Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Duluth, MN

Overview

ASI Financial Services also does business as ASI Accounting Inc. It is a small accounting practice in downtown Duluth, Minnesota. The firm runs payroll and also does bookkeeping and tax preparation, so business owners can handle several recurring financial tasks through one local office. The office is in Duluth, but the firm says it takes clients from every state, so businesses outside northeastern Minnesota can hire it too.

The practice dates back to 1998. That year it began preparing tax returns in the basement of a home on 19th Avenue East in Duluth. It now has a staffed office on North 2nd Avenue West that is open on weekdays. Reviews on its website describe client relationships of close to two decades, and one lasting about 30 years. Some longtime clients now send their children and grandchildren to the firm as well.

Payroll and related services

For buyers comparing payroll providers, the main draw is that payroll is part of a wider accounting relationship rather than a standalone software subscription. One staff member, Andrea, is named as the firm's payroll specialist, so payroll questions go to a specific person. The same office also keeps books and prepares corporate returns, which means payroll records and year-end tax work stay with one team. The firm's main offerings are:

• Payroll services for businesses
• Bookkeeping and ongoing monthly accounting
• Corporate tax preparation
• Personal income tax preparation

The website does not name any payroll software or describe add-ons such as direct deposit, time tracking, payroll tax filing or benefits administration. Prospective clients should ask the firm directly what its payroll engagements include.

Who they serve

The firm works with both businesses and individuals. According to the testimonials, clients include people running a business for the first time who needed help sorting out their personal and business records. Others are established companies that use the office for monthly accounting along with their personal and corporate returns.

One reviewer says owner Brad Anderson recommended switching from an LLC to an S corporation, and that this produced significant tax savings. This suggests the firm gives planning advice as well as preparing filings.

Team and approach

The website names the team. Brad Anderson leads tax work, Kim focuses on bookkeeping, Andrea runs payroll, and Kate is also on staff. Reviewers often mention how quickly staff answer the phone and follow up on questions. They also describe the group as reliable, knowledgeable and easy to deal with year after year.

ASI suits a business that wants a long-term, personal accounting contact who can keep payroll in step with its books and tax returns, all from one office in Duluth.

Dougherty Accounts is a bookkeeping and payroll firm based in Duluth, Minnesota, operating as Dougherty Accounts, LLC. Its website describes it as a Duluth bookkeeping and payroll practice, and third-party business listings say its goal is to give owners precise, uncomplicated and time-saving help with their books and payroll. For buyers comparing payroll providers in the Twin Ports area, it stands as a small, locally based option instead of a national payroll platform.

Who they serve

The firm's focus is on business owners who want to hand off routine financial administration. Its positioning points to small and mid-sized local companies that need dependable recordkeeping and regular payroll processing but may not want to employ an in-house bookkeeper or payroll clerk. The site does not name particular industries, so prospective clients in any sector should ask directly whether the firm has experience with their type of operation, headcount and pay structure.

Services

Bookkeeping and payroll are the two core lines named consistently across the company's site and its directory listings. The homepage also carries headings for financial statements, taxes and accounting, although those sections do not yet include detailed descriptions. Based on what is published, the firm's offering can be summarized as:

• Payroll processing for business owners
• Ongoing bookkeeping and recordkeeping
• Financial statement preparation (listed as a service heading)
• Tax services for individuals and businesses (listed as a service heading)
• General accounting support (listed as a service heading)

Because payroll and bookkeeping are handled by the same firm, clients may be able to keep wage records, payroll expenses and the general ledger in one place, which can simplify month-end reconciliation and year-end reporting. Details such as pay frequencies supported, direct deposit handling, payroll tax filing, year-end forms, or which payroll and accounting software the firm uses are not spelled out on the site, so buyers should confirm these points during an initial conversation.

Working with the firm

The website invites prospective clients to get in touch for a free consultation, which gives business owners a chance to discuss their needs before committing. As a locally rooted practice, it offers the possibility of working with a nearby contact who understands Duluth-area businesses and Minnesota employer obligations, rather than a remote call center. Directory listings place its office in downtown Duluth, which may suit clients who prefer to meet in person or drop off documents.

Background and what to verify

The company's website appears to be in an early stage, with much of its descriptive content still unfinished, so published information about the team's history, credentials and client base is limited.

Buyers comparing payroll service providers should ask about the staff's qualifications, how many payroll clients the firm handles, turnaround times, data security practices, and how payroll tax deposits and filings are managed. For owners who value a small local bookkeeping and payroll partner, Dougherty Accounts is worth a conversation, with those details confirmed before signing on.

Evergreen Accounting is a small accounting practice in Duluth, Minnesota. It handles payroll, bookkeeping, accounting and tax work for local businesses and for individuals. Its main focus is small companies, especially owners who are just starting out and need a dependable way to track money coming in and going out. Buyers looking at payroll providers in the Twin Ports area will find a hands-on local office rather than a large national processor.

Services for Small Businesses

The firm's core work is setting up and maintaining sound financial records for young and growing businesses. Payroll and income tax filing are offered alongside that bookkeeping, so one office can keep a client's books, run payroll and prepare tax returns. The practice works with both the desktop and the online editions of accounting software, so clients can stay on whichever platform suits them.

• Payroll processing for small employers
• Bookkeeping and tracking of income and expenses
• General accounting for businesses
• Business and personal income tax filing
• Help getting a new business's records set up correctly

How the Firm Works With Clients

Evergreen lets each client decide how much help they want. Some hand over only payroll or a yearly tax return, while others rely on the office for a wider range of financial tasks.

Its services are open to the general public, not just one industry, which can suit owners whose payroll needs are fairly simple and who prefer one familiar contact. Regular hours run Monday through Friday. The office closes on Fridays during the summer, keeps longer hours during tax season and will also book appointments outside its posted schedule.

Background and Experience

The practice has worked from its current Duluth office since July 2009. It reports nearly three decades of experience in accounting, tax and bookkeeping. Client testimonials on its website name Chris as the person they deal with. They describe her as thorough, reliable and fairly priced, and say that handing off tax work lets them spend more time running their own businesses.

What Sets It Apart

The firm puts customer service at the center of its approach and says it takes a personal interest in every client. It reports that about 95 percent of its new business comes from referrals, which points to long-term relationships and word of mouth rather than heavy advertising.

Owners comparing payroll services may find this a good fit if they want payroll handled together with their books and taxes by a small team that knows their business. Larger employers that need advanced HR tools or multi-state payroll should confirm the scope of payroll support directly, since the website does not describe those capabilities in detail.

Payroll Processing Plus is an independent payroll bureau on London Road in Duluth, Minnesota. It works with employers in the Twin Ports area. Local owners have run the firm for more than 25 years. It pitches itself to buyers on four points: being nearby, working fast, adapting to each client and protecting data.

The firm offers to take payroll off an employer's hands so it doesn't need in-house payroll staff. It says this suits small employers who find tax compliance hard to keep up with, as well as larger organizations that want to keep wage data private.

Payroll and tax services

The company runs the full payroll cycle and handles the tax work that comes with it. Its published service list includes:

• Full-service payroll processing
• End-to-end payroll tax services
• Payroll for staff working in more than one state
• Direct deposit of employee pay
• Processing of child support orders and wage garnishments
• Job costing
• Year-end W-2 preparation
• Accrual tracking for vacation, sick leave and PTO
• Custom reports and exports of payroll data
• Retirement plan reporting

How clients work with the firm

Each client gets one specialist who handles every pay run and learns the account. That means employers deal with the same person each time instead of a rotating support line. Clients send in their hours and pay figures, and the team returns checks the same day. For some accounts, the checks are ready that morning.

Checks can be picked up at the Duluth office, mailed or sent by courier. They carry the client's own logo or nameplate, so they look like they come straight from the employer. The firm sets up its software to fit each company, so clients don't have to bend to a fixed system.

Reporting

Reporting is a big part of the service. Clients can get detailed summaries of overtime and of accrued vacation and sick time. These can cover one employee, a single department or the whole organization. Reports can be broken out by month, quarter, individual pay period or year-to-date. Payroll data can also be exported to other accounting tools. Job costing support helps employers that need to assign labor costs to specific projects or jobs.

Background and what sets it apart

The staff has years of payroll experience and follows changes to tax and unemployment rules, so clients don't have to track them. Salary records are kept on the firm's systems rather than on the client's computers. This helps employers keep confidential pay information away from curious staff.

For Duluth-area buyers, the main differences are a local office with a long history in the community, one contact person for every payroll, fast check turnaround, several delivery options and reports built to order. The company doesn't name any industries it focuses on and says its services fit businesses of any size. Prospective clients can ask for a free quote.

Overview

Serenity Tax & Bookkeeping Services LLC is a Duluth, Minnesota firm that handles payroll, tax preparation and bookkeeping for small businesses and individuals. Its office is in the Spirit Valley Shopping Center on Central Avenue in West Duluth, and the team says it has more than two decades of tax experience.

For employers comparing payroll providers, the main draw is one local office that can run payroll, file the related reports and keep the books those numbers go into. That avoids splitting the work across separate vendors.

Payroll services

Payroll is one of the firm's three core service lines, next to tax and bookkeeping. It covers both the regular and the periodic tasks most small employers need help with:

• Ongoing payroll processing
• Quarterly payroll reporting
• Year-end reconciliation and preparation of W-2 forms
• Union reporting for employers with unionized staff
• Support during workers' compensation audits
• 1099 preparation for contractors

Union reports and help with workers' comp audits matter most to contractors and other employers whose payroll duties go beyond basic paychecks and tax deposits.

Bookkeeping, tax and QuickBooks support

Beyond payroll, the firm offers full-service bookkeeping, including bank reconciliations, financial reviews done monthly, quarterly or yearly, and sales tax work. It prepares individual returns as well as small business returns for many kinds of operations.

These include rental property owners, day care providers, clergy, adult foster care businesses, construction firms and online sellers, along with S corporations, partnerships and nonprofit organizations. It also prepares tax projections and estimates, gives a discount to military clients, and says it can file returns for every state.

Staff are certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors who help clients set up the software and teach QuickBooks training classes. Notary services are also available at the office.

Team and approach

The firm's site introduces a small team. Deni is an Enrolled Agent and QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Sheri is the office manager and handles bookkeeping along with accounts payable and receivable. DJ is a tax professional who also does bookkeeping. With an Enrolled Agent on staff, the firm holds a federal tax credential, which helps when payroll questions overlap with IRS matters.

The company says its mission is to help clients reach financial freedom. It presents itself as a way for payroll, bookkeeping and tax clients to save money, and it describes a direct, practical style that puts clients first.

The office is open all year, with longer weekday and Saturday hours during tax season. Clients can meet in person or send documents by drop-off, email, mail or fax. An online form lets new clients ask about payroll, bookkeeping, QuickBooks or tax appointments. Serenity suits small and mid-sized employers in the Twin Ports area who want the same local team to handle their payroll, books and returns.

Headquartered in Minnesota, SuperiorUSA Benefits is a third-party administrator that pairs payroll with the management of workplace benefit programs. The firm has more than twenty years of history and works with over 1,000 customers nationwide. These customers include private companies in a wide variety of fields, nonprofit organizations and public-sector bodies. They range in size from businesses with just one worker to organizations employing over a thousand people.

Payroll Processing

SuperiorUSA handles every stage of the payroll cycle, from issuing employee pay to completing annual filings. Employers can send in their payroll through an online portal. The firm links payroll to its other administrative work through SYBEN, a benefits system it built in-house. The service list includes:

• Generating paychecks and depositing pay directly into employee accounts
• Calculating, depositing and filing payroll taxes, along with related tax reports
• Producing and submitting W-2s and 1099s
• Notifying the state of newly hired workers
• Handling court-ordered wage garnishments
• Pulling in timekeeping data
• Tailored reports for managers and individual benefit statements for staff

Prospective clients should pay attention to how the firm handles tax payments. Many payroll providers move withheld amounts into their own accounts before deadlines and keep whatever interest accrues. SuperiorUSA avoids this practice. It remits taxes and withholdings directly from the employer's bank account on each due date. As a result, the employer rather than the vendor benefits from any interest in the interim, while compliance tasks are still handled by an outside party.

Combined Benefits Administration

The company's model is built on the idea that payroll information can power an employer's entire benefits operation. Payroll files already contain most of the worker details that plans require. SuperiorUSA draws on that data to track enrollment and to administer retirement savings, cafeteria arrangements, COBRA, HIPAA, and health, dental, disability and life insurance.

Employers record information a single time rather than gathering it again for each plan. This approach can reduce mistakes, and it gives clients one point of contact for questions about both pay and benefits.

The firm's work also includes retirement plan design, consulting and ongoing administration. On the savings side, it supports standard and Roth 401(k) programs and one-person solo 401(k)s. It also supports the 457 and 403(b) plans used by governments and nonprofits.

It handles pension arrangements as well, including cash balance designs and traditional defined-benefit plans, along with plans funded through employer profit-sharing contributions. In addition, it provides common remitter services.

Its flexible benefit work covers Section 125 cafeteria plans, flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), qualified small employer HRAs (QSEHRAs), health savings accounts (HSAs) and Section 132 commuter parking and transit benefits. The firm also manages federal COBRA and state continuation coverage, including billing for premiums and for retirees.

Background and Approach

The company does not market insurance policies or investment products. Instead, it relies on partnerships with accountants, insurance agents, benefits brokers and financial advisors, who refer their own clients to the firm. Its main office and processing operations are in Duluth. It also maintains locations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in Davenport and Dubuque, Iowa.

Its client base covers the Midwest and extends to other states, and one member of its sales staff is a certified public accountant. Employers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area who want a single provider for payroll, retirement plans, flexible spending and continuation coverage can get all of these through one integrated arrangement.