Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Portage, MI

Brink, Key & Chludzinski, P.C., known as BKC, is a certified public accounting firm based in Portage, Michigan. It works with businesses and individuals across Kalamazoo and the wider West Michigan region. The firm was founded in 1992 and has spent more than thirty years providing tax, audit and advisory work. Companies evaluating payroll partners should understand BKC as a CPA practice that handles payroll compliance within a broader accounting relationship. It is not a standalone payroll processing bureau.

Payroll-related services

BKC's published service list includes the preparation of payroll reports and returns. Its intake form also lets prospective clients flag payroll taxes as the subject of their inquiry. This suits employers who want a CPA to oversee periodic payroll filings and tax reporting while keeping their books, tax returns and financial statements with the same firm. Related offerings that touch on workforce costs include:

• Payroll tax reports and return preparation
• Guidance on classifying workers as employees or independent contractors
• Audits and filings for employee benefit plans
• Bookkeeping, write-up work and QuickBooks assistance
• Setup and ongoing support for accounting software
• Electronic filing as an IRS-authorized, multi-state e-file provider

Broader accounting and advisory work

Beyond payroll, the firm covers business and personal tax planning and preparation, state and local tax (SALT) matters, and trust and estate returns. It also performs business valuations and compilations, reviews and audits of financial statements. Its advisory work includes budgets and projections, business plans, entity formation and dissolution, mergers and reorganizations, and bankruptcy work-outs.

The firm also conducts internal control reviews aimed at fraud prevention, provides litigation support and represents clients before the IRS, including appeals. Retirement strategy is part of its offering as well.

Industries served

BKC organizes much of its work by sector. It gives dedicated attention to agribusiness, automotive, construction, food and beverage, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution, real estate and professional services. Within the professional services group, clients include law offices, insurance agencies, engineers and architects, IT providers, financial planners, therapists and medical practices.

Human resource consultants, third party administrators and payroll service providers are also among its clients. For these businesses the firm offers cash flow projections, entity selection and S corporation analysis, and financial benchmarking. It also provides research and development credit consulting, strategic planning and help identifying tax credits and incentives.

Working with the firm

New clients start with a request form. The form asks whether the need relates to business, personal, trust or estate, QuickBooks or payroll tax matters. Clients can choose a phone call, a virtual meeting over Teams or Zoom, or an in-person visit. Existing clients can use a secure client portal and pay bills online.

The firm has a single office in Portage with seasonal hours, including shorter Fridays from mid-April through October. Its website also has a peer review section and a learning center with articles and financial calculators.

Davis & Associates is a family-run accounting and tax practice on Portage Road in Portage, Michigan. Alongside bookkeeping, business tax work and advisory services, it offers payroll processing. Jerry Davis founded the firm in 1980.

Payroll was added after John Davis joined in 2004, so that local companies could handle their books, employee pay and tax returns through a single office instead of splitting the work among several providers. Buyers comparing payroll vendors should see it as an accounting firm with payroll capability rather than a standalone payroll software company.

Payroll and related services

The firm aims its payroll offering at owners who are bringing on staff, including those adding their first employee. The same team also keeps the books and prepares returns, so payroll figures feed directly into monthly reporting and year-end filings. Its Michigan compliance work includes state withholding and unemployment filings.

It also advises owners on balancing salary against distributions so that the resulting payroll tax position holds up. Pricing is quoted after the firm reviews the engagement, and the number of people on payroll is one of the factors considered.

• Payroll processing for small and growing employers
• Michigan withholding and unemployment filings
• Owner compensation planning (salary versus distributions)
• Monthly bookkeeping, account reconciliation and catch-up work
• QuickBooks setup, cleanup and ongoing support
• Federal and Michigan returns for S corps, C corps, partnerships and single-member LLCs
• Year-round tax planning, fractional CFO support and business consulting
• IRS representation by Enrolled Agents

How the firm works

Engagements follow a three-stage approach. The team starts with a discovery meeting to review recent returns and how the company operates today. It then comes back with an assessment of tax opportunities, including the likely savings and the effort each one requires.

After that, firm and client agree on who does what, carry out the plan together and revisit it during the year as the business or the tax law changes. Clients get a price before work begins and are told ahead of time if the scope shifts.

Documents can be uploaded through a secure client portal or dropped off in person, so visiting the office is optional.

Industries and reach

The firm names several sectors it knows best: construction and trades, automotive, healthcare and medical practices, retail, real estate, legal, technology and professional services. It notes that it serves other industries too. Most clients are in Portage and Kalamazoo, but the practice also works with businesses and individuals in other states, including preparing non-resident and part-year state returns.

Background and team

Third-generation co-owners Landon and Ian Davis now lead the firm, which still operates from the office its founder opened. Landon spent close to ten years in corporate accounting and finance before returning, and he now oversees internal operations and the tax preparation staff.

Ian has a background in finance, economics, sales operations and forecasting, and he directs the firm's planning and advisory practice. Both are involved with the Southwest Michigan Chamber and Startup Garage. The firm's Enrolled Agents are federally credentialed to represent clients before the IRS, and it reports that more than 90 percent of clients return each year.

Its main distinguishing feature for employers is that payroll is closely tied to bookkeeping and tax planning in one office.

Flegal & Melnik is a certified public accounting partnership in Portage, Michigan, that handles payroll as one part of a broader accounting and tax practice. For employers comparing payroll providers, the firm offers a CPA-led alternative to standalone processing companies. Payroll work sits alongside bookkeeping, tax preparation and assurance engagements, so one local team can see how wages, withholdings and tax obligations fit into a client's overall finances.

Payroll and related services

The firm lists payroll services as a distinct offering and also includes payroll processing within its general accounting work for businesses. Partner Lisa Melnik handles much of the payroll tax work and supervises the bookkeeping function, so payroll compliance is overseen by a licensed CPA. Payroll clients can also draw on related services, including:

• Payroll processing and payroll tax work
• Bookkeeping and write-up on a monthly, quarterly or yearly schedule
• Setup and ongoing support for accounting systems, plus QuickBooks assistance
• Preparation of general ledgers and financial statements
• Tax planning for corporations and preparation of business returns
• Cash flow budgeting, forecasting and analysis
• Representation before the IRS

The practice also performs audits, reviews and compilations. It advises on choosing or restructuring a business entity, helps with selecting and implementing accounting software, and supports mergers, acquisitions, transaction structuring and business succession. Further offerings include estate and trust planning with related tax returns, financial and retirement planning, and litigation support. Its accounting guidance also covers employee benefit and profit-sharing arrangements, which are closely tied to payroll administration.

Who the firm serves

Clients include local businesses in a range of industries, private individuals, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. The firm has particular depth with nonprofit and governmental entities. Lisa Melnik began her career auditing those types of organizations at a Michigan public accounting firm, and she now completes most of the practice's audits and reviews. Tax manager Janet Lemon concentrates on tax matters for both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, as well as individuals and trusts.

Background and team

The partnership was formed on January 1, 2014. Daniel Melnik had spent five years at a national firm headquartered in Indiana before joining the Portage practice of Mary K. Flegal. Lisa Melnik joined in 2014, and founder Mary Flegal retired in May 2018.

Both current partners, Daniel and Lisa Melnik, are licensed CPAs with master's degrees in accounting from Western Michigan University. Janet Lemon is also a CPA, holds a master's in taxation from Grand Valley State University and has more than three decades of experience in industry and public accounting.

Stacy Allen holds a master's in accounting from Indiana Wesleyan University and is preparing for the CPA exam. She assists on audits, monthly client work and individual returns. Neasie Williams brings over ten years of seasonal tax preparation experience, and Megan Begeman completes the staff.

How they work with clients

The firm deliberately keeps its staff small and describes a family-style culture meant to keep relationships personal and attention on each client. For employers, this generally means working directly with the same CPAs who prepare their taxes and review their books.

Clients can use an online client login, financial calculators, tax rate and due date references, and a monthly newsletter on tax changes. The partners are also involved locally through the Vicksburg Lions Club, the Portage Rotary Club and area youth programs.