Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Hopkins, MN

Overview

Accounting Resource Group, Inc. is a compact, boutique practice that delivers tax, accounting and financial services from Minnetonka, Minnesota. Its office sits along Carlson Parkway, close to neighboring Plymouth. The firm serves small businesses, individual taxpayers and households.

It also works with affluent individuals and with charitable foundations, and it supports families who maintain dedicated offices or trust structures to manage their wealth. Payroll is a central part of what the practice does. The professionals who run payroll also keep the books, prepare returns and support QuickBooks users.

Employers who would rather not split payroll, ledgers and compliance across several outside providers may find this single-team arrangement appealing.

Payroll and Related Services

Business clients can pair payroll processing with broader accounting support, including bookkeeping, monitoring of cash flow and fractional CFO assistance. On the personal side, the firm manages payroll for families who directly employ nannies, housekeepers or other domestic help. That work covers paychecks and the employer reporting obligations that many households struggle to handle themselves.

When payroll reporting has fallen behind or been done incorrectly, the firm's tax resolution specialists step in to address employment tax issues and associated IRS collection activity.

• Small business payroll processing
• Payroll administration for domestic household staff
• Settling employment tax disputes with the IRS
• Assistance with installment agreements, offers in compromise, levies, liens and garnished wages
• QuickBooks installation, instruction and cleanup, plus ongoing bookkeeping
• Tax return preparation, forward-looking tax strategy and representation during audits

How the Firm Works With Clients

Rather than approaching engagements as one-off tasks, the practice aims for a personal, advisory relationship. Staff seek to understand each client's goals for their household, finances and company. The firm commits to alerting clients promptly when new tax or accounting developments affect them. Prospective clients are offered a complimentary first meeting.

Current clients can log in to a web portal, upload documents through a protected channel and pay invoices online. A service called the Financial Care Concierge program handles family office tasks, pays bills and produces reports on cash coming in, spending and net worth positions.

For affluent families, this allows domestic staff payroll to be folded into a larger picture of financial management.

Background, Team and Credentials

The practice has a long track record, with its website noting four decades in operation. The staff combines CPAs, other accountants, attorneys and QuickBooks ProAdvisors holding certification, supported by administrative personnel. Tony Rivera, who holds both CPA and JD credentials, leads the firm as President and CEO. Jason Gakeler, a CPA and CFP, oversees tax as Vice President.

Additional team members include senior accountants, managers who run family offices, a tax consultant and several outside advisors. Professional memberships held by staff include the Minnesota Society of CPAs and enrolled agent associations at both the state and national levels. Team members also belong to two national bodies, one serving accountants and one serving tax preparers.

Florida clients may arrange in-person meetings in Naples, Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch by appointment.

What Sets It Apart

Anyone evaluating payroll options should understand that this is not a payroll-only vendor. Payroll sits within a wider advisory business that also offers forensic accounting, help launching new companies, strategic and succession planning, and resolution of tax problems. The firm brings particular experience in accounting for non-profit organizations and property management businesses.

It collaborates with outside partners covering banking, insurance, auditing, financial planning, and mergers and acquisitions. For small employers and households that want their payroll managed by advisors already familiar with their tax and accounting situation, the firm is a strong fit.

Based in Hopkins, Minnesota, Corneliuson & Associates is a CPA practice that folds payroll into a broader monthly accounting package for small and midsize employers. Since opening its doors in 1998, the firm has grown to serve over 200 business owners throughout Minnesota and the western part of Wisconsin. Companies that would rather have a single group oversee compensation, record keeping and tax matters, instead of hiring a vendor that only processes paychecks, are likely to find the arrangement appealing.

Payroll and Related Services

Alongside bookkeeping and tax work, payroll stands as one of three central offerings at the practice. Staff members calculate wages, manage withholding and deductions, and keep up with the regulatory obligations that come with employing people. Human resources assistance is available as well.

A client testimonial highlights the firm's habit of bringing in newer payroll and time-tracking software to streamline how customers operate. Since compensation is handled under the same agreement as the ledger, payroll figures flow directly into monthly statements and tax projections.

• Processing of employee pay and HR administration
• Outsourced record keeping and month-end accounting
• Financial statements and periodic advisory meetings
• Tax planning, return preparation and submission
• Installation, connection and ongoing help with QuickBooks Online

How Engagements Work

Prospective clients move through a three-phase process. It opens with an introductory discussion to determine whether the partnership makes sense for both parties. The second phase is onboarding, during which staff tidy up prior records and map out a schedule for recurring tasks. From then on, owners receive steady reports, forward-looking planning and advisory sessions.

Every client operates in QuickBooks Online, giving them round-the-clock access to their files and the ability to connect point-of-sale and inventory platforms. Face-to-face contact is a priority. Although numerous rival firms now interact with customers only virtually, Corneliuson favors sitting down with owners directly to go over their numbers on a recurring basis.

Industries and Specialties

Much of the firm's expertise lies with service-oriented companies, and that clientele influences its payroll methods:

• Health providers such as physician, dentist, orthodontist, chiropractor and animal care clinics
• Firms offering IT, marketing, insurance and investment services, among them employers whose remote workers live in multiple states
• Construction trades and contractors, supported by job cost tracking
• Eateries, vehicle repair garages, car dealers, lawn and landscape companies, and retail stores
• Property investors, real estate agents and rental owners

Paying remote employees spread across state lines, as well as staffing businesses that fluctuate by season, adds layers of difficulty, and the practice identifies both as specialties.

Background and Team

Kim and Carl Corneliuson, who founded the business, remain at its helm. Kim holds the CPA credential and earned her degree from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. She directs day-to-day operations and supervises the employees responsible for accounting, payroll, bookkeeping and tax work.

Kim once served as president of PASBA, a national organization for accountants who serve small companies, and she still holds a seat on its governing board. Carl is in charge of business development, marketing and technology, and that same organization honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Other personnel include multiple CPAs and senior tax managers, a QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor holding certification, and staff accountants experienced in payroll and general ledger tasks. In addition to its Hopkins headquarters, the practice maintains an appointment-only office on West Lake Street in Minneapolis. The firm also helped write a published guidebook intended to help owners build thriving small companies.