Accounts Payable Services & AP Automation Providers in Greer, SC

Based in Greer, South Carolina, Common Cents Accounting Services, Inc. provides accounting help to private individuals and modest-sized companies throughout the Upstate. Anyone evaluating it for accounts payable needs should understand its role clearly: the firm is an outsourced bookkeeping practice, not a vendor of specialized AP automation. Vendor bill management is handled as a component of broader bookkeeping work, and the practice additionally handles payroll and prepares tax returns.

Accounts payable within outsourced bookkeeping

Its bookkeeping offering targets business owners who would rather delegate financial record-keeping and spend their time on daily operations. Because the person performing this work holds the QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor credential, the practice is a natural fit for organizations already running QuickBooks or intending to switch to it. Alongside payables, the firm handles a range of connected ledger duties:

• Monitoring of amounts owed to vendors
• Monitoring of amounts due from customers
• Establishing the chart of accounts and general ledger
• Month-end reconciliations and journal entries
• Job cost tracking and inventory oversight
• Records of fixed assets and their depreciation
• Preparation of sales and use tax returns
• Fundamental financial statements

Because bills are entered into the very ledger that gets reconciled monthly and rolled into financial statements, clients see their obligations alongside cash balances, customer receivables and project costs in a single place. No standalone payables software, automated invoice scanning or digital payment system is mentioned in the firm's materials. Companies seeking a purpose-built automation tool would do better to view this practice as a personal, service-oriented resource.

Payroll and tax compliance

Small and mid-sized employers can also turn to the firm for payroll. The intent is to relieve clients of the burden of tracking shifting federal and state payroll tax requirements, helping them sidestep missed deadlines and the fines that follow.

Services cover calculating pay, monitoring payroll liabilities, readying tax deposits and payroll tax filings, and producing year-end W-2, W-3, 1099 and 1096 forms. For those focused on payables, the 1099 piece is relevant, since it relies on precise documentation of what was paid to vendors and independent contractors. Individual and business income tax preparation rounds out the offering.

How the firm works with clients

The practice describes taking time to learn about each client and how the business operates before assembling a customized mix of services, with the hope of building partnerships that endure for years. A no-cost first meeting opens every engagement.

Bookkeeping may be purchased on an hourly basis or as a bundled package, while payroll pricing is set according to headcount and pay frequency. Hours run Monday through Friday, Saturday meetings are available by appointment, and the schedule expands during tax season. Prompt responses to client inquiries are something the team emphasizes.

Background and team

The firm is owned and run by a family. Douglas M. Newton, a Drexel University alumnus, spent time at Deloitte and then launched his own practice in 1973. For upward of forty years he has guided people and companies through tax and financial matters. His background also includes a period as a commissioned U.S. Army officer.

In 2014 he established a nonprofit organization, Institute for Enterprise, Inc., dedicated to supporting the next generation of business founders. His daughter, Sara Kay Newton, has been his colleague for more than two decades, handling bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation and administrative operations. She holds QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification and is pursuing an accounting degree through Southern New Hampshire University.

In 2018 the Newtons relocated the practice to Greer from Amelia Island, Florida. Together, the team brings over half a century of combined accounting experience spanning a wide variety of industries.

Mark W Bacon PC is a certified public accounting practice led by its founder, CPA Mark Bacon, that works with small businesses and individual taxpayers throughout Greenville County, South Carolina. Public business listings place the office in Greer, a short drive from Simpsonville. For companies weighing accounts payable support, the firm is best understood as a general CPA practice whose bookkeeping work can cover day-to-day transaction recording, rather than as a dedicated AP outsourcing shop or a software vendor.

Services Relevant to Payables

The practice groups its offerings into four areas. Its accounting and bookkeeping service is aimed at owners who would rather hand off routine financial recordkeeping and spend their time running operations. The firm does not publish a separate accounts payable package, invoice processing workflow or AP automation platform, so buyers looking specifically for vendor bill handling, payment runs or approval routing should confirm the scope of bookkeeping work during an initial consultation.

• Accounting and bookkeeping for small businesses
• Tax preparation and year-round tax planning
• Tax resolution for clients facing IRS problems
• Business consulting focused on operational efficiency and growth

Beyond the books, the firm positions its work around improving client cash flow and lowering tax liabilities. Its planning approach is meant to keep clients prepared ahead of filing deadlines, while the consulting side looks at internal processes so owners can concentrate on expansion.

Tax resolution is a notable specialty: the firm belongs to the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers, a professional group centered on resolving taxpayer disputes and back-tax issues, and it uses that membership to keep current on resolution methods.

How Clients Engage

New relationships typically begin with a scheduled consultation that can be booked online, and prospective clients may also send questions through a web form. Existing clients exchange files through a secure online document portal, which allows records to be uploaded and reviewed without in-person drop-offs.

Client testimonials describe a personal, responsive style, with prompt answers to questions, timely completion of work and a relaxed attitude when clients run behind on their own deadlines. Several reviewers report having worked with Mark Bacon for many years, one for more than two decades, and another credits him with handling complications involving a pension from an international organization.

Background and Community Ties

The firm is a small, owner-led practice, which means clients deal directly with the CPA rather than being passed among large teams. Mark Bacon is active in his local Rotary Club and chairs the club's charitable arm, which runs the Greenville Duck Derby, an annual fundraiser that generates more than $100,000 for causes in the area.

For Upstate businesses that want a long-term accountant combining bookkeeping, tax compliance and advisory help in one relationship, the practice offers a hands-on alternative to larger regional firms, though companies needing high-volume payables processing or automation tools may want to pair it with a specialized provider.

Stevenson Tax & Accounting, LLC is a family-run accounting and tax practice with offices in Greer and Simpsonville, South Carolina. David and Ricky Stevenson founded the firm, which works with individuals as well as companies of every size in Greenville, Greer, Simpsonville and the wider Upstate region. Its client base also reaches beyond South Carolina, with the firm reporting customers in more than twenty states and in other countries.

Accounts payable and outsourced finance support

For buyers comparing AP providers, the most relevant part of the practice is its accounting services menu. The firm lists accounts payable and receivable handling as a core offering and also takes on outsourced AP work, alongside outsourced receivables, staff accounting, controller and CFO roles.

This means a small or mid-sized company can hand off bill processing as a standalone task or fold it into a broader arrangement where the firm acts as its back-office finance team. Related bookkeeping functions that typically sit around payables are also available:

• Full cycle bookkeeping and general ledger maintenance
• Bank and credit card reconciliation
• Invoice preparation and job costing
• Time and expense tracking and inventory tracking
• Cash flow analysis and budget preparation
• Accounting system design and internal control procedures
• Payroll processing and payroll tax filings

The firm does not present itself as a software vendor or AP automation platform. Instead, it offers hands-on help with tools that many small businesses already use, notably QuickBooks and ADP payroll, and it can set up and run payroll and bookkeeping for small to medium businesses. Clients exchange documents through an online client portal, which supports remote work with customers outside the local area.

Tax and business advisory work

Tax work makes up a large share of the practice. Services cover individual, partnership and corporate returns, electronic filing, tax planning, sales tax and property tax returns and appeals, and representation during IRS audits. For taxpayers with past-due balances, the firm handles tax resolution, including offers in compromise.

It also helps entrepreneurs form LLCs, organize new businesses and get general consulting, and it notes that support is offered throughout the year rather than only in filing season. David Stevenson is listed as the Endorsed Local Provider for tax services in the Upstate for the Dave Ramsey Show.

Leadership and credentials

David Stevenson, the president, is a CPA who earned his accounting degree from the University of Tennessee in 1971. He brings over 35 years in financial management, having served companies as CFO, controller and treasurer, and his background spans taxation, auditing, credit and collections, banking relations, forecasting, cost control, acquisitions and divestitures, plus leading start-ups and turnarounds.

That corporate finance history is directly relevant to payables oversight and internal controls. Vice president Ricky Stevenson is an Enrolled Agent with an accounting bachelor's degree from Clemson University and a master's in accounting from Liberty University.

He concentrates on individual and small business taxation, supports clients with payroll, QuickBooks and human resources questions, and has prior experience in financial services and insurance.

For AP buyers, the firm stands out by pairing a local, owner-led team with executive-level finance experience and by offering outsourced payables within a wider controller or CFO arrangement, suiting Upstate companies that prefer people over software for managing bills.

Overview

The Keller Group, PA is a CPA firm based in Greer, South Carolina. It works with small and mid-sized companies across the Upstate, including Greenville, Spartanburg and Greer. The firm acts as an outsourced finance department for owners who would rather not hire a full-time staff accountant, and it bundles bookkeeping, payroll and tax work into recurring monthly engagements.

Buyers looking for accounts payable support should see it as a general outsourced accounting provider. Its managed books include vendor-related recordkeeping and year-end contractor reporting. It does not sell its own AP automation software.

Services relevant to payables

The core offering is an accounting function run by the firm's own staff. They keep a client's ledger current so owners get accurate, up-to-date financial statements. The services on its site that relate most to the payables side of a business are:

• Monthly bookkeeping, with the books reviewed each month
• Account reconciliation
• Monthly financial reporting
• QuickBooks company file setup for new clients
• Form 1099 preparation for contractors and vendors
• Sales tax preparation for each business location

The firm also runs payroll through its KG Pay service and prepares business and personal income tax returns, including federal and state filings for S corporations. In addition, it builds year-end tax projections to help owners lower their tax bills. The site does not describe invoice approval routing, vendor payment runs or bill-pay automation in detail, so companies that need those workflows should confirm the scope directly.

Who they serve

The firm targets businesses with more than about a quarter of a million dollars in annual revenue. At that size, accounting and payroll volume usually justifies a monthly engagement. The sectors it names are:

• Manufacturers and industrial companies
• Contractors
• Restaurants
• Medical and dental practices

Newer companies with annual revenue under $300,000 can choose a separate start-up bookkeeping package. Companies with revenue between one and twenty million dollars can use the KG CFO offering. This adds higher-level advisory support and can work alongside an existing in-house accountant. The firm also takes on a few clients each year for tax work only.

How engagements work

New clients go through three stages: a free discovery meeting to assess their needs, a written proposal, and onboarding. Work usually starts within two to three days after the proposal is accepted. Pricing is based on fixed monthly fees, and packages can be customized. Annual tax return preparation is part of the package rather than an extra. The firm's case to owners is predictable budgeting, fewer bookkeeping errors, steadier compliance and more time to run the business.

Background and team

The team has more than twenty years of accounting experience, ranging from small firms to Fortune 500 corporations. President Chip Keller, CPA, leads the firm, and Zac Stevens, CPA, serves as manager. Other staff include an accountant who is a Certified Payroll Professional, an accountant who is an Enrolled Agent, several other accountants and an administrative assistant.

In 2021 the firm was named among the fastest-growing businesses led by University of Georgia alumni. That award goes to the companies with the highest revenue growth compounded over three years.

Upstate Professional CPA Services LLC is a certified public accounting firm in Greer, South Carolina. The firm holds a South Carolina license and has worked with clients in the Greer area for a number of years. Its clients include business owners, executives, independent professionals and individuals. For companies looking at accounts payable support, it is a full-service CPA practice, not a dedicated AP automation vendor. Payables work would come as part of its wider bookkeeping and financial management services.

Accounts payable and bookkeeping support

The site does not list accounts payable as a separate service. The closest fit is its small business accounting service, in which the firm takes over a company's bookkeeping so the owner can concentrate on running the business. In a typical arrangement like this, recording bills and keeping vendor records sit inside the general ledger work.

Buyers should ask the firm directly how it handles invoice entry, bill payment scheduling and vendor reconciliations. Related services that touch the payables cycle include:

• Outsourced bookkeeping for small businesses
• Payroll processing
• Cash flow projections to help companies avoid cash shortfalls
• Reviews of internal controls, with recommendations to make operating procedures more efficient
• Part-time CFO services that give a business an outside financial manager

QuickBooks expertise

Much of the firm's technology work centers on QuickBooks, which it presents as a good fit for small and mid-sized businesses. It offers QuickBooks setup, training, answers to specific questions and periodic tune-ups of existing files. It also helps clients buy the software.

For a business that wants to manage bills and vendor payments inside QuickBooks, this support could help with setting up the file and training the in-house staff who enter payables. The site does not name any specialized AP automation platforms.

Broader business and tax services

Beyond day-to-day accounting, the firm provides three levels of assurance work (audits, reviews and compilations) to meet the needs of stockholders, lenders and investors.

It also offers forensic accounting for disputes, business valuation, help preparing for bank financing, strategic and succession planning, help forming new businesses, and accounting for non-profit organizations, with attention to the IRS rules that affect tax-exempt status. On the tax side, it handles preparation and planning.

It also represents clients with a wide range of IRS problems, such as audits, unfiled returns, back taxes, payroll tax issues, liens, levies, payment plans and offers in compromise.

How the firm works with clients

Clients can exchange documents with the firm through a secure client portal and a SecureSend file transfer tool. They can also pay their fees online. The firm publishes a monthly newsletter along with guides, tax calendars and financial calculators. It invites prospective clients to book a consultation before starting work.

The firm says it focuses on quality in its records and reports, on bringing order to complex financial information, and on keeping clients' operations in line with current requirements. It also serves individuals with financial planning, estate planning and elder care services.

Its single local office makes it best suited to Upstate businesses that want a hands-on accounting partner for bookkeeping, payables and compliance from one firm.