Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Minneapolis, MN - Page 2

Based in Edina, Minnesota, Abdo is a CPA and consulting practice whose clients include privately held companies, nonprofit organizations and municipal and county governments. Its payroll offering is housed within a dedicated HR & Payroll group that operates alongside the firm's audit, tax, advisory, technology and wealth management teams. Employers who prefer to keep payroll under the same roof as their broader financial and regulatory needs, rather than engaging a standalone payroll provider, may find this arrangement especially convenient.

Payroll and HR services

The firm tailors its payroll work to each client and handles every stage of the cycle, from initial preparation through final reporting, so that employees receive accurate paychecks when they expect them. Abdo holds membership in the American Payroll Association, and its specialists monitor shifts in wage regulations and employment tax obligations to keep clients on the right side of evolving law. In addition to day-to-day processing, the group delivers a range of consulting services:

• Preparing, running and reporting on payroll
• Help meeting payroll tax and regulatory obligations
• HR assistance, with advice on limiting employer liability
• Choosing and rolling out HR and payroll platforms
• Analysis of workforce costs
• Studies of pay and compensation structures
• Reviews of employee benefits aimed at reducing the chance of benefit errors

Abdo also produces a calendar that lays out HR and payroll due dates and suggested practices for each month, giving employers a tool for scheduling recurring responsibilities across the year.

How Abdo works with clients

Every engagement starts with Abdo getting to know the client's operations. From there, the firm and the client develop a plan together, Abdo supports its execution, and the two revisit results on an ongoing basis.

The firm's client accounting and advisory offerings are organized into levels: outsourced bookkeeping and controller services at one end, CFO-caliber reporting and forecasting in the middle, and strategic partnership services, touching on matters such as human capital, at the top.

Project-based work is available as well, including QuickBooks Online or Sage Intacct setup, software assessments, automation, operational reviews and process redesign. This breadth lets an organization begin with payroll alone and layer on accounting or advisory help as its needs expand.

Industries served

Abdo organizes its staff into sector-focused teams covering:

• Construction and real estate
• Government, with tailored financial management support for local public entities
• Manufacturing
• Nonprofit organizations
• Professional services, including legal, technology and engineering practices

Background and credentials

Established in 1963, the firm now has roughly sixty years of client service behind it. Steve McDonald serves as managing partner. Along with its Edina headquarters, which the firm refers to as its Minneapolis location, Abdo maintains offices in Mankato, Minnesota, and Scottsdale, Arizona.

It is a member of the U.S. arm of DFK, a global network linking autonomous accounting and consulting practices. Inside Public Accounting lists the firm among Minnesota's 25 leading accounting practices and the nation's 200 biggest, and selected it as one of its Best of the Best Firms for 2025.

The firm was also recognized by Accounting Today as a 2025 Regional Leader and earned a 2025 Best of Accounting award from ClearlyRated on the strength of client survey results.

For organizations shopping for payroll support, Abdo's key advantages are CPA-supervised payroll, affiliation with a professional payroll organization, and the option to bundle payroll with HR consulting, tax and accounting services from a single provider.

Headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Abrams P.C. offers licensed CPA services that extend well beyond running payroll. Alongside paycheck processing, the practice handles accounting, tax work and business advisory engagements. Its client base consists largely of business owners, corporate executives and self-employed professionals, though it also files returns for individuals.

Companies that would rather keep payroll, bookkeeping and tax compliance under one roof, with a single team of accountants, may find this arrangement more convenient than contracting with a stand-alone payroll provider.

Payroll and Related Services

Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all process, the firm shapes payroll around the way each client actually runs. This frees owners from the administrative burden of cutting paychecks so they can concentrate on running their operations. Payroll ties into a number of the firm's other offerings. Among these is assistance with payroll tax trouble, a useful resource for employers who have missed deposits, skipped filings or been contacted by taxing authorities. The full range of business and tax work covers:

• Bookkeeping and accounting for small companies
• Payroll processing and resolution of payroll tax issues
• Fractional (part-time) chief financial officer support
• Succession and family-owned business planning
• Launching new ventures and choosing the right legal entity
• Tax return preparation and forward-looking tax planning for both companies and individuals
• Representation before the IRS and state revenue departments during audits
• Assistance bringing unfiled returns up to date

QuickBooks Support

QuickBooks is a common platform for small employers' payroll and books, so the firm has assembled several offerings tied to that program. These include initial configuration, instruction for owners and their employees, an on-call help service branded QuickAnswers and recurring file checkups known as QuickTune-up.

Clients can also follow links on the firm's site to buy QuickBooks at a reduced price. The managing shareholder counts accounting software rollouts among his areas of expertise, so businesses migrating payroll to a different system may benefit from that experience.

Background and Team

Leadership rests with Daniel Abrams, CPA, who serves as Managing Shareholder. His tax and accounting career dates to 2007, when he started out at a large regional accounting practice. His concentrations include tax planning and return preparation, entity selection, implementation of accounting software, payroll and internal controls.

The practice holds a Minnesota license, and according to the firm, each of its CPAs maintains an active Minnesota certificate. In addition to the St. Louis Park location, the firm's site lists a second address in Minneapolis.

How the Firm Works With Clients

Positioning itself as an advisor for the long haul, the firm aims to learn how a client's business operates across all twelve months rather than focusing only on figures at year end. The majority of engagements carry a flat fee settled ahead of time, letting clients see the price before signing on.

Prospective clients may request an introductory consultation at no charge, while current clients exchange paperwork through a web-based portal and an encrypted file-sharing tool. Testimonials posted on the website reference tax work for real estate partnerships.

They also point out that clients deal with the same staff members from one year to the next, a draw for employers seeking a steady point of contact on payroll and tax matters.

Barder, Ltd. is an accounting firm with an office on Highway 55 in Plymouth, Minnesota. It offers payroll alongside tax, bookkeeping and accounting software support. Third-party business listings describe it as a Minneapolis-area practice with a staff of about 11 to 50 people. For payroll buyers, that means a mid-sized local firm that handles payroll as part of a wider set of accounting services, rather than a standalone payroll processor.

Payroll and Related Services

Payroll solutions are one of the firm's main service lines, offered next to its tax and business accounting work. Having one firm manage payroll, the books and the tax return can help a business keep its wage records, general ledger and year-end filings consistent with each other. The firm also supports QuickBooks, which is useful for small companies that already run their accounting in that software and want their payroll records to match it.

• Payroll solutions for businesses
• Business accounting and bookkeeping
• Tax preparation for businesses and individuals
• QuickBooks support
• Financial guidance for owners and executives

Who the Firm Serves

Barder works with three main groups: individuals, business owners and company executives. Because it serves both the business and the people who run it, an owner can bring company payroll and accounting together with personal tax work at one firm. One business directory also lists accounting for legal practices among its areas, so law firms may find it a relevant option, though the firm's own pages were not available to confirm how much of its work this covers.

How It Works With Clients

The firm describes its approach as personalized guidance. The goals it names are helping clients manage financial risk and improve how their businesses perform. It says it values efficiency, affordability and responsive professional service, and that it aims for a smooth experience. For a company choosing a payroll provider, this suggests a service where clients deal directly with the accountants who also handle their books and taxes, rather than an automated platform with little advice.

Considerations for Buyers

Barder, Ltd. is likely to suit small and mid-sized businesses in Plymouth and the western Minneapolis suburbs that want payroll run by a local accounting firm, especially those that use QuickBooks or also need tax and bookkeeping help. Before signing, buyers should ask the firm directly about payroll frequency, direct deposit, payroll tax filing, year-end wage reporting and which software it uses. Public information was limited when this profile was prepared, so those details should be confirmed with the firm.

Based in Blaine, Minnesota, Bottom Line Accounting Services, LLC provides outsourced accounting help and consulting on financial software. Its clients are mainly small and mid-sized businesses in Blaine and across the greater Minneapolis area. For anyone weighing payroll vendors, the firm is best understood as a full-service back-office partner rather than a payroll specialist. Processing payroll is just one of many offerings, alongside bookkeeping, fractional finance leadership and accounting system support.

Client base and working style

The consultancy targets businesses that would benefit from experienced financial guidance but lack the budget or the need for a permanent CFO or controller. Its staff can take on assignments independently or collaborate with an organization's internal bookkeepers or its existing CPA. As a result, a company can delegate specific responsibilities while keeping its current team and advisors in place.

Engagements are tailored to each client and range from a one-time advisory session to a continuing fractional CFO role. According to the company, cost-conscious pricing is a core principle of its business, and interested organizations may request a quote at no charge.

Range of accounting and payroll offerings

Payroll sits within a broad set of administrative and financial services. Businesses considering the firm can draw on support for:

• Payroll processing
• Bookkeeping on a monthly and annual basis
• Managing payables and receivables
• Help with taxes and preparation of financial reports
• Temporary CFO and controller coverage
• Budgets, forecasts and financial projections
• Business analysis, along with general business and management advisory work
• Due diligence reviews for mergers and acquisitions
• Complete outsourcing of finance and accounting operations
• Instruction in software use and fundamental accounting principles

Since the same team handles payroll, bookkeeping, payables and tax help, this arrangement may appeal to organizations that want payroll data flowing directly into the general ledger and the monthly closing process. A payroll-only provider, by contrast, would typically handle that work in isolation.

Technology and systems knowledge

Much of the firm's practice centers on accounting technology. Its consultants handle installation, setup and ongoing support for a variety of tools. These include QuickBooks, the Sage family of accounting products, and MISys software for manufacturers. On the reporting side, they also work with Crystal Reports, as well as with the B.I. Reporter tool that Sage offers.

Businesses can receive assistance getting more value from software they have already purchased or implementing a brand-new system. The team carries Sage master certification. Its experience with MISys suggests the firm may be a good fit for manufacturing companies seeking to connect production and inventory information with their financial records.

Instruction is offered so employees can operate these programs confidently and grasp the accounting concepts that underpin them.

Distinguishing qualities

Rather than focusing solely on big-picture expansion targets, the firm emphasizes close attention to the specifics of each client's financial records. Its goal is to give business owners a clear picture of how their operations truly perform in financial terms.

Compared with vendors that only process payroll, it brings practical bookkeeping, payroll, temporary finance leadership and certified software expertise together under one roof. The company maintains an office in Blaine that operates during standard weekday business hours, making it a convenient choice for Minneapolis-area organizations that would rather partner with an advisor close to home.

Caylor Ltd, which now presents itself on its website as Caylor, PLLC, is a family-owned accounting practice in Plymouth, Minnesota, a short drive from Minnetonka in the western Twin Cities suburbs. The firm describes itself as a tax planning and small business consulting practice. For companies comparing payroll providers, it suits owners who want payroll handled by the same local accountants who prepare their tax returns and advise on business decisions, rather than by a large national processor.

Background and Team

The practice opened in 1992 and is built around its two principals, John and Sheri Caylor. John Caylor is listed as the firm's chief executive in business registries. Over roughly the last several years the couple has added staff, and they describe these team members as small business people themselves.

The aim is to give owners one place to go for most of the financial and administrative questions that come up in running a company. The firm says it has prepared returns and tax plans for thousands of clients over the years. It also says it has grown almost entirely through referrals from existing customers, not through advertising.

Payroll and Related Services

Third-party business listings put the firm under payroll services and bookkeeping as well as tax return preparation. One listing describes payroll processing as a major part of its accounting work. That means a small employer can have wage processing, the books, and year-end tax filings looked after by one team. The services clients can expect to discuss include:

• Payroll processing for small businesses
• Bookkeeping and ongoing financial record support
• Tax planning and return preparation for businesses
• Personal income tax returns for owners and individuals
• Consulting on business decisions that affect taxes and profitability
• Help with employee benefits and planning for retirement

The firm's consulting work covers both everyday questions and larger strategic moves, with a focus on how each choice affects the tax bill and the bottom line. Because it advises on employee benefits and retirement programs, it can be useful for employers whose payroll includes deductions for benefits or retirement contributions.

How the Firm Works With Clients

Caylor emphasizes ongoing relationships over one-time engagements. It stresses prompt turnaround, regular communication, and work shaped around what is best for each client. Its approach to tax work is described as personalized and creative, not formulaic. Client testimonials on the site mention relationships of five years and, in one case, more than two decades. In-person client meetings are held on set days of the week (currently Tuesdays and Thursdays) at the Plymouth office.

What Sets Caylor Apart

Caylor will likely appeal to buyers who prefer a small, owner-led firm with more than thirty years in practice and a strong record of referrals. Its main strengths are continuity and the ability to tie payroll in with tax planning and business advice. The firm does not publish details of any proprietary payroll software or resold platforms. Prospective clients with specific needs, such as multi-state payroll or particular software, should confirm these directly when evaluating the firm.

Century Pay is a payroll and human resources provider in Minnesota. It serves employers across the Twin Cities metro and the St. Croix Valley from offices in downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul and Stillwater. Its service area includes communities such as Bloomington, Edina, Eagan, Roseville, Woodbury, Maplewood, Brooklyn Park, Richfield, Lake Elmo and Hudson.

The company presents itself as a mid-sized option: big enough to offer current payroll technology, but small enough that clients deal with staff who know their accounts personally.

Core payroll processing

Century Pay sets up its payroll service around each employer's own needs instead of selling one fixed package. Clients can run several pay calendars and process regular, bonus, commission and extra off-cycle payrolls. There are 18 pay types, covering things like retro pay, tips and expense reimbursements.

The service also handles standard and custom deductions, labor distribution, job costing and tracking of sick, vacation, personal and custom leave balances. Employers can enter data on a simplified worksheet or by other methods. They can review every report before a run is final, and several users can work in the system at once.

Tax filing and compliance

The firm pays federal and state payroll taxes electronically. It calculates withholding for every state, plus local jurisdictions and U.S. territories. Its staff prepare quarterly 941 and annual 940 returns, state unemployment filings, state insurance and disability reports, and year-end W-2 and W-3 forms. Required new hire reporting is part of the standard service.

Century Pay also pays independent contractors by check or direct deposit and files their 1099s at year end. Its website has resource pages on the federal overtime rule and on the Minneapolis and St. Paul sick and safe time ordinances.

Employee pay options and technology

• Direct deposit included for every client, with pay split across multiple accounts if needed
• Visa payroll debit cards for workers who don't have a bank account
• Paperless pay stubs sent by encrypted email or posted to a self-service portal
• Employee self-service for checking past stubs, deductions and withholdings and reprinting prior W-2s
• Online payroll access from any location
• More than 100 standard reports, plus custom reports through built-in Crystal Reports
• General ledger output matched to the client's chart of accounts, with imports for QuickBooks and other common accounting packages

Time, attendance and HR

For timekeeping, Century Pay supplies hardware and software that record hours by badge swipe, keypad entry, fingerprint scan or web clock. Managers can get email notices about employee hours, and time data can feed job costing automatically. For HR, the company offers online software that follows a worker from application and interview ranking through hiring, reviews, raises and separation.

It links directly to payroll and covers onboarding, benefits enrollment, document storage, and EEOC and OSHA reporting. The HR Answer Link subscription gives round-the-clock access to forms, articles, job descriptions and employment law material. Subscribers can also send confidential questions to HR specialists, who reply within one business day and can write custom forms, letters, job descriptions and handbooks.

Background checks are also available.

For buyers comparing payroll providers, Century Pay combines full payroll and tax filing with built-in timekeeping and HR tools. It backs this with local offices and a focus on long-term client relationships. Prospective clients can contact the team to go over services and pricing, and demos are available on the website.

Community CPA & Associates, Inc. is a CPA firm that has operated since 1998. It started as an accounting and tax practice and now focuses mainly on proactive tax strategy for growing companies. Its main market is privately held businesses with roughly $3M to $20M in revenue.

It also offers a full set of compliance services, including payroll, so owners can keep their books, tax work and payroll with one provider. The firm says it is licensed in all 50 states and has served more than 14,000 clients.

Payroll Services

The firm's payroll offering is built for mid-sized and larger employers that want an accounting firm checking the work rather than a self-service payroll product. It covers the full cycle, from setting up an account to filing payroll taxes and representing clients in audits:

• Payroll setup, including federal and state withholding, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation and employee benefits
• Payroll processing with a compliance review; staff contact the client if a figure looks wrong
• Preparation of paychecks, payroll tax liabilities and quarterly reports
• Representation in payroll compliance and insurance audits
• Administration for companies with staff in more than one state
• Pay by direct deposit, paper check or emailed check
• An online portal where employees can view their own payroll records

Industries and Clients

Restaurants and food service businesses are one of the firm's named specialties, since they deal with thin margins and large payroll volumes. Other client groups include real estate investors and operators, construction companies, and professional service firms such as law practices, agencies and consultants. For those firms, the way owners are paid affects their taxes.

The firm also works with people who have foreign income or overseas assets. Financial planners, attorneys and bookkeepers can use it as a behind-the-scenes tax resource for their own clients.

How They Work With Clients

New clients start with a discovery call to check whether the firm is a good fit. Next comes a review of past filings to find missed opportunities, such as unused net operating losses or faster depreciation. A tailored plan follows, and the firm keeps working with the client throughout the year.

Companies that already have an accountant or CFO can bring in Community CPA just for tax strategy. Newer businesses can hand over all of their accounting, payroll and tax work.

Background and Locations

Ying Sa, CPA, is the CEO and managing partner and has more than 28 years of experience. The firm is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. It also has offices in Coralville, Iowa; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Houston, Texas, plus appointment-only locations in Capitola, California, and Toronto, Canada. The Minneapolis office, on Lyndale Avenue South, is the closest one to Edina.

Offices are open six days a week, virtual meetings are available, and Spanish-speaking client services are offered. The firm holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Its other services include sales and use tax filing, business and legal advisory, estate planning and business IT support.

CSI Accounting & Payroll is an outsourced finance firm for small and mid-sized companies. Its Minnesota office is on West 35th Street in Minneapolis, and it also has offices in Columbia, Maryland, and Aurora, Illinois. It works with clients across the country. The company says it has served small businesses for about six decades and that thousands of owners have relied on it. Brian Paulson is the owner, and Kris Foster leads the payroll team.

Payroll Services

Payroll can be bought on its own. CSI says roughly half of its clients use only its payroll service and don't take its accounting work. The base package covers processing, payroll tax compliance, reporting and pay stubs. Employers and staff can pull reports and stubs from an online portal at any time. Pricing isn't one fixed bundle.

Each client adds the extras it wants and pays only for what it uses, and a pricing calculator lets buyers estimate costs before talking to the team. Optional add-ons include:

• Paid time off balances shown on employee stubs
• Timekeeping software, with Swipeclock logins for employers and workers
• Printed paper checks and reports delivered to the business
• HR services
• 401(k) retirement plans for small companies
• Workers' compensation insurance

Most payroll clients have anywhere from one to more than fifty employees, and the firm will take on employers with up to 500 workers. It doesn't set a minimum revenue for payroll clients. They just need enough cash flow to cover wages and the related taxes.

CSI asks each company to name no more than two contacts, often the owner and a manager. It says this helps keep employee data secure, and each client gets a dedicated contact rather than a general support queue.

Accounting, Tax and Consulting

Companies that want more than payroll can sign up for monthly accounting. This includes bookkeeping, account reconciliation, monthly financial statements, regular advice and audit representation. CSI prepares business tax returns only for these monthly clients, as part of a year-round plan of tax planning, projections and filing. Individual returns for owners cost extra.

When a new client has fallen behind, the team will file several years of overdue returns. CSI suggests this service fits established firms with annual revenue of about $500K to $5M or more. It accepts most industries but not non-profits or large manufacturers.

Accounting clients can also hire CSI for larger projects, such as registering a startup, claiming R&D tax credits, analyzing a business purchase or sale, cost segregation studies, cash flow analysis and software integrations.

Industries and Fit

CSI says its payroll service works for any industry. Its site has pages for construction, law firms, salons and spas, marketing and advertising agencies, cleaning companies, transportation, real estate and auto repair shops. The firm looks for U.S.-based companies whose owners live in the country and who care about compliance, accuracy and clear communication.

For buyers comparing payroll providers, CSI's main selling points are a named contact, packages that can be built to fit, and the option to start with payroll and add accounting later.

Executive Public Accountants, Inc. (often called EPA) is a full-service accounting firm in Minnesota. It has worked with small businesses and individuals for more than three decades. Payroll is one of several connected services the firm offers, along with bookkeeping, tax work, QuickBooks support and business consulting.

That makes it a good fit for owners who want one team to handle payroll and their wider financial records. The firm also offers HR services and lets clients know that Spanish is spoken in the office.

Payroll Services

EPA's payroll practice aims to take the work and compliance risk of paying staff off the owner's plate. The firm uses modern payroll software to calculate employee pay and payroll taxes automatically, which reduces manual errors such as overpaying or underpaying workers. These mistakes can otherwise lead to compensation disputes. The firm also says its process helps clients avoid tax penalties and fines. Its payroll work covers:

• Keeping payroll in line with current tax rules
• Handling paperwork for newly hired employees
• Calculating overtime, bonuses, holiday pay and reimbursements
• Updating existing employee records
• Managing wage deductions
• Depositing payroll taxes and filing the required reports
• Balancing, reconciling and checking the accuracy of pay data
• Paying employees by direct deposit
• Keeping payroll records

Connected Accounting and Advisory Work

Because payroll sits inside a broader accounting practice, payroll data can feed straight into the rest of a client's books. EPA prepares monthly balance sheets and profit and loss statements, along with financial statements, budgets and forecasts. It also tracks progress against the budget and helps manage cash flow.

The firm says it designs policies and procedures to make a client's operations run more smoothly. It also walks owners through those procedures so they can keep cash flow positive and base decisions on accurate figures. Tax preparation for both businesses and individuals is a core part of the practice.

Several team members are listed as Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisors, which helps companies that already run their books or payroll in QuickBooks.

Team and Approach

The firm is led by CEO and accountant Jeanne DuFresne and COO and accountant Corrie Niska. The staff also includes an office manager, bookkeepers, an accountant and a dedicated payroll specialist. EPA describes itself as a small company with a family atmosphere.

It stresses giving each client personal attention and offering proactive advice, such as flagging problems early and discussing ways to lower taxes. Client testimonials on the site mention relationships of five to ten years or more and help that continues outside tax season.

Locations and Availability

EPA has two offices in the Twin Cities area: one in Plymouth, which is the closer office to Maple Grove, and one in Andover. Hours change with the season. From January through May the offices are open on weekdays, and for the rest of the year they keep a shorter Monday-to-Thursday schedule.

Walk-ins are welcome during office hours, but the firm suggests calling first. New clients can book a free initial consultation, and current clients can use an online client portal. For buyers comparing payroll providers, EPA's main strength is pairing payroll processing with hands-on accounting, tax and QuickBooks help from one local team.

EXP Financial is an accounting and payroll firm in Minneapolis. It works with small and mid-size companies throughout the Twin Cities. The firm operates from an office on Park Avenue South in south Minneapolis. It offers payroll processing alongside bookkeeping, tax work and advisory services. That lets a business keep most of its back-office finance work with one local provider instead of splitting it among several vendors.

Payroll Services

Payroll is one of the firm's main service lines. EXP takes on the routine work that can use up an owner's week. This includes running each pay cycle, filing payroll taxes every quarter, sending wage garnishment payments to the right parties and getting paychecks out on time. The firm does not put every client on the same package.

It says it designs each arrangement around the specific needs of the employer. Clients who run payroll in QuickBooks Online can reach their payroll account through a login link on EXP's website. The firm also supports clients who use an online check printing service.

• Payroll processing for each pay period
• Quarterly payroll tax filings
• Wage garnishment payment handling
• Support for QuickBooks Online payroll users
• Online check printing for participating clients

Bookkeeping and Financial Oversight

EXP's bookkeeping work goes beyond reconciling the checkbook and running receivables reports. The team helps small businesses set up an orderly accounting system for recording and managing income and expenses. Bookkeepers watch financial statements and key ratios and tell owners about trends they see in the numbers. The goal is to give management useful information for making decisions. EXP also stays in regular contact with the outside CPAs its clients use, which helps keep payroll, books and tax filings consistent.

Tax, Planning and Advisory Work

The firm also offers a broader set of advisory services. Its consulting covers planning for growth, tax strategy, expanding or scaling back operations, and succession planning for owners thinking about the future of their company. EXP prepares budgets and forecasts on a yearly or monthly basis and offers business planning, tax planning and tax return preparation.

It also promotes cloud-based accounting for clients who prefer to work online. Its audit, review and compilation practice has helped businesses dealing with the IRS. The firm reports more than seven years of experience with internal audits involving sales tax, income tax and corporate tax, including IRS examinations and Minnesota sales tax audits.

For buyers comparing payroll providers, EXP's main difference is its size and approach. The firm presents itself as an alternative to large national payroll companies, where a small employer can feel like one account among thousands. It stresses personal attention and a focus on the local market. Its payroll staff can work closely with its bookkeepers and tax advisors.

This makes it a practical choice for Minneapolis and St. Paul businesses that want payroll, accounting and tax support from one hands-on team, especially companies already on QuickBooks Online.

Foreman & Airhart, LTD is a CPA firm in the southwest Twin Cities metro, with its office on West 84th Street. It offers payroll administration as part of a wider set of accounting, tax and advisory services. The firm does not run as a stand-alone payroll bureau. Payroll is one part of an ongoing financial relationship, which may suit employers who want one team to handle wages, books and tax filings together.

Payroll and related services

For employers, the firm runs payroll, reports wages and keeps payroll in line with regulations at the federal, state and local level. Payroll is offered alongside accounting, so the staff who run payroll can also reconcile accounts and prepare financial statements.

One client, the owner of a veterinary dermatology clinic, says on the site that the firm handles both her practice's monthly accounting and its payroll. The team includes a dedicated payroll professional as well as CPAs, an enrolled agent and bookkeepers.

• Payroll processing and wage reporting
• Payroll compliance with federal, state and local rules
• Financial statements on a monthly or quarterly basis
• Reconciliation of bank and card accounts, plus tracking of revenue and expenses
• Budgeting and forecasting support
• Tax return preparation for businesses and their owners, with tax planning all year
• Business consulting and financial and wealth planning
• Outsourced CFO and management support

Industries served

The firm started out serving healthcare practices, especially veterinary clinics, dental offices, chiropractors and medical practices. For dentists, it lists specialized work such as salary and benefit evaluation, retirement plan administration, overhead rate analysis, insurance reimbursement review, practice valuation, new practice setup and help buying or selling a practice.

Outside healthcare, it says it brings the same systems to construction, retail, real estate, technology startups, manufacturing, nonprofit organizations and professional services. Its clients are spread across the Midwest and around the country.

How the firm works with clients

Each engagement starts with a tailored advisory plan that links a client's business finances with their personal finances. The firm holds financial reviews every six months to check that records are accurate and that strategies are still on course. The goal is fewer surprises at tax time.

Clients can reach the firm's leaders directly, including founder and managing partner Mark A. Foreman, CPA. The firm uses secure, cloud-hosted accounting software and consistent internal processes. Clients get a secure online portal and ClientHub for sharing documents, and can make payments online.

Team and credentials

The staff includes several certified public accountants and a CPA with a Master of Business Taxation. There is also an enrolled agent who is an advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor, plus a financial officer, an operations manager, bookkeeping and accounting staff, and a payroll specialist. For buyers comparing payroll providers, what sets the firm apart is that payroll comes with CPA-level tax and advisory support. It also has long experience with the needs of veterinary, dental, chiropractic and medical practices.

H&S Bookkeeping is a financial services firm based in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. It gives small businesses, corporations, nonprofits and trusts outsourced bookkeeping, payroll and tax help. The firm covers a group of Twin Cities communities in Hennepin and Anoka counties, and Brooklyn Park is one of them. That makes it a nearby choice for Brooklyn Park employers who want payroll handled alongside their general accounting.

Payroll Services

Payroll is one of the firm's main service lines. H&S Bookkeeping figures employee wages and pays staff by direct deposit or printed check, and it can handle different types of workers. It also calculates, files and pays federal, state and local payroll taxes for its clients. For new accounts, the team sets up the payroll system, registers the business with tax agencies and onboards employees, so employers have less to manage when they switch providers.

• Wage calculation, direct deposit and check printing
• Payroll tax calculation, filing and remittance at all government levels
• An online employee portal with pay stubs, W-2 forms and personal details
• Benefits administration tied to payroll, including health insurance and retirement plans
• Time and attendance tracking that records hours and calculates overtime
• Payroll reports and labor cost analysis

Broader Bookkeeping and Tax Support

Some buyers want one provider for all their financial work. Beyond payroll, H&S Bookkeeping records transactions, reconciles bank accounts, manages receivables and payables, and prepares financial statements. It also gets clients' books ready for tax filing and offers business tax preparation for corporations, nonprofit organizations and trusts. When payroll and the general ledger are kept by the same team, payroll costs and tax liabilities can be matched directly against the company's accounting records.

How the Firm Works With Clients

New clients start with a free consultation. The team looks at the company's current processes and problems, then builds a service plan around them. According to the firm, it uses double-entry bookkeeping, regular reconciliations and structured review steps to keep records accurate.

Its staff work in QuickBooks, Xero, Wave and other common accounting platforms, so clients can usually stay on the software they already use. Payroll clients get a named point of contact for questions, and services can be scaled up or down as the business grows.

Who It Serves

H&S Bookkeeping works with businesses of all sizes, from new startups to established corporations. It names retail, service, manufacturing and professional firms among the industries it serves. Besides Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park, its listed service area includes Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, Northeast Minneapolis, New Hope, Plymouth, Robbinsdale, Columbia Heights and Fridley.

The firm says its bookkeepers are certified and have years of practical experience. It also stresses data security and confidentiality, and aims to keep client records ready for an audit. For companies comparing payroll providers, its main draw is a local office that can run payroll, bookkeeping and business tax work under one roof.

Overview

Based in Plymouth, Minnesota, Heintz + Clark CPA & Accounting is a compact certified public accounting firm that pairs ongoing compliance and bookkeeping assistance with advice offered throughout the calendar, not just at filing time. Rather than functioning as a seasonal vendor, the practice aims to stay with clients for the long haul and raise issues before they become problems.

Its client base leans heavily toward company owners, people who invest in property, and Americans living abroad. Within its lineup of recurring "maintenance" offerings, wage processing sits next to bookkeeping and cost segregation. This lets an organization consolidate a number of administrative chores with one firm.

Payroll Services

Organizations weighing their options for wage processing will find that Heintz + Clark manages every stage of the pay cycle along with the government submissions tied to it. According to the firm, no other area of operating a company carries as many mandatory returns and remittances as compensating staff.

The practice's intent is to lift that burden entirely from the business owner. Worker information is kept in protected online platforms, and an employer can begin by providing just a handful of essential facts. The firm's support in this area includes:

• Figuring and remitting employment taxes
• Compensating workers through electronic transfer or printed checks
• Generating earnings statements for each employee
• Compiling payroll summaries every quarter and at year end
• Completing Forms W-2 and W-3
• Completing Forms 1099 and 1096
• Submitting sales and use tax returns

This offering suits brand-new ventures and also mature companies of small to moderate size. The firm highlights several advantages: a lower chance of overlooked due dates, more precise books, adherence to tax and labor regulations, and reduced expense and effort.

Related Accounting and Advisory Work

Businesses that use the payroll offering may also draw on the firm's bookkeepers. That group keeps QuickBooks files current, delivers reports each month, matches bank records, and oversees bills owed, invoicing and incoming payments. It also assembles core financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets and statements of cash flows.

Beyond that, the team creates schedules for depreciation and amortization, monitors long-term assets, debt and lease obligations, and helps format numbers in the manner banks prefer. For strategic guidance, Heintz + Clark provides tax preparation and forward-looking tax planning. It also supplies part-time CFO services addressing expansion, margins, liquidity, reorganization, purchases of other companies and transfers of ownership.

Property holders can commission cost segregation analyses, with depreciation revised on an ongoing basis as structures undergo fixes or renovations. A typical advisory relationship involves between two and five detailed meetings to shape a tailored tax and accounting plan. In addition, the practice counsels collegiate athletes on earnings from their name, image and likeness, including agreements and tax obligations.

Background and Team

The firm was launched by Aaron Clark and Steve Heintz. Clark held a position with a different company in the Annapolis Lane building when Heintz began taking contract assignments at the same location. After that company divested a portion of its operations, the pair chose to go out on their own.

They have kept the cocktail napkin on which they drew up their original idea. Today the staff is made up of CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers and payroll professionals. The practice describes its purpose as offering money guidance that is both clear and caring. It envisions a future in which people and modest-sized companies approach their financial choices with complete assurance.

Sectors among the firm's past and present clientele include:

• Marketing and promotional agencies
• Restaurants, eateries and drink makers
• Fitness, medical and personal-care providers
• Law firms and attorneys
• Industrial producers and fabricators
• Book, magazine and media houses
• Property investment and rental housing
• Independent business consultants

iComp Payroll & Human Resource Services is the trade name of Integrated Compensation Systems, Inc., a Minnesota payroll bureau that got its start in St. Paul in the 1990s and now runs from an office on Main Street NW in the northern Twin Cities metro, listed with a Minneapolis address. The firm is built for small and midsized employers that want payroll, timekeeping and HR handled by one local provider instead of patching together separate vendors.

Services and Platform

Payroll processing is the core offering, but iComp presents itself as a partner for the whole employee life cycle, from the first job posting through retirement savings. Its lineup includes:

• Payroll processing focused on accuracy and an uncomplicated workflow
• Time and attendance tracking, covering clock-ins through paid time off
• Employee scheduling built around each employer's own staffing rules
• Human resource management and workplace compliance support
• Benefits administration for setting up and maintaining multiple plans and benefit types
• Leave management so that leave policies are applied evenly across the company
• Recruiting and applicant tracking for finding and evaluating candidates
• Background screening, expense tracking and 1099 filing
• Performance and compensation management tools

To round out its benefits options, iComp works with Human Interest, a 401(k) provider aimed at smaller companies, giving clients a lower-cost way to add a retirement plan alongside payroll. Prospective clients usually begin with a scheduled demo or consultation, and current clients reach their accounts through an online login.

Industries Served

Alongside its split between small and midsized businesses, iComp lists several sectors it serves: manufacturing; accounting and financial firms; professional and technical services; healthcare; retail and wholesale; education; restaurants and hospitality; transportation and logistics; and nonprofit and social service organizations. Its published articles cover payroll trends and compliance issues for particular sectors, including education, professional services and transportation, which suggests it pays attention to the different pay rules each field faces.

Compliance Focus and Resources

Because the firm is based in Minnesota, much of its guidance deals with state requirements. The site has a section on Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave, plus articles on state overtime rules, new Minnesota payroll laws, worker classification and changes to federal payroll tax. The learning center also includes a knowledge base, an FAQ page and a blog that's updated regularly, covering topics like staff retention, scheduling and burnout, HR automation and how small companies can use AI.

For buyers comparing payroll providers, iComp's main strengths are its decades of local history, its focus on smaller Minnesota employers and the fact that payroll, HR, time tracking, hiring and benefits all sit in one system. Organizations that want an established Twin Cities provider offering personal service, rather than a national self-service platform, may find it a good fit.

Based in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, IMPACT Accounting, Inc. is a compact practice headed by its President and owner, Deb Wiehle. Its clientele consists mainly of small enterprises, along with community groups that prefer a personal touch when it comes to payroll, bookkeeping and other administrative chores.

Rather than functioning as a high-volume operation where customers become account numbers, the practice keeps the owner directly involved in each assignment. As a result, clients work with one seasoned professional throughout the entire relationship.

Payroll and Supporting Services

Handling payroll sits at the heart of what IMPACT does. The practice manages payroll tax obligations and runs payroll using Intuit's system, making it a natural match for organizations whose financial records already live in QuickBooks. Around this payroll function, Wiehle offers a broader menu of office support, allowing an employer to consolidate multiple responsibilities with a single provider:

• Payroll tax handling and payroll runs through Intuit
• Bookkeeping and accounting within QuickBooks
• Assistance with human resources matters
• Oversight of cash flow
• Organization of office records
• Guidance on choosing QuickBooks products, plus user training
• Audit work

A testimonial from one customer illustrates the type of organization that turns to IMPACT for payroll. The head of a local chamber of commerce had inherited an external payroll company when he stepped into his role. Concerned about what that company charged and how poorly it treated its customers, he sat down with Wiehle to discuss making a change. He characterizes her as friendly, highly knowledgeable and reasonably priced.

Approach to Client Relationships

The practice positions itself as the groundwork a company lays before its tax accountant ever gets involved. Through tidy, dependable record keeping maintained across the calendar year, IMPACT seeks to ease the annual filing crunch and reduce the fees owners face for tax returns.

Its philosophy rests on grasping the specific obstacles confronting a small organization and then guiding that organization toward operations that are more efficient and more deliberately planned. Interested businesses may schedule a meeting via the company's online booking option, and existing customers who send new business to the practice are rewarded with a discount.

Experience and Qualifications

Wiehle brings nearly three decades of accounting work to her practice. Over that span she has mapped out a wide range of accounting information systems and built internal safeguards meant to stop mistakes before they happen and to catch any that slip through, an especially important skill for organizations entrusted with employee wages.

She studied at Globe University/Minnesota School of Business, completing associate-level programs that earned her two credentials centered on managerial accounting. In addition, she holds ProAdvisor status with QuickBooks and is pursuing the software's official certification. Before launching IMPACT, she held the roles of controller and office manager at INNOVA Marketing while that company was expanding rapidly.

Distinguishing Strengths

Organizations weighing their payroll options will likely find the strongest draw to be a one-on-one partnership with the business owner herself, paired with extensive QuickBooks expertise. Former coworkers and customers praise her honesty, precision, determination and steadiness when deadlines loom. Some credit her bookkeeping with helping businesses climb out of the red and return to profitability. For small employers across Anoka County seeking a single, dependable professional to cover payroll, books and HR assistance, IMPACT may be a sensible choice.

It All Adds Up Accounting and Tax is an accounting practice based in Edina, Minnesota, that has worked with Twin Cities clients since 1982. It combines payroll with bookkeeping, tax preparation and advisory work, so small businesses get a single provider rather than a separate payroll vendor alongside an outside accountant.

Its clients include small business owners, self-employed and 1099 workers, and individuals and families in Edina, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis and beyond. It also serves clients remotely across the country.

Payroll Services

The firm runs the whole payroll cycle for employers that pay weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly. It works with businesses of any size, including those with only a handful of staff. Its payroll work covers:

• Pay calculations for hourly, salaried and mixed-pay workers
• Federal, state and local withholding figured for each employee
• Handling deductions such as health premiums and retirement plan contributions
• Paying employees by direct deposit or paper check
• Quarterly Form 941 and annual Form 940 returns, with due dates tracked by the firm
• Minnesota income tax withholding, remittance and unemployment insurance reports
• Local payroll tax obligations for employers in Minneapolis and St. Paul
• W-2s and any 1099s at year-end as part of the regular engagement

How the Firm Works With Clients

The firm presents itself as an alternative to software-only payroll platforms. An accountant looks over each payroll, and clients reach someone who already knows the account when they hire a worker, give a raise or receive a garnishment order. Payroll filings come with the service rather than as an extra.

The firm also says it can move clients over from a payroll system they already use. Because the same team keeps the books, payroll records are reconciled with the accounting ledger during the year. That means year-end forms and business tax returns are built from data that has already been checked.

Clients can meet in person or work virtually, and they send documents through a secure online portal instead of by email.

Broader Accounting and Tax Capabilities

Beyond payroll, the practice does ongoing bookkeeping, financial statements and reporting, and tax planning during the year. It also offers business advisory work and retirement planning. On the tax side it handles personal returns, partnership, S-corporation and C-corporation filings, and fiduciary, estate and trust returns. It says it handles every return type itself without referring any out, and that it can work with attorneys and financial advisors on estate matters.

What Distinguishes the Firm

Its main strengths are long experience in Minnesota and continuity. After more than four decades in the area, the firm treats Minnesota withholding rules, Department of Revenue guidance and DEED unemployment insurance deadlines as everyday work. It says clients keep the same professional from year to year rather than being passed between staff. For employers who want payroll, books and tax filings handled by one accountable local team, it offers an integrated option.

Jessica Duvall Consulting is a Minnesota bookkeeping firm based in Blaine. It handles payroll alongside general bookkeeping for small and mid-sized companies. Founded in 2019, the firm works with clients across the greater Twin Cities and also serves clients in Colorado. Clients can meet in person or work fully remotely. For buyers comparing payroll providers, it suits owners who want one outside expert to run pay periods and keep the books, rather than using a large self-service payroll platform.

Payroll Services

The firm's payroll work goes from the first setup through support in every pay cycle. It helps clients build a dependable process and then helps keep it running. Its payroll services include:

• Setting up and configuring a new payroll system
• Paying both W-2 employees and 1099 contractors
• Working out wages, salaries and overtime
• Calculating payroll taxes and helping with filings
• Advice on payroll when staff are hired or leave
• Setting up and managing direct deposit
• Preparing pay stubs and payroll reports
• Planning payroll calendars and pay schedules
• Connecting payroll to the client's accounting records
• Ongoing troubleshooting and support

Because the same firm keeps the books, payroll costs and records feed straight into the general ledger. This reduces the gaps that can open up when payroll and accounting are handled by different vendors.

Who It Serves

The firm's payroll clients include service businesses, contractors and trades, and companies that pay a mix of staff and independent contractors. It also takes on small teams that expect to grow and want a system that will scale with them. Engagements can be weekly, monthly or quarterly depending on what the owner needs.

Bookkeeping and QuickBooks Support

Monthly reconciliation is the firm's most-requested service. The firm reviews the QuickBooks chart of accounts, sorts transactions and bank feeds, and reconciles bank and card accounts. It also reconciles payment apps such as PayPal, Shopify, Zelle, Venmo and Stripe. Clients then get a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement.

The firm also sets up QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Enterprise, moves data into new company files, links payroll and other apps, and cleans up books that have fallen behind. Further services include sales tax recording, receivables and payables, financial reporting, and consulting aimed at better systems and clearer cash flow.

Approach and Background

The business is led by Jessica Duvall and has more than seven years of bookkeeping experience. It describes its team as QuickBooks ProAdvisors. Its stated focus is building a custom plan for each client and keeping costs within the agreed budget, including a custom budgeting system for bills.

Client reviews often mention disorganized books being put in order quickly, deadlines being met, and prompt answers to questions. One reviewer says he refers his own business clients to the firm. Its cloud-based setup lets owners see their financial data from anywhere and makes it easier to work with their outside accountant.

Kelling CPA Ltd. is a certified public accounting firm in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. It handles payroll alongside bookkeeping, tax work and business advisory services. Small and mid-sized companies looking for a payroll provider may find it useful that one local firm can manage employee pay as well as the books and tax filings that depend on it. Clients don't have to coordinate several separate vendors.

Payroll and Related Services

The firm presents payroll as work a business owner can hand off. The goal is to free owners from the repetitive, deadline-driven tasks of paying staff so they can spend their time running the company. Because payroll sits next to the firm's bookkeeping and tax practice, wage data, ledgers and tax returns can all be handled by the same team. That tends to cut down on reconciliation problems at year end. The firm's main service lines are:

• Payroll processing for employers
• Bookkeeping and back-office accounting
• Tax planning and preparation
• Advisory work, including in-depth analysis of financial results and strategic guidance for business decisions

Industries Served

Kelling CPA Ltd. points to several client groups where it has focused experience. Veterinary practices get particular attention, and the firm publishes a downloadable guide written for them. It also has a guide for professional service providers. Its client base also covers:

• Veterinarians and animal health practices
• Construction companies
• Professional service providers
• Healthcare organizations
• Other service-based businesses

For buyers in these fields, the firm's familiarity with industry-specific accounting can make payroll easier. This matters most where staffing setups or compensation arrangements are complicated.

How the Firm Works With Clients

Much of the client relationship runs through an online client center. It connects to cloud tools including Canopy, Bill for accounts payable, QuickBooks Online, and Zoom for virtual meetings. Clients can exchange documents, work in shared accounting files and meet with staff without coming to the office. Clients who prefer to meet in person can visit the Coon Rapids office.

The website also provides a bill payment page, a resource library with forms and links, a refund tracker, and a blog about small business and workforce topics.

Team and Background

David Kelling, CPA, MBT, leads the firm as managing partner. Jennifer Jones serves as vice president. Jayme Lee Kilbo is listed as a staff accountant and payroll specialist, so payroll clients have a staff member with a defined payroll role. The rest of the team includes staff accountant Kamala Stalboerger, office manager Ann C. Hoemberg and administrative assistant Terry Purdes.

Because the team is small, clients usually work directly with the same people over time. The firm invites clients to share feedback through reviews. What sets it apart for payroll buyers is a CPA-led practice that combines payroll with ongoing accounting, tax and advisory support, plus industry experience in veterinary, construction, healthcare and professional services.

Knoll Tax Service is a small Minnesota accounting practice in the northwest Twin Cities. It handles tax, bookkeeping and business consulting work. For companies comparing payroll providers, it is worth a look because it doesn't sell payroll on its own. Payroll is one part of a wider package that also covers the books, tax compliance and financial planning, so a single local team handles all of it.

Who They Serve

Most clients are small business owners who would rather not keep their own records. The firm also works with individual taxpayers, family-owned companies planning for the next generation, people starting new ventures, and nonprofit organizations. It has an elder care service line as well, which may suit owners who are also handling the finances of older relatives.

Payroll and Accounting Services

The core offering is a recurring bookkeeping package delivered monthly or quarterly. The firm reconciles the business bank account, prepares an income statement and a balance sheet, and cleans up the general ledger. Clients can add payroll processing, tax planning, tax preparation and other services, so an employer can build a package that fits its size.

The firm presents reconciliation as more than tidy books. It is a way to catch missing checks or deposits, unexpected bank fees, unauthorized wire activity and possible embezzlement.

• Payroll processing as an add-on to the accounting package
• Help with payroll tax problems and other IRS employment tax issues
• Small business bookkeeping and financial statements
• Part-time CFO and cash flow management support
• Succession planning and new business formation
• Tax preparation, tax planning and IRS representation
• QuickBooks setup, support and software purchasing

Tax Resolution Strength

The firm puts real weight on resolving tax problems, which matters to employers who have fallen behind on payroll filings. Its tax problem services cover payroll tax trouble, back taxes owed, unfiled returns, IRS liens, levies, wage garnishments and seizures. It also helps with installment payment plans and innocent spouse relief, and it can request a client's IRS file. The firm also offers representation during IRS audits.

How They Work With Clients

The firm's stated approach is to understand each business and its goals before recommending anything. It also emphasizes teaching clients about taxes, not just filing for them. Consultations come with the bookkeeping package, so owners can ask how to read their financial reports without being billed separately.

For cash flow, the firm builds projections and gives advice on getting credit lines, collecting receivables faster, setting payment policies and putting idle cash to work. Clients can use a secure online portal to exchange files, plus guides, tax calendars, tax rate tables and financial calculators.

Background and Credentials

The practice is led by Bruce Lyon-Dugin, EA, CEBS. The Enrolled Agent credential lets him represent taxpayers before the IRS, and the CEBS designation reflects training in employee benefits. Both are relevant to employers with staff on the payroll. The firm also offers QuickBooks services, including setup, quick-answer support and help buying the software. This suits businesses that want their payroll and accounting data in a widely used platform their advisor already knows.

Lone Oak Payroll is a Bloomington, Minnesota company that works only on the cash flow and back-office needs of staffing agencies and temporary employment firms. It does not try to serve every kind of employer. Instead it focuses on agencies whose payroll comes due before their clients pay their invoices, a timing gap that is common across the staffing sector. It works with brand-new agencies as well as established small, midsize and large firms that want to expand.

Payroll Funding and Factoring

The core of its offering is payroll funding, which the company also calls invoice factoring or payroll factoring. Lone Oak buys an agency's receivables and advances up to 97 percent of each invoice, so workers can be paid without waiting for the customer.

When the end client pays, Lone Oak processes the payment and releases the remaining balance to the agency. The firm also handles the paperwork of managing those invoices with customers. Each agreement is a contract customized to the services chosen, and a factoring fee applies. According to the company, every cost is spelled out at the outset of the agreement.

Lone Oak presents factoring as an alternative to a bank loan, because it avoids the long credit review, years of financial statements and fixed credit limits that come with traditional lending.

Payroll and Tax Processing

Beyond funding, Lone Oak acts as an outsourced back office for agencies that would rather not hire more internal payroll staff. Its processing work includes:

• Calculating payroll and client invoices, including live and electronic checks, and sending out both checks and invoices
• Weekly handling of taxes and withholdings, covering W-2 and 1099 forms and filings with the SSA and IRS
• Administering paycheck garnishments, with an option to automate them
• Alerts about legal and industry changes that affect staffing payroll compliance
• Flexible ways to pay workers, including paper checks, direct deposit and paycards
• Credit checks, weekly invoice funding and help with collections

Integrated Software

Lone Oak's services run on TempWorks, a staffing platform that combines applicant tracking and customer relationship management in one system. Clients use it for the whole cycle, from recruiting and onboarding to payroll and reporting, so funding, processing and staffing data stay in one place. The company says it is unusual among funding providers because it offers factoring, payroll and tax processing, and software together under one roof.

Team and Approach

The Lone Oak team has more than 25 years of experience in the staffing industry. Each client gets a dedicated group of staffing specialists who help with payroll, billing, taxes and collections. Support is available by phone and email around the clock. New relationships usually start with a free consultation to check fit and shape a package of services.

A testimonial on its website from JMJ Talent Solutions says the firm's funding and processing help allowed an agency with a one-person payroll staff to pay workers on time and fix client errors quickly. For buyers comparing payroll providers, Lone Oak stands out for its staffing-only focus, its mix of working capital and full payroll administration, and its built-in software.

MTM Bookkeeping Services, LLC is a bookkeeping firm based in Blaine, Minnesota, just north of Coon Rapids. It handles back-office finance work for small businesses and other organizations. Owners hand off their recurring financial chores, including payroll, so they can spend their time on running and growing the company. For buyers comparing payroll providers, MTM is a local, hands-on option that runs payroll as part of a wider set of bookkeeping and reporting services.

Payroll Services

Payroll is one of MTM's three main service lines. The firm does more than calculate paychecks. It also handles the reporting and compliance work that comes with having employees. Its payroll work includes:

• Payroll runs on a weekly or every-other-week schedule
• Paying employees by direct deposit or printed paper check
• Payroll reports for the business owner
• Keeping payroll records
• Payroll tax reporting and related tax filings
• Preparing W-2 forms at year end

Because the same firm can also keep the general ledger, payroll entries can go straight into the company's books. Employers don't have to reconcile records between a separate payroll vendor and their bookkeeper.

Bookkeeping and Financial Reporting

Besides payroll, MTM offers a full set of bookkeeping services. These include managing payables and receivables, keeping the general ledger, and reconciling bank and credit card accounts. The firm also tracks fixed assets, prepares 1099 and 1096 forms each year, records expense reports, and does general data entry.

Its year-end work helps clients close out the books, and it can set up QuickBooks Online for businesses moving onto that platform. On the reporting side, MTM prepares monthly or quarterly financial statements with analysis and helps with year-end reporting and tax preparation. It also offers budgeting, financial modeling and forecasting.

Background and Approach

The firm says it has more than two decades of experience in accounting and bookkeeping. It also offers QuickBooks ProAdvisor services, which helps clients who already use QuickBooks or plan to adopt it. Mike Mliner is listed as the firm's contact.

MTM says its goal is to help clients reach their financial goals by delivering work that is professional, courteous and on time. It puts weight on keeping records accurate and current so owners can make decisions based on reliable numbers.

Prospective clients can ask for a quote or book a consultation before signing up, so services can be matched to each business. MTM is a good fit for small employers in the north metro who want one local firm to handle payroll, bookkeeping and financial reporting.

Myslajek Kemp & Spencer, Ltd. (MKS) is a CPA and tax firm based in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, with a second office in Cambridge, MN. It began in 1992 and has since grown into a full-service accounting practice. Payroll processing is one part of its accounting and advisory work, alongside bookkeeping and accounting-software support.

This makes the firm a good fit for businesses that want payroll handled by the same team that keeps their books and prepares their tax returns, rather than by a standalone payroll vendor.

Payroll and Accounting Services

MKS lists payroll services under its accounting practice. Its other services in that group are designed to keep a company's financial records accurate and up to date. Buyers comparing providers can expect a CPA-led approach where payroll ties directly into the general ledger, financial statements and year-end tax work. The accounting group offers:

• Payroll services for business clients
• Ongoing bookkeeping support so owners can spend their time on running the business
• Accounting system implementation, including moving to a new system or improving an existing one
• QuickBooks set-up, customization and hands-on staff training

MKS also gives clients access to tools that support this work, including a secure document-upload portal, hosted QuickBooks access through RightNetworks and remote appointments. These options let clients work with the firm without coming into the office.

Tax, Audit and Advisory Depth

Beyond payroll, the firm offers tax services for individuals and for businesses of all kinds. These include sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, LLPs, S-corporations and C-corporations. MKS focuses on long-term tax strategy that supports each owner's business goals, not only on savings in the current year.

The firm also handles estate and gift tax matters, cost segregation studies, entity structure consulting and the search for tax credits and incentives. Its audit and assurance group performs non-public audits for small businesses, larger companies, not-for-profits and governmental entities. The firm also prepares compilations.

Clients and Specialties

MKS serves a wide range of clients, from wage earners and retirees to self-employed people, closely held companies and not-for-profit groups. It acts as CPA advisor to many charities, foundations and community organizations in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota. Nonprofit employers looking for payroll help may find this experience useful.

Background and Team

Tim Myslajek founded the firm as Myslajek, Ltd. after more than twenty years at his family's accounting practice. CPA Greg Kemp joined a few years later and became a shareholder in 2008. The firm also gained expertise from Nick Hay, an attorney who spent decades on tax compliance law.

MKS grew through acquisitions, adding Cardona & Associates in 2014 and Peffer & Wallace in 2017. The Peffer & Wallace deal brought the Cambridge office. Today the team includes more than 30 accountants, CPAs and administrative staff. Several shareholders hold the CPA designation, and others hold credentials such as EA, CVA, PFS and MBT. Jeff Imhoff currently serves as president.

For buyers, the firm's main strength is that payroll sits inside a full accounting, tax and audit practice that has served Minnesota clients for more than three decades.

Passageway Financial is a CPA-led accounting practice serving small companies whose owners also run daily operations. Rather than splitting services apart, it combines payroll, bookkeeping and tax support into a single recurring monthly relationship. The practice calls its model virtual-first.

Its headquarters are in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with additional locations in the Milwaukee area and on Anthony Lane South in northeast Minneapolis. Visitors cannot drop by any of these sites unannounced. The bulk of client service is delivered remotely, and the firm accepts businesses located anywhere in the United States.

Payroll as Part of a Combined Service

Clients cannot purchase payroll from Passageway on its own. Instead, payroll runs and sales tax filings are built into the Silver and Gold plans, and both of those levels come with a Gusto subscription.

The firm's core pitch is that an owner shouldn't have to assemble four different vendors: one for payroll, one for bookkeeping, one for tax preparation and one for tax advice. A single group of professionals works from one shared set of numbers, so wage records, the ledger and filed returns stay consistent with each other.

Passageway also commits to submitting all tax and payroll filings by their due dates. Should a late submission on its part lead to penalties or interest, the firm covers those costs itself.

• Gusto-based payroll processing (Silver and Gold plans)
• Monthly bookkeeping plus financial statements maintained in QuickBooks Online
• Business income tax returns, along with personal returns where relevant
• Quarterly tax estimates and planning sessions
• Sales tax filings
• Help with paying bills, invoicing customers, and managing payables and receivables (Gold plan)

The Engagement Process

Prospective clients begin by completing a brief web-based intake form. When the fit appears promising, the owner schedules a video meeting with the founder to discuss present challenges and goals. Passageway then proposes a plan and spells out its responsibilities before onboarding begins.

Pricing is a fixed monthly amount tied chiefly to annual revenue, rather than to time spent or transaction volume. Three levels are available. The first handles essential compliance. The second layers on payroll, sales tax and quarterly planning. The third adds monthly check-in meetings and broader administrative assistance.

Because there is no extended commitment, clients may end service with 30 days' notice. The first month of recurring work is also backed by a satisfaction guarantee. Routine exchanges happen mainly in a secure online portal, supplemented by video meetings as needed. Phone and text are not the firm's favored channels.

Leadership and What Sets It Apart

Owner and president Trevor Haug holds the CPA credential. The practice cites over a decade of work in small-business tax, bookkeeping, payroll and compliance, and reports having assisted upward of 150 small companies. QuickBooks Online is its specialty, and all client books live on that software; the team builds new company files and migrates businesses from other programs.

Its philosophy centers on maintaining up-to-date, tax-ready records throughout the year. As a result, owners can preview projected liabilities and weigh lawful planning strategies while there is still time, instead of discovering their bill once options have closed. Google reviews displayed on the firm's website highlight fast responses and careful work.

One founder says Passageway helped the company expand from no staff to ten employees.

For north metro buyers, Passageway is a strong match for a small employer seeking one team to manage payroll alongside its books and taxes. It is a weaker choice for a company needing only payroll processing or one that values in-person meetings.

Paycom's Twin Cities sales branch is located in Edina and serves as the Minnesota outpost of a human capital management software firm headquartered in Oklahoma City. The branch connects regional employers with Paycom's cloud-hosted tools for paying staff and handling personnel tasks.

According to the branch's own web presence, its role is to support businesses around Minneapolis across the full arc of an employee's tenure, from the first job offer through the final day before leaving the workforce. Paycom revealed plans for this location in January 2013, part of a broader push to build out sales teams in cities nationwide.

Who Paycom serves

The firm markets to organizations both modest and massive, with distinct packages for small firms, midsize companies and large corporations. Its outreach is also tailored to particular roles inside a business, including founders and chief executives, finance chiefs, personnel directors and technology purchasers. Paycom highlights a number of sectors where it concentrates its efforts:

• Schools, colleges and universities
• Hospitals, clinics and medical practices
• Hotels, restaurants and lodging operators
• Factories and industrial producers
• Charities and mission-driven organizations
• Stores and consumer merchants
• Trucking, freight and logistics firms

Wage processing products and services

At the heart of Paycom's approach is a single shared data store for compensation and personnel functions, where workers themselves input and keep up their own information. Its signature compensation tool, Beti, kicks off each pay cycle without manual prompting. It catches mistakes in real time and guides workers through resolving them before the pay run is finalized.

The goal is to reduce hand-corrected entries and repeated exchanges about hours worked, leave, withholdings, reimbursements and wage adjustments. Additional pay-related tools include:

• Vault, a prepaid card for receiving wages
• Everyday, which lets workers access earnings each day
• Paycom Pay, for sending out disbursements
• GL Concierge, which assists with general ledger accounting
• Reimbursement tracking, mileage logging and FAVR
• Wage garnishment handling and a Client Action Center

For businesses enrolled in Paycom's wage tax service, the client simply hands over its pay data and Paycom manages everything afterward. The company withdraws the owed amounts through automatic debit, remits them on time, and electronically submits federal and state filings every quarter and every year. Paycom notes that it can step in midway through a quarter, covering a Form 941 for instance, and can finish Form 940 unemployment returns that another vendor began.

Additional capabilities

The system extends into recruiting, with applicant tracking, new-hire setup, tax credit screening, background checks and E-Verify, as well as talent development, covering training, performance evaluations, raise budgeting and succession planning. It also manages benefits enrollment, COBRA, expanded ACA reporting, and timekeeping and labor tools such as physical clocks, geofencing, shift scheduling and labor cost allocation.

Through Employee Self-Service, workers can log on from a computer or the mobile app around the clock to arrange direct deposit, sign up for benefits, punch in and out, ask for leave and look over their own pay records. This feature supports multiple languages.

Paycom additionally provides IWant, an AI-powered search feature that responds to everyday questions by drawing on worker, candidate and company policy information.

The client relationship

Every customer is paired with a designated specialist who verifies that the initial pay run is accurate and remains engaged through subsequent cycles. Interested companies generally begin by scheduling an appointment, during which a representative walks through a customized demonstration focused on their compensation, recruiting and training requirements. Paycom also cites research it engaged Forrester Consulting to produce regarding the financial returns of its automated tools. Readers should note that this research was funded by Paycom itself.

Payroll Direct, Inc. is a privately owned payroll provider serving employers from its office in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb in the Twin Cities area. Since its founding in 2007, the company has operated with a compact staff of fewer than twelve people. Its central idea is that payroll should be configured to fit how each client actually runs its business, not forced into a standard package that every customer receives in the same form.

Payroll and HR Technology

The company's service runs on the Millennium/PayEntry system, a platform that brings payroll and human resources functions together in one place. Because clients can define additional data fields, they can record the employee details that are relevant to their own operations.

Reporting is similarly in the client's hands: employers can design reports themselves and export the results whenever they need them, without submitting a request and waiting for the provider to respond. For tracking hours, Payroll Direct offers TimeWorks Plus, which feeds recorded employee time directly into payroll processing so that hours and pay stay connected.

• Payroll processing and administration configured for each client
• Payroll tax services, including Direct Tax, an option that allows employers to hold onto tax funds until the payment due date
• Support with Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance requirements
• Time and attendance tracking through TimeWorks Plus
• Integrations with third-party accounting, HR and timekeeping applications
• Client-built reports and data exports

The Direct Tax option is notable for employers concerned with cash flow, since tax money remains with the business until it must be remitted rather than being collected early. The integration capability also means organizations can keep using the accounting, HR or time-tracking tools they already rely on while connecting them to payroll.

How They Work With Clients

Every client works with an assigned account manager. Rather than contacting a general help line, an employer reaches a specific person who is familiar with its configuration and history.

Testimonials published on the company's website describe staff as accessible when questions arise and credit them with resolving issues promptly and with care; several employees are singled out by name for their help. One client reports that moving payroll to Payroll Direct substantially reduced the amount of payroll work handled in-house, giving its staff more time for other responsibilities.

Track Record

Long client relationships are part of the company's record. A medical practice states that it has relied on Payroll Direct since 2007, the company's first year in business, and another organization says it has been a client since 2012. Both describe the firm as having made their payroll and HR responsibilities easier to manage.

For employers evaluating payroll providers, Payroll Direct combines adaptable software, a tax-funding arrangement that supports cash flow, and individual account management from a small, consistent team. It is a particularly good match for organizations that want to track custom employee data, produce their own reports, or connect payroll with systems already in place.

Payroll Post LLC is a payroll service bureau located in the Park Place East Building on Wayzata Boulevard in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It suits employers that want a local team to handle their payroll and related human resources work. The firm works in three connected areas: payroll processing, employment background screening and HR consulting.

Payroll processing

Its main business is value-added payroll processing, and the service is flexible enough to fit how each client already works. Payroll Post commits to delivering every payroll on schedule, every pay period. That matters to employers who cannot afford late or missed paychecks. The service also goes beyond the pay calculation itself, because the firm answers questions from client employees.

This takes a recurring administrative task off owners and office managers. Clients can send in payroll data remotely, and the bureau produces printed paychecks, payroll reports and year-end W-2 forms.

Online tools for employers and staff

Clients get a secure, web-based portal that is open around the clock, so they can check payroll history and records whenever they need to. Alongside that portal, Payroll Post provides a set of online applications for both employers and their employees:

• Employer On the GO, an employer-facing payroll login
• Employee Self Service and My Employer On The GO, logins for client employees
• Web Time Clock, a browser-based time clock
• Online Reports, for accessing payroll reports online
• Hire On the Go, a hiring-related application
• HR Support Center and Employer OnDemand, HR-focused resources for employers

Background checks and HR support

Besides payroll, the company runs a full background screening service. It offers fast, reasonably priced searches that employers can use when checking job candidates. Its human resources consulting covers a wide range of needs, from setting up basic HR for a new business to helping established employers with routine, everyday staff matters. The website also has a library of payroll forms and HR resources that clients can use.

Background and team

Payroll Post is owned by Jim Knoll, who works with Erika Lieder. Together they have more than three decades of combined experience in payroll and accounting work. Their accounting background and the small, experienced team suit smaller employers who want to know exactly who is handling their payroll.

For buyers comparing providers in the Twin Cities, the firm pairs an on-time delivery commitment and self-service technology with personal, local service. It also offers background checks and HR consulting in the same place, so clients can move several employment-related tasks to one vendor.

Founded in 1998, Press Gold Group (commonly called PGG) is a Minnesota company that handles payroll and human capital management for employers. It works out of Edina, a short distance from the Bloomington border, and targets small and mid-sized businesses looking for current cloud-based software while still having a nearby group of specialists they can reach without going through a national call center.

Technology and Approach

PGG combines its own client service staff with a strategic alliance with iSolved, a nationally known HCM software developer. Employers handle payroll, human resources and connected tasks inside the iSolved system, while PGG's Minnesota-based staff assists them one-on-one.

The company characterizes its platform as built for the cloud from the ground up and says it continually evaluates emerging technology in order to make processing more efficient and introduce extra features for its customers as time goes on. Businesses considering a switch can ask for pricing or schedule a live walkthrough of the iSolved product before signing on.

Services Offered

While payroll remains the core of what PGG provides, the firm has expanded into a wider set of tools that let organizations handle most stages of a worker's tenure within one platform. The service categories it lists are:

• Payroll handled through a protected, cloud-hosted system
• Timekeeping that captures hours worked and job activity
• An HRIS that merges pay information with personnel files
• Recruiting and new-hire setup
• Learning and development programs for employee skill building
• Benefits and insurance administration
• Retirement plan options
• Pre-employment background checks
• Workers' compensation insurance
• An HR Support Center, plus on-demand pay through ZayZoon

For personnel management, the platform keeps a record of each employee's pay changes over the years, logs completed coursework and certifications, tracks vacation and leave balances, and stores evaluation results. It can also warn administrators when certifications or other dated items are about to lapse, send notifications by email and produce reports for regulatory purposes.

Evaluations can be completed by coworkers as well as by supervisors. A leadership dashboard charts workforce patterns, with filters for pay group, site, department, time period or worker classification. According to PGG, this connected functionality tends to matter most as a company approaches roughly 50 workers, the point at which regulatory obligations and documentation requirements outgrow a simple payroll setup.

The firm is also marketing a more recent product, Adaptive Employee Experience (AEE), within its iSolved lineup.

Background and Team

The company states that its employees collectively hold over 70 years of background in payroll and workforce administration. Precision and prompt responses are central to how it describes its way of operating. Separate lines are set aside for customer support and for sales inquiries, and current clients access the platform by signing in through a portal on PGG's website.

The firm additionally publishes a news section and sends out an email newsletter for businesses interested in keeping up with developments in the field.

Giving back to the community also shapes how PGG presents itself. Its GIVE Program extends discounted rates to non-profits, allowing them to spend a larger share of their funds on the causes they serve. For employers in and around Bloomington weighing their payroll options, Press Gold Group brings together a nationally built HCM system and a local support staff with more than two decades in business.

Rose LTD, which operates online as Jeff Rose CPA, is an accounting practice in Bloomington, Minnesota, and is licensed in the state. It works mainly with small business owners, executives and independent professionals, and it also takes on individual clients. The firm describes itself as full-service.

Payroll is one of several services it offers alongside bookkeeping, tax work and business advisory support. For companies comparing payroll providers, this means wage processing sits inside a broader CPA relationship and is not sold as a standalone software subscription.

Payroll and Related Support

The firm offers payroll for employers who find that managing staff pay takes too much of the owner's time. It does not sell one fixed package. Instead, it shapes the payroll arrangement around the needs of each business, so owners can spend their time on their own operations. The firm also has a separate tax-resolution practice that covers payroll tax problems. This can help employers who have fallen behind on withholding deposits or employment tax filings.

• Payroll processing set up around each client's needs
• Help resolving payroll tax problems with the IRS
• Help with IRS liens, levies, wage garnishments and seizures
• IRS payment plans and offers in compromise
• Help with non-filed returns and back taxes

Accounting, Tax and QuickBooks Services

The firm keeps books for small businesses so owners do not have to. It also prepares cash flow projections to help clients avoid a cash shortfall. It helps businesses get ready to apply for bank loans and supports strategic planning, succession planning for family-owned companies, and setting up new ventures.

On the tax side, it handles tax preparation and planning, and it represents clients in IRS audits and innocent spouse relief cases. Employers that run payroll in QuickBooks can get help from its dedicated QuickBooks services. These cover choosing the software, setup, training, answers to quick questions and periodic tune-ups. The firm also resells QuickBooks at a discount.

Services for Individuals

The firm also offers personal financial planning to individuals. This includes one-on-one advice and a written plan focused on managing risk and growing wealth over time. It also guides families through the paperwork involved in estate planning. Business owners can therefore work with one firm on both their company and household finances.

How the Firm Works

New clients start with a free first consultation. The firm presents itself as affordable, experienced and approachable, and it stresses being part of the local community. It says it has served clients in the Bloomington area for a number of years. Clients can exchange documents through an online client portal and a SecureSend file transfer tool.

The website also offers a monthly newsletter with tax tips, guides for life events and business strategy, tax due dates and rates, a record retention guide and financial calculators.

For small employers that want payroll handled together with bookkeeping, tax compliance and IRS problem resolution by one CPA firm, Rose LTD is a local choice with a single point of contact.

St. Louis Park Tax and Accounting CPA is a certified public accounting practice in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. It handles payroll as one part of a broader set of tax and accounting services. Its clients include individuals, executives, independent professionals, small and mid-size companies, and larger corporate firms. The firm suits employers who want one local CPA team to run payroll, keep the books and do the tax work, instead of using a separate vendor for each.

Payroll and Related Compliance Work

Payroll is one of the firm's core accounting offerings, and it also handles sales tax compliance for businesses. Payroll sits alongside bookkeeping, financial reporting and tax planning, so wage records can flow into the general ledger and into year-end business filings.

The site does not name a payroll software platform or describe features such as direct deposit, pay schedules or year-end wage forms. Buyers who need those details should confirm them during the first meeting. The firm also supports QuickBooks, which may help companies that already keep their records in that system.

• Payroll services for small and mid-size employers
• Sales tax registration, taxability decisions and compliance reporting
• Day-to-day bookkeeping, invoicing and inventory control
• Financial statements, budgeting, forecasting and cash flow management
• QuickBooks setup and support
• Business and individual tax planning and preparation, including trust and estate returns
• Representation before state and federal tax authorities
• Choosing a business entity, incorporation and business valuation

Industries Served

The firm offers specialized support to several industries where tracking labor and project costs matters:

• Government contractors, with accounting, compliance and reporting help
• Architecture and engineering firms
• Construction businesses, including job costing and cash flow planning
• Farming and agricultural operations, with seasonal planning and bookkeeping
• Real estate investors, owners and companies

How They Work With Clients

New clients start with a free, no-obligation consultation to ask questions and review their options. Clients can send documents through a secure file upload, book appointments online, and sign up for an email newsletter. The site also offers a tax center, tax tips and an annual tax organizer. The firm says it tailors its work to each client's goals, aims to help owners improve productivity and profitability, and treats client information as confidential.

Credentials and Background

The practice holds CPA certificates in both Minnesota (26938) and Wisconsin (25771-1), so it can work with clients in both states. Its office is on Utah Drive in St. Louis Park. Beyond routine compliance, the team handles multi-state filing and economic nexus questions, alternative minimum tax, succession and estate planning, audit defense strategy, and catching up on unfiled returns.

For employers comparing payroll providers, the main differences are CPA oversight and having payroll, bookkeeping, tax planning and IRS representation handled by one firm.

Tenney, Coons and Associates, LLP is a certified public accounting partnership based in Edina, Minnesota. It works with small business owners, executives, independent professionals and individual taxpayers across the Twin Cities. The firm is best known for tax and accounting work, but payroll support is part of its business services. That makes it an option for smaller employers who want payroll, bookkeeping and tax filings handled by one firm instead of several separate vendors.

Payroll and business services

The firm treats payroll as one part of a wider package for owners who don't have time to manage the financial side of their companies. Its business services include running payroll, preparing cash flow statements and preparing tax returns. It also stresses compliance with federal and Minnesota payroll rules, along with sales and use tax requirements.

The office manager brings hands-on bookkeeping and payroll experience, and the partners have decades of experience with tax and operations issues for small companies. The site does not describe its own payroll platform or name any payroll software. Employers who want details such as pay frequency, direct deposit handling or year-end forms should ask the firm directly.

• Payroll handling and payroll tax compliance support
• Small business accounting and outsourced bookkeeping
• QuickBooks services
• Business tax preparation and individual returns
• Proactive tax planning
• Business advisory work and strategic planning
• Financial statements and financial planning
• Help resolving problems with the IRS

Industries and clients

Besides general small business work, the firm says it has specialized knowledge in serving healthcare practices and law firms. Its clients range from individuals filing personal returns to closely held companies that need help with their books, operations and planning. Prospective clients can get a free first consultation to find out whether the firm is a good fit.

Background and team

The practice began as the partnership of Tenney & Tenney. Michael W. Tenney earned an accounting degree from the University of Minnesota, worked at Ernst & Young and became a CPA in 1971. He then went into partnership with his father, Quentin. Today the partners include Paul T. Coons, CPA, with the firm since 1982, and Michael S.

Ubben, CPA, who arrived in 1994. Matt T. Walsh, CPA, came aboard in 1996 after working at other Twin Cities accounting firms. Michael Tenney is semi-retired but still works part time. The staff also includes Janet Beckman, who focuses on personal returns and small business bookkeeping and tax reporting.

Sue Scherbenske, CPA, arrived in 2022, and Heidi Salo serves as office manager. Team members belong to the Minnesota Society of CPAs, and several are also AICPA members.

How the firm works

The firm puts weight on personal attention and a team approach to reviewing each client's situation. It also values clear communication, so it understands a client's goals before making recommendations. Its stated aim is to keep clients financially sound now while planning ahead for later years.

For employers comparing payroll providers, the main draw is payroll help paired with a long-serving CPA team. The same team can also prepare the company's tax returns and keep its books, rather than selling payroll as a separate software product. Clients also have access to an online portal.

Firm Profile

Based in Bloomington, Minnesota, The Tax Advisory Group, LLC is a state-licensed accounting practice whose core business is tax and accounting. Its clientele includes business owners, corporate leaders, independent professionals and private individuals filing their own returns.

Rather than positioning itself as a high-volume payroll bureau, the firm acts as a counselor that guides smaller employers toward a payroll arrangement suited to their headcount and daily operations, then helps them keep it running smoothly. Payroll is offered alongside its bookkeeping, QuickBooks assistance and tax work.

Ways to Handle Payroll

Because no two employers run payroll the same way, the firm provides more than one path. Companies wishing to outsource the whole process may be connected with an independent payroll company that handles everything.

As the firm describes it, this option covers producing paychecks on secure blank check paper, electronic deposits into employee bank accounts, federal and Minnesota tax remittances made through EFTPS, recurring employment tax returns and annual wage forms. Tracking of paid time off, including vacation, illness and personal days, is included, as is reporting of newly hired workers to the state.

Owners who would rather write paychecks themselves can choose an after-the-fact arrangement. Under this model, the employer handles each pay run by hand, and the firm later loads that information into its own software.

Using those entries, the accountants generate the required tax filings along with monthly, quarterly and annual summaries, which include Forms W-2 and W-3 for employees and Form 1099 for contractors. The firm also assists with time-off balances and new employee reporting, and it keeps payroll files in good order.

Agency Reporting and Employment Tax Support

In addition to ordinary payroll work, the firm compiles the payroll figures that government bodies request and stands with clients when those bodies examine their records. Examples include:

• Reviews of workers' comp premiums by insurance carriers
• Responses when former staff apply for jobless benefits
• Wage reconciliation inquiries from the SSA
• Examinations of court-ordered withholding for dependents
• Annual employee wage statements and contractor forms, with their transmittals (Forms 1099 and 1096)
• Account setup filings with federal and Minnesota agencies

Businesses that have missed employment tax deposits or skipped returns can also retain the firm to speak for them before the IRS. The firm warns that the agency is particularly severe about withheld taxes that go unpaid, and it urges owners not to face the IRS on their own. This representation belongs to a larger tax problem practice that also takes on examinations, liens, levies, paycheck garnishments, payment plans and offers in compromise.

Other Offerings and Working Style

Payroll is just one element of the firm's business support. Its other services cover accounting and bookkeeping for small companies, installing QuickBooks and teaching clients to use it, drafting business plans, managing cash flow and assisting with the launch of new ventures.

On the personal side, it prepares and plans individual returns and also handles returns for estates, trusts and Americans living abroad. Clients may upload files via a protected transfer page and access their information through an online portal. Several web-based calculators are available as well, among them tools for estimating payroll deductions, hourly pay and grossed-up amounts.

Pricing for payroll is set individually after the firm learns about a company and what it requires, and the first meeting carries no charge. The firm emphasizes individual attention for every client, an approach that may appeal to small employers looking for a single accountant familiar with both their payroll and their overall tax picture.

TME Business Services LLC is a compact, founder-run firm in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, that handles behind-the-scenes administrative and money-related duties for new ventures and smaller enterprises. It positions itself as an external ally that lifts necessary but repetitive chores off an owner's plate, freeing that owner to concentrate on selling, serving clientele and growing the operation instead of shuffling documents.

Origins and the person in charge

Tammy Ebert established the company and remains directly involved with every account. Her fascination with modest-sized enterprises took root when she was a young student in International Falls, Minnesota, pitching in at the shop her mother and father operated for over thirty years.

Seeing them struggle with whether enough money would be on hand to cover obligations, and with choices about the right time and method for adding workers, persuaded her that owners could thrive further with clear rules and routines guiding their operations. Those years inspired her to open TME.

Outside directories credit her with upward of four decades spent inside small and medium enterprises, holding titles that include senior accountant, accounting manager and controller.

Offerings of interest to those shopping for payroll help

Organizations weighing payroll options should view TME as a single source for books, wages and personnel matters, not as a seller of software. The firm's own materials center on the point at which an owner prepares to bring aboard a first staff member or retain an independent 1099 worker, along with the people-management duties that step triggers.

Remarks from past clients also mention direct oversight of worker perks. Online directories place the company in the payroll category, and its full menu covers:

• Running wages and guiding owners through taking on staff and 1099 contractors
• Oversight of worker benefit programs
• Personnel guidance covering written rules, routines, welcoming new hires, managing departures and keeping good people
• Complete full-charge bookkeeping and general ledger maintenance
• Billing customers and tracking stock on hand
• Reviewing business performance, setting spending plans, monitoring money moving in and out, and projecting future results
• Designing operating procedures and internal rules, along with staff instruction

The engagement approach

TME intentionally steers clear of preset packages. Since no two operations are alike, each relationship opens with a face-to-face discussion about the owner's priorities and the areas where outside assistance would deliver the most value. Owner and firm then jointly determine whether working together makes sense before anything gets underway. The aim is tidy, current records all year long, sparing owners a last-minute hunt for paperwork when their tax professional comes calling after the year closes.

Distinguishing qualities

Prospective clients who prefer one dedicated, personal contact may find this setup attractive. Endorsements from business figures, among them a tech entrepreneur, a leader at a childcare academy and a staff member whose perks Tammy oversaw, praise her reliability, responsiveness and breadth across accounting, personnel matters and information technology. For small employers across the northern Minneapolis-St.

Paul suburbs who would like wage processing combined with bookkeeping and personnel support under one seasoned professional, TME presents an adaptable, people-focused option in place of big nationwide payroll services.

Tonsager Tax & Accounting Services is a licensed Minnesota firm in Richfield. It handles tax, accounting and payroll work for small business owners, executives and individuals. The firm describes itself as a small business too, so it knows what owners face.

Its goal is to take bookkeeping and compliance tasks off their plate so they can concentrate on running and growing the company. For buyers comparing payroll providers in the south metro, Tonsager is a local accounting practice, not a national payroll platform. It pairs payroll processing with the firm's wider tax and bookkeeping skills.

Payroll Options

Tonsager accepts that businesses need different levels of payroll help, so it offers several ways of working:

• Comprehensive payroll: the firm runs the whole payroll cycle. That covers printed paychecks on secure, MICR-compliant check stock, direct deposit, federal and state tax filings, and EFTPS tax deposits.
• After-the-fact payroll: for employers who write their own checks, staff enter the manual payroll records into the firm's system. From there they handle the tax deposits, filings and year-end forms.
• Online payroll: clients key in hours and earnings through a secure web connection. They can print checks right away on their own printer, and direct deposit and tax reporting are still included.
• Custom government reports: help with workers' compensation audits, W-2/W-3 and 1099/1096 processing, and federal and state registration paperwork.

Most of the processing options include monthly, quarterly and annual payroll tax reports. They also include tracking of employee vacation, sick and personal time accruals, preparation and submission of required new hire reports, and ongoing payroll recordkeeping. Workers' compensation reporting can be added for a small extra charge.

How They Work With Clients

The firm sets payroll pricing after learning about a company's size and the services it needs, rather than posting a fixed rate card. Prospective clients start with a consultation request. Existing clients get a secure online client portal for sharing documents.

The firm's website also links to common payroll forms such as the W-2, W-4 and I-9 for employers and employees. Tonsager's pitch for outsourcing is practical: owners stop maintaining in-house payroll software, stop following changes in federal, state and local payroll law, and avoid adding specialized staff to overhead.

Beyond Payroll

Payroll is one of several connected services. Tonsager also provides business accounting, QuickBooks support, and tax preparation and planning for companies and individuals. It helps with IRS problems too, including liens, levies, payment plans, unfiled returns and back taxes. Many clients use the firm for both company books and personal returns.

Client testimonials mention long relationships, some lasting more than a decade, and praise the staff for quick replies and for being easy to work with. For a small Twin Cities employer that wants payroll, bookkeeping and tax compliance from one local team, Tonsager is a full-service option close to Eagan.

Twin Cities Accounting and Tax is a small accounting practice in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, with an office on Wayzata Boulevard. It works with small and mid-sized businesses and with individuals in St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Several client testimonials name the principal, Richard, and most of the website is written in his own voice. That points to a hands-on practice where clients work directly with the person doing the work.

Payroll and payroll tax support

Buyers comparing payroll providers should know that payroll here is part of a wider accounting relationship, not a standalone software product. The firm's business services page lists payroll handling next to cash flow statements and tax return preparation. It also stresses keeping clients compliant with federal and state payroll rules and with sales and use tax.

On the tax resolution side, the firm takes on payroll tax problems. That can help employers who have fallen behind on deposits or filings and need someone to deal with the IRS for them. Related relief work covers liens, levies, wage garnishment, payment plans and offers in compromise.

Services for business clients include:

• Payroll handling and payroll tax compliance
• Bookkeeping with monthly or quarterly reporting
• Small business accounting
• Business and individual tax preparation and tax planning
• Part-time and outsourced CFO services, including forecasting, budgeting and variance analysis
• Cash flow management, preparation for bank financing, and succession planning
• New business formation, non-profit accounting, internal controls reviews and litigation support
• IRS audit representation and help with unfiled returns or back taxes
• QuickBooks setup, training, troubleshooting and tune-ups

Industries and specialties

The firm lists experience with construction companies, dental practices, healthcare providers, hospitality businesses, law firms, manufacturers and real estate clients. Its testimonials come from tradespeople, including a drywall contractor and a first-year small business owner, and from individual taxpayers who relied on Richard to handle the IRS for them. QuickBooks is central to how the firm works.

It helps owners set up and learn the software, fixes problems in existing files and offers a way to buy QuickBooks at a saving. This matters for employers who want payroll and bookkeeping in the same system.

How the firm works

Work is priced with flat-rate quotes based on the scope of each project, so clients know the cost in advance. The practice presents itself as an alternative to national chains. It focuses on learning how each client's business runs and on being available all year, not just at filing time.

Clients send documents through a secure client portal and a SecureSend upload page, so they rarely need to visit the office. New clients can book a free first consultation to see whether the firm is a good fit.

Twin Cities Accounting and Tax suits employers who want one local advisor to handle payroll, bookkeeping, tax filing and the occasional IRS issue. It offers a personal, owner-led option instead of a large payroll processor. Businesses with large workforces that need high-volume automated payroll should ask during the consultation exactly which payroll tools the firm uses and how much of the work it covers.

UptoDate Bookkeeping is a family-run bookkeeping firm in Blaine, Minnesota. It is woman-owned and has been in business since 2000. The office is in the north metro near Highway 65.

The firm serves small and mid-sized companies across the Twin Cities, including Coon Rapids, Andover, Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park and Anoka, and also takes clients elsewhere in Minnesota and in Wisconsin. Buyers comparing payroll providers should know one thing first: the firm only offers payroll to companies that also use it for bookkeeping.

It does not sell payroll as a separate service.

Payroll capabilities

Each payroll setup is built around the client's current schedule and processes. Staff sit down with the owner to go over how and when employees get paid, then put together a matching payroll plan. Clients can choose one service or combine several. Payroll can run every two weeks or once a month. Clients can also move payroll over in the middle of a quarter instead of waiting for the next one to start. The payroll offerings include:

• Regular payroll runs so staff are paid on schedule
• Review of payroll tax withholding, plus help keeping sales tax current
• Multi-state payroll for employers with workers in more than one state
• Union payroll reporting
• Detailed reports on withholdings, accrued overtime and PTO, and employer tax contributions
• Tracking of vacation, sick days and other paid leave
• Direct deposit setup and payroll forms for new hires

The team follows changes in tax law and helps clients adjust when payroll tax rules change. It typically steps in when a company has problems such as bounced or late paychecks, wrong pay amounts, payroll tax errors or overpayments, or letters from the IRS. Clients don't have to change software, because the firm works in the platform they already use, including ADP, Gusto, Paylocity, QuickBooks and SurePayroll.

Broader bookkeeping support

Payroll is handled by the same team that does the firm's core accounting work, so related office tasks stay in one place. These tasks include recording transactions and reconciling accounts, accounts payable and receivable, job costing, and monthly financial statements. The firm also prepares work-in-progress reports that follow GAAP and offers budgeting, forecasting and cloud-based financial reporting.

Staff ProAdvisors help clients set up QuickBooks and use it more effectively. Because it offers job costing and WIP reports, the firm suits contractors and other project-based businesses. Client testimonials also mention several real estate companies.

Team and approach

President Vicky Savage founded the firm. The firm says its staff have more than sixty years of combined experience in bookkeeping, payroll and job costing. Bookkeeping Manager Brian Thompson joined in 2015 and works directly with clients on both bookkeeping and payroll. Specialists and associates who joined from 2020 onward support him.

All client work is done by in-house staff, and each client gets a dedicated bookkeeper who is meant to be a long-term contact. Meetings can happen at the Blaine office or at the client's place of business. The firm says it is licensed in Minnesota and is also a registered investment adviser.

It names quality, responsiveness and professionalism as its core values. New clients can start with a free first consultation.