looking for accounts payable support should know that KMA does not sell AP as a separate product or automation platform. Payables work is part of its wider outsourced bookkeeping and finance services. The firm says it can take on all of a client's recordkeeping. Its CFO-level work includes managing relationships with vendors as well as bankers, attorneys and insurers.

For start-ups, KMA builds a chart of accounts with separate sections for payables, receivables, payroll and inventory, so new organizations can track what they owe from the start.

Services relevant to AP and finance operations

• Outsourced bookkeeping on a monthly, quarterly or yearly schedule
• Bank reconciliations and financial reporting
• Internal control reviews covering approval authority, segregation of duties and checks on reconciliations
• Payroll processing, plus sales tax and payroll tax returns
• QuickBooks installation, training and system reviews for desktop or cloud versions
• Outsourced CFO support, including budgeting, financial controls and strategic planning
• Accounting system design for start-ups and nonprofits

The internal control review is the service most closely tied to payables. KMA looks at how financial transactions move through an organization and checks that duties are properly split between people. It also helps write procedures so that spending is approved by people with the right authority and follows company policy. The review can confirm that someone other than the preparer checks each reconciliation. It can also produce a written procedures manual and training for staff and managers.

Nonprofit and tax specialties

Nonprofits are a main client group. The firm helps organizations get or keep tax-exempt status, prepares Forms 990 and 990-T, and reviews and compiles financial statements. It also sets up accounting systems that support functional expense reporting and trains the staff who classify expenses. On the tax side, KMA prepares federal and state returns for individuals, sole proprietors, partnerships and corporations, including Forms 1120, 1120S and 1065 and the related K-1s.

Background and approach

Abraham has about 25 years of experience across public and corporate accounting. She holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Baldwin Wallace College and an MBA in finance from Case Western Reserve University. She is a licensed CPA in both South Carolina and Ohio and a South Carolina notary public. She has held several officer roles in the South Carolina Association of CPAs, most recently vice president from 2017 to 2021. The firm is also a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor.

KMA shapes each engagement around the client, so organizations pay only for the services they pick and can add or reduce work over time. New clients start with a phone consultation, and questions along the way are answered at no extra cost.

Meetings happen at the West Ashley office by appointment, and the firm can visit clients on site when needed. This setup suits Charleston businesses and nonprofits that want one accessible professional handling their books, controls, payroll and taxes together.

Riser Gibbons & Carpenter LLP is a certified public accounting firm headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina, with a second office in Mount Pleasant. Founded in 1951, the firm works with companies and private clients across Charleston and the wider Lowcountry, presenting itself as a long-term local advisor rather than a transactional vendor.

For buyers browsing an accounts payable directory, it is best understood as a full-service CPA practice whose general accounting work can extend to payables-related needs, not as a dedicated AP automation software provider.

Services relevant to finance operations

The firm's published lineup spans tax, accounting, assurance and advisory work. It does not advertise a standalone accounts payable outsourcing package or resell AP software, so organizations wanting help with invoice handling or vendor payments should discuss scope directly within its accounting and outsourced CFO offerings. Core areas include:

• Bookkeeping and accounting support for businesses
• Part-time CFO support and business consulting
• Audits, reviews and compilations of financial statements
• Tax preparation for companies, individuals, estates and trusts
• Forensic accounting and litigation support
• Representation before the IRS

One partner's practice includes designing and rolling out accounting systems and related technology for business clients, the area most closely tied to how a company records and controls what it owes suppliers. He also rebuilds incomplete or damaged financial records, a useful capability for businesses whose vendor and expense history has fallen into disarray.

Approach and specialties

RGC emphasizes individual attention, prompt answers to client questions and direct access to firm leadership. It describes its role as reaching beyond historical statements and compliance into consulting, financial planning and estate planning, with an emphasis on forward-looking tax recommendations.

Forensic work is a notable specialty: the firm has calculated losses from employee embezzlement and fraud, traced assets in divorce matters and supported ongoing fraud investigations. For AP buyers, that experience in uncovering misappropriation can be relevant when evaluating internal controls over disbursements.

Team, credentials and history

The partner group includes managing partner Glenn Gibbons, who joined in 1964, became a partner in 1975 and holds CPA and CSEP credentials; William D. Riser, CPA, CSEP; Tyler K. Gibbons, a CPA and Certified Fraud Examiner; and Charles W. Carpenter, CPA, CSEP. Supporting staff include an office manager and accountants, one of whom holds an MBA.

Partners belong to the AICPA, the SCACPA Coastal Chapter, the ACFE, Charleston's Estate Planning Council and the Charleston Metro Chamber. The firm reports clean, unqualified results on every independent peer review of its quality control program since that program began, and it points to steady investment in continuing education and technology.

What distinguishes the practice is its seven decades in the community, a tenured staff and a blend of fraud examination, estate planning and tax expertise under one roof. It suits small and mid-sized Lowcountry businesses that want a relationship-driven CPA firm handling accounting alongside tax and advisory matters, rather than a high-volume AP processing platform.

Veris CPA is a South Carolina accounting firm based in the Charleston area. It describes itself as a proactive CPA practice and works with privately held businesses, nonprofit organizations, charter schools and individuals. Buyers looking for outsourced accounts payable help will find that AP is offered as part of the firm's broader outsourced accounting practice rather than as a standalone software product. Veris handles the payables work alongside general ledger upkeep, reconciliations and financial reporting.

Accounts payable within outsourced accounting

The firm's client accounting services team runs engagements at three tiers. Each tier builds on the one below it, so organizations can begin with transaction processing and add oversight or strategic support over time.

• Bookkeeping: coding of transactions, general ledger maintenance, support for both payables and receivables, bank and credit card reconciliations, basic month-end close help, and setup of the accounting system with process mapping
• Controller: everything in the bookkeeping tier, plus a month-end close reviewed by senior staff, financial statement preparation with variance analysis, internal control and process recommendations, and coordination of audit preparation
• Fractional CFO: budgeting and forecasting, cash flow planning with scenario modeling, board and leadership reporting, help with banking and lending decisions, and oversight of the wider finance function

New engagements follow a three-stage process. First comes a discovery phase, in which the team reviews the client's financials, systems, workflows and responsibilities. Next is an assessment that produces a tailored roadmap, covering any cleanup work, a recommended set of accounting apps and a phased onboarding plan.

The last stage is ongoing management, with regular meetings and adjustments as the organization changes. Veris presents this as an alternative to building an in-house accounting department, pointing to monthly check-ins, real-time support, dashboards and books kept ready for audit.

Industries and other services

The firm focuses on several sectors: charter schools, construction, medical practices, nonprofits, professional services firms, real estate and investment, and small to mid-sized businesses. Charter schools are a notable specialty. For these clients, Veris offers a dedicated fiscal management service that covers day-to-day budgeting, bookkeeping and financial reporting. Beyond outsourced accounting, the practice provides tax preparation and advanced planning, audits, reviews and compilations, forensic accounting, fraud risk assessments and business valuations. Its audit clients include municipal and nonprofit organizations.

Team, locations and approach

Veris is led by a group of five partners. The firm is organized into audit, tax, client accounting services and operations teams. It operates three offices in the Charleston area: West Ashley in Charleston, Mount Pleasant and Summerville. The name combines two Latin words, one tied to accuracy and reliability and the other to vision and insight.

On service, the firm commits to replying within three business days, uses fixed pricing for its CPA work, and serves each client with a team instead of a single contact. An online pricing tool lets prospects compare packages before receiving a custom proposal.

For organizations that want payables, reconciliations and close handled by a CPA-backed team rather than through a self-service automation platform, Veris offers a service-led option with room to scale up to controller or CFO-level support.