Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Pooler, GA

Padgett Business Advisors Savannah is a certified public accounting practice licensed in Georgia. It is based in Pooler and focuses on small and family-owned companies throughout the Savannah region. Legally, the business is Live Oak Business Services, LLC, and it operates under the Padgett banner as one office in a national network.

Alisha Wright owns the office and runs it day to day, and the site stresses that each Padgett location is independently owned and operated. The pitch is simple: a local team with the backing of a much larger organization.

Payroll services

The firm organizes its work into four areas: tax, accounting, payroll and advisory. Payroll is meant to take a repetitive, error-prone chore off an owner's desk. The office supports salaried employees, hourly workers and 1099 contractors, and says it can serve a business with two people or with two hundred. The payroll offering covers:

• Paycheck calculations, including deductions and withholdings, delivered on schedule
• Federal, state and local payroll tax filings, along with year-end forms
• W-2 and 1099 preparation
• Direct deposit setup and check processing
• Support for multi-state payrolls, part-time staff and contractor payments
• Help answering employee questions so the owner is not stuck in the middle

On the technology side, the office partners with ADP and combines that system with personal support from a local team. According to the firm, the ADP link allows payroll information to sync with a client's other accounting software and with Padgett's own tax and accounting work, and it also provides access to extra HR services.

The firm also points out that keeping payroll alongside bookkeeping and tax preparation helps connect the dots and reduces costly mistakes. Pricing is not listed publicly. It depends on a company's size and complexity, and a custom quote follows a short consultation. The site also offers a calculator for estimating the full cost of employee compensation, including taxes and benefits.

Leadership and credentials

The Savannah office opened in 2019, when Wright chose to bring the Padgett founding mission of serving small businesses to her community. She was born in Waycross, Georgia, and relocated to Savannah in 1996, the year she finished a business administration degree in accounting at the University of Georgia. She earned her CPA license two years later.

Her volunteer record includes past service as treasurer for three area charitable organizations. The firm states that every CPA on staff holds a valid Georgia certificate. Her practice combines bookkeeping, tax, payroll and consulting, with locations in Savannah and Brunswick.

The wider Padgett organization cites more than 50 years of experience working with small business owners.

Industries and approach

Wright serves individuals, corporations and partnerships, with particular depth in family-owned businesses, construction, retail and service companies. Marketing materials also mention real estate, professional services, restaurants, farming, healthcare and law firms. For restaurants and bars, the firm notes familiarity with tips and alcohol sales, two areas that complicate payroll and tax work.

The team describes its style as personalized and proactive. It aims to learn what makes each business distinctive, lay out the options in plain terms, and stay in regular contact all year instead of appearing only at filing season. For an owner who wants a local payroll provider that can also handle taxes and accounting, that combination is the office's main selling point.