Accounts Payable Services & AP Automation Providers in Lexington, SC

Cummings & Associates, LLC is an accounting and tax practice based in Lexington, South Carolina. It also has a second location at Founders Centre in Myrtle Beach. The firm works with individuals and companies across the state, from young start-ups to mature enterprises in a range of industries.

Buyers comparing accounts payable providers should know what kind of firm this is. It is a general accounting practice, and its bookkeeping, write-up and QuickBooks work is where outsourced payables record-keeping would fit. Its website does not list accounts payable as a separate service, and it does not name a dedicated AP automation platform.

Bookkeeping and Accounting Support

For businesses that want to hand off routine finance tasks, the firm offers ongoing record-keeping and reporting along with practical help with their books. Its published accounting services include:

• Bookkeeping and write-up on a monthly, quarterly or yearly schedule
• General ledger upkeep and preparation of financial statements
• Setting up accounting systems and supporting them over time
• Payroll processing
• Cash flow budgets, forecasts and budgeting analysis
• QuickBooks help, so clients get more value from the software's reports, statements and graphs
• Help choosing, implementing and supporting accounting software

For a company that uses QuickBooks, this combination can support cleaner vendor records and better visibility into cash outflows. The firm also advises on cost containment, which ties directly into how a business manages what it spends.

Assurance, Advisory and Tax Work

Beyond bookkeeping, Cummings & Associates provides all three levels of financial statement engagement: compilations for internal use, reviews that give limited assurance, and full audits that test account balances, inventories and selected transactions. Its advisory work covers evaluating financial procedures, controlling costs, improving efficiency and adopting new technology.

It also covers choosing a business entity or restructuring one, financial projections, debt and financing advice, transaction structuring, business succession, and mergers, acquisitions and sales. On the tax side, the firm handles planning and return preparation for individuals and corporations, estate and trust planning, IRS representation, litigation support and forensic accounting, and financial and retirement planning.

How the Firm Works With Clients

The firm puts long-term relationships first. It says its goal is to keep clients financially healthy today while planning ahead for what they want to achieve later. That approach depends on regular, open conversation and careful research into each client's circumstances. The practice emphasizes a team approach, so each engagement gets close individual attention, and it hires experienced tax professionals. The website credits these standards and the firm's responsiveness for the high number of clients who return each year.

Clients also have access to a client login area and a set of online resources. These include downloadable IRS forms and publications, financial calculators, a records retention guide, tax due dates and rates, and monthly and daily news. A newsletter is also available.

For Lexington-area organizations that want one local firm to handle bookkeeping, payroll, software support and tax compliance together, Cummings & Associates is a practical option. Companies that mainly need high-volume invoice capture or dedicated AP automation software should ask the firm directly about its payables capabilities before engaging.

Dooley & Company, LLC is a certified public accounting practice based in Lexington, South Carolina, that has operated since 1983. The firm describes itself as boutique in style, and its client base spans individuals, privately owned businesses, state and local government bodies, school districts and nonprofit organizations, some of which are located outside South Carolina.

For buyers evaluating accounts payable support, Dooley & Company is best understood as a full-service CPA firm whose small business bookkeeping practice covers the transaction processing and vendor reporting work that sits at the heart of AP, rather than as a dedicated AP software vendor.

Bookkeeping and AP-related support

The firm's small business accountants handle routine data entry, account reconciliation and review of client books, an arrangement meant for companies that need the discipline of a larger finance department without carrying a full-time in-house bookkeeper. Work is delivered largely through remote access and QuickBooks Online, so clients do not have to arrange monthly hand-offs of data files.

Engagements often grow to include sales tax and payroll filings plus regular consulting meetings that interpret what the financial statements reveal. The team also takes on discrete projects such as year-end 1099 preparation for vendors, coverage during staff turnover and migrations between accounting platforms.

• Bookkeeping data entry, reconciliations and review
• 1099 filings and software transition projects
• Full, after-the-fact and online payroll processing with payroll reporting
• Outsourced CFO and controller-level consulting
• Internal control consulting and assurance services
• Tax planning, business valuation and new business formation

Government and school district specialty

Public sector finance is a long-standing focus.

For municipalities and school districts, the firm offers Yellow Book and Single Audit assurance work alongside hands-on accounting help: bookkeeping and reconciliations, interim or permanent coverage of finance director duties when a position is vacant, general ledger cleanup ahead of annual audits, budget preparation, millage calculations, depreciation schedule upkeep, cash flow analysis, grant administration and reporting, and consulting for food service programs.

Agencies dealing with backlogs in payables or ledger accuracy may find this mix of audit insight and day-to-day support useful.

Team and approach

Keith Dooley, a CPA who also holds the Personal Financial Specialist credential and earned his accounting degree at the University of South Carolina, founded the practice in 1983.

Elizabeth Schulken, Senior Manager of Small Business Services, has led the business services group for roughly thirty years, concentrating on bookkeeping and payroll for small and mid-sized companies and working across QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop and other accounting systems.

A dedicated payroll specialist with more than sixteen years of experience joined in 2024, and the staff also includes tax associates and staff accountants with governmental review and compilation experience. The firm emphasizes being accessible to clients and helping them see how tax and compliance rules apply to their own circumstances.

The firm is currently taking on former clients of Russell Shealy and Associates, LLC, who are invited to set up meetings with its staff. Individual clients can additionally obtain tax preparation, estate planning, tax issue resolution and wealth management, which lets business owners keep company and personal finances with a single advisor. Because the bookkeeping team keeps live access to client records, the firm can produce timely income tax estimates and business guidance from current data.

J.B. Merritt & Associates, LLC is a firm of certified public accountants licensed in South Carolina, with its office in Lexington. It works with small and growing businesses, owners, executives, independent professionals and nonprofit organizations. Buyers looking for help with payables should know that the firm does not sell a dedicated AP automation platform. Instead, it handles payables as part of a wider outsourced accounting relationship, bringing bookkeeping, payroll, controls and financial oversight together under one CPA practice.

Bookkeeping and Back-Office Support

The firm's main business offering is outsourced accounting for small companies. It takes over the record-keeping so that owners can spend their time running operations, which suits companies whose books have fallen behind or were never organized. Related services include cash flow management, reviews and compilations, help preparing for bank financing, and setting up internal controls. For vendor payments, the firm prepares year-end 1099 and 1096 filings, which matters for any business that pays contractors.

• Small business accounting and bookkeeping
• 1099 and 1096 preparation for vendor reporting
• Cash flow management and internal controls
• Payroll processing in full-service, after-the-fact and online formats
• QuickBooks setup, training, tune-ups and software purchasing
• Tax preparation and planning, plus IRS problem resolution

Part-Time CFO Oversight

Companies that need senior financial leadership but cannot justify a full-time hire can use the firm's part-time CFO service. This work touches several payables-related areas. These include acting as a go-between with vendors, bankers, attorneys and insurers, and building financial controls to help prevent employee theft.

The CFO service also covers writing accounting procedure manuals, training and supervising in-house bookkeeping staff, and managing cash. Other parts of the service are budgeting and tracking against budget, profitability by product or service line, trend analysis, reviewing equipment purchases and expansions, and support with mergers and acquisitions.

Payroll and QuickBooks

The payroll practice offers three ways to work with the firm. In the comprehensive option, the firm processes and prints checks on secure blank stock. In the after-the-fact option, it records payrolls the client has already run. In the online option, clients enter hours themselves and print checks on their own printers.

Each option includes federal and state tax filings, EFTPS deposits, W-2 and W-3 forms, and leave-accrual reports. Additional reports, such as certified payroll, union reports and workers' compensation reports, are available on request. Because the firm works closely with QuickBooks, it can configure the software, train staff, answer day-to-day questions and resell licenses.

This is helpful for businesses that want their bill-paying and vendor records kept in a familiar system.

Working Style

The firm presents itself as a small local practice that gives clients personal attention, and it describes professionalism, responsiveness and quality as its core principles. A first consultation is free. According to the firm, routine questions from small business accounting clients are covered by their existing fee, so clients do not pay extra for every call.

Clients can share documents through a secure online portal. The firm also publishes a monthly newsletter and online tax resources. Because it also offers IRS representation, including help with payroll tax problems, clients can keep compliance issues with the same advisers who handle their books.

Rish & Enzastiga, CPA's is a certified public accounting firm based in Lexington, South Carolina, that has worked with Midlands clients since 1981. The practice serves individuals, executives, independent professionals, and small and mid-sized companies, and it is licensed by the state, with every CPA on staff holding a current South Carolina certificate.

For buyers looking at accounts payable support, the firm is best understood as a local, full-service accounting office where bill tracking and vendor records sit inside its broader bookkeeping and small business accounting work, rather than as a dedicated AP automation vendor.

Accounting and AP-related services

The firm does not market a standalone accounts payable product. Instead, its business offering covers the day-to-day financial recordkeeping that typically includes handling payables, along with related controls and cash planning. Services listed on its site include:

• Small business accounting and bookkeeping
• Payroll processing and payroll tax help
• Cash flow management
• Internal controls reviews
• Audits, reviews and compilations
• Bank financing support and strategic business planning
• New business formation and non-profit accounting
• Sales tax return preparation

Software support is a notable part of the practice. The team helps companies choose, install and learn QuickBooks, offers question-and-answer assistance and periodic file tune-ups, and also resells the software. For a small company that wants to manage vendor bills and payments inside QuickBooks with a CPA reviewing the books, this combination of setup, training and ongoing bookkeeping may be the most relevant part of the offering.

Tax and individual services

Beyond business accounting, the firm prepares and plans taxes for companies and households and represents clients facing IRS issues, including audits, unfiled returns, back taxes, liens, levies, wage garnishments, payment plans, offers in compromise and innocent spouse relief. Individuals can also obtain personal financial planning. This range means a business owner can keep company books, payroll and personal tax matters with one office.

Team and approach

Partner David M. Enzastiga, a Notre Dame accounting graduate who became a CPA in 1999, leads the firm. David A. Enzastiga, a CPA with a master's in accountancy focused on taxation from the Darla Moore School of Business, concentrates on small business tax consulting and individual returns.

CPA Heidi Goddard, with the firm since 2011, works on bookkeeping, payroll, sales tax and tax filings. Staff accountant Brian Paulen and support staff handle further bookkeeping and payroll tasks, and one team member also helps homeowners associations manage their finances. Kim Enzastiga serves as office manager.

The firm describes its method as personal: staff review each client's particular business or household situation before recommending a course of action, and new clients are offered an initial consultation at no charge. Clients can exchange documents through a secure client portal and file transfer tool.

Rish & Enzastiga belongs to the South Carolina Association of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Companies that need high-volume invoice capture, approval workflows or a dedicated AP platform should confirm scope directly, since the firm's published services center on hands-on bookkeeping, payroll and QuickBooks support for smaller organizations.