Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Rochester, MN

Burland Financial Services is a locally owned accounting and bookkeeping firm with an office in northwest Rochester, Minnesota. It serves small business owners and individuals. Its payroll work is aimed at companies that employ hourly or salaried staff but have no in-house HR department to handle pay runs, withholding and filing deadlines.

The firm also does bookkeeping and tax returns, so an employer can keep payroll, accounting records and annual filings with one provider instead of splitting them among several vendors.

Payroll Services

Each pay cycle, the firm collects timekeeping data for hourly workers or confirms salary figures. It then works out gross wages and applies withholding for federal and Minnesota income taxes, plus Social Security and Medicare, using current IRS and state revenue department tables. Amounts for health coverage, retirement plans or wage garnishments are taken out before take-home pay is finalized.

Workers are paid by direct deposit or paper check, whichever the employer prefers, and each pay stub itemizes their earnings and withholdings. Payroll deliverables include:

• Registers for each pay period showing every worker's earnings, deductions and take-home amount
• Summaries of total labor cost and the tax liabilities owed to agencies
• Reports that support quarterly payroll tax filings
• Year-to-date tracking used to prepare W-2s and 1099s once the year closes
• Setup for new hires using federal W-4 and state withholding forms
• Corrections made through next-period adjustments, with amended agency reports when withholding is affected
• Withholding and reporting for employees who work in other states

Payroll is linked to the firm's bookkeeping, so wage costs show up in the client's financial statements without being entered twice. New payroll clients start with a setup consultation that looks at headcount, pay frequency and reporting obligations.

Accounting, Bookkeeping and Tax

Beyond payroll, Burland offers general accounting, including reconciliations, profit and loss statements, balance sheets and rebuilding incomplete records. It also provides ongoing bookkeeping, business and personal tax preparation, small business accounting and virtual accounting. Clients range from first-time sole proprietors and businesses hiring their first employees to individuals with complicated tax situations. The firm says it works across a variety of industries but does not name a particular specialty.

How the Firm Works With Clients

Burland presents itself as a year-round practice rather than an office that only opens at tax time. Support is available in any month, not just in the spring. Work begins with a free consultation. After that, clients can meet in person at the Rochester office or by video, and documents are shared through secure portals.

The firm says clients stay with the same team over time instead of being moved between staff members. It also stresses explaining financial reports in plain language so owners understand where their numbers stand.

Locally, the firm serves Rochester, Stewartville, St. Charles, Chatfield, Dover and Preston in southeastern Minnesota. It also takes remote clients nationwide. Its website does not give a founding date, staff names or professional credentials, so buyers who need a specific certification, such as a CPA, should ask about it directly.

Based in Minnesota, Haworth & Company is an accounting practice whose clientele consists largely of people who own and operate small enterprises. Its central offerings are payroll processing, bookkeeping, tax return preparation and advisory work. The practice maintains four locations across the state, in West St. Paul, Maple Grove, Edina and Rochester.

Businesses in and around Rochester therefore get a nearby team supported by the resources of a bigger organization. Haworth's stated aim is to make expert financial assistance affordable for modest operations, sparing them both the high costs and the detached treatment that clients frequently encounter at major accounting houses.

Payroll Services

Haworth markets its payroll offering under the name EZ Payroll, a program the firm developed with smaller employers in mind. The company holds that compensating workers ought to be a predictable, largely hands-off process instead of a recurring headache. In its positioning, EZ Payroll lets owners pass along the math and the regulatory obligations tied to issuing wages.

Since Haworth also handles a client's ledgers and tax filings, wage data flows directly into those tasks, avoiding the need to reconcile information from multiple outside providers. Customers additionally have access to a set of web-based resources reachable through Haworth's site, among them a client portal, a sign-in for Employer On the Go and a tool called My HR Support.

• EZ Payroll wage processing tailored to small employers
• Help meeting payroll tax obligations
• Wage administration for companies operating at multiple sites
• Ongoing ledger maintenance and month-end accounting (Accounting Essentials)
• Preparation of business and personal income tax returns
• Advisory services for small enterprises

Industries Served

Although its client base spans a broad mix of small operations, Haworth highlights a number of sectors in which it has built notable expertise. Among them are automotive service and mechanical maintenance businesses, daycare and early-learning providers, building and contracting outfits, dental and orthodontic practices, enterprises run by families, lawn and grounds care companies, healthcare practitioners, eateries and sole proprietors.

The practice also supports owners who manage operations in more than one place. As an illustration, Haworth assumed responsibility for wage processing on behalf of a customer employing over 200 people spread among several municipalities, and it tracked each branch's finances independently so leadership could measure the performance of every location against the others.

How the Firm Works With Clients

A distinguishing feature of Haworth's approach is that ongoing guidance is built into its accounting package rather than sold separately. Clients receive advisory sessions every month, giving owners a recurring opportunity to review results and work through challenges alongside a consultant. The practice is convinced that owners who examine their financial figures frequently generally achieve stronger outcomes.

Haworth seeks close, enduring partnerships in which a single nearby team manages ledgers, wages and tax matters, allowing it to understand each customer's complete financial situation.

Established in 1989 with a focus on smaller enterprises, the company now brings over three and a half decades of experience to that segment.

For those evaluating payroll vendors, Haworth & Company is likely a good match for owners seeking wage processing bundled with ledger maintenance, tax filing and recurring guidance from a single regional practice, as opposed to an independent software tool.

Rather than functioning strictly as a payroll processor, it operates as a comprehensive accounting ally for small enterprises, with wage administration forming just one component of the overall engagement.

Honkamp Payroll is a payroll and human capital management provider. It has offices in Dubuque and Coralville, Iowa, and in Rochester, Minnesota. The firm is aimed at small and midsized employers that want to hand off payroll, HR and benefits work so owners can spend their time running the business. Its Rochester office in southeast Minnesota gives employers in that region a local team, while the company also draws on the staff and systems of its Iowa offices.

Background

The company is connected to Honkamp P.C., an accounting firm, which brought back its payroll offering under the Honkamp Payroll name in 2023 and began onboarding clients in January 2024. In October 2025 Honkamp Payroll, LLC acquired Smart-HR, a full-service payroll and HR firm based in Rochester.

Business press coverage reported that all seven Smart-HR employees stayed on, including owners Josh Haynes and Joel Goodew, and that the team continues to work in Rochester under the Honkamp Payroll name. For local buyers, this means the firm combines a long-running Rochester client base with the backing of a larger regional organization tied to a CPA practice.

Services

Payroll is at the center of the firm's offering. It is backed by time and attendance tools and by HR and benefits support, so employers can work with one provider for most workforce administration. Key service areas include:

• Payroll processing, plus resources on state payroll tax registration
• Time and attendance tracking
• HR outsourcing for businesses overwhelmed by hiring, HR, benefits and payroll tasks
• HR consulting for companies that need a professional's help with specific HR duties
• Benefits administration, including open enrollment, carrier liaison, bill reconciliation and recordkeeping
• Payroll deduction maintenance and family medical leave support
• COBRA administration help and referrals to COBRA service providers
• Help finding a qualified provider for Section 125 flexible spending plans

How They Work With Clients

The firm pairs technology with in-house HR professionals. Clients log in to an online client portal, and the company also offers a TaxCaddy login, which reflects its accounting background. On benefits, Honkamp Payroll gives a client's employees access to a certified benefits professional who can answer plan questions, help with education and orientation, and advocate for employees.

Because workers can discuss medical claims with an outside, confidential contact, employers may find it easier to meet the privacy requirements of HIPAA and GINA. Taking this work off the employer's desk also cuts down on paperwork and can help staff better understand their benefit plans.

What Sets Them Apart

Several things may matter to buyers comparing payroll providers. Honkamp Payroll is tied to a CPA firm, it has a physical office in downtown Rochester, and it handles benefits and compliance work in-house as well as running payroll.

It sees HR as a way for employers to strengthen relationships with key staff, make processes more efficient and get useful insight into their workforce. Its standard office hours run Monday through Friday, with a shorter day on Friday, and it monitors after-hours voicemail for urgent payroll or tax issues.

Swon Tax Preparation is a locally owned tax and accounting firm with offices in Rochester and Bloomington, Minnesota. Besides its main tax work, the firm runs a bookkeeping and payroll practice for small businesses, corporations, executives and self-employed professionals. Its Rochester office is in the northwest part of the city. That gives employers in southeastern Minnesota a nearby place to get payroll, tax and accounting support from one firm.

Payroll and reporting services

The firm offers payroll as a way for owners to hand off the paperwork of paying staff. It points out that payroll has become harder to manage, citing sick pay rules, pandemic-related leave and the revised W-4 withholding forms. Its staff take responsibility for making sure workers are paid on schedule. Payroll comes with the related compliance filings, so employers keep up with recurring deadlines.

• Payroll processing for employers of varying sizes
• Quarterly payroll tax reporting
• Annual federal unemployment (FUTA) filings
• Monthly sales tax returns
• Bookkeeping and bank account reconciliation
• Help reading profit and loss statements and balance sheets

Tax planning that connects to payroll

The same team prepares both business and personal returns, so payroll clients can also get help with related tax questions. For businesses, Swon does tax planning and return preparation. It also advises owners on whether a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, S corporation or C corporation best fits their long-term goals.

The firm helps clients with the forms for programs such as the Employee Retention Credit and explains the tax effects of Paycheck Protection Program funds. For individuals, it reviews W-4 withholding choices, how 401(k) contributions affect taxes, deduction strategy and income tax planning.

How the firm works with clients

Swon says its approach starts with listening. Staff learn about each client's circumstances, gather the relevant facts and review the current situation before preparing returns or suggesting changes. The firm stresses personal relationships and works with operations of very different sizes, from owners working alone to companies with about 100 employees. Prospective clients can request a free consultation, and the firm describes its rates as affordable.

Background and credentials

The firm's preparers are registered with the IRS. The team says its combined experience in tax and finance adds up to more than 100 years, and its bookkeepers have worked with business clients for decades. It has one office in Bloomington in the south Twin Cities metro and another in Rochester. That makes Swon a locally run choice for employers who want payroll, bookkeeping and tax filing handled by one team they know.

Wilson Tibor & Maves LTD is an accounting firm in Rochester, Minnesota. It is licensed in the state and does accounting, tax and related financial work for local people and companies. If you are comparing payroll providers, this firm is an accounting-practice option. Payroll comes bundled with bookkeeping, tax preparation and advisory work. It is not sold as a standalone software product.

Payroll services

The firm presents outsourced payroll as a way for owners of small and mid-sized companies to win back time lost to admin work. It also helps them keep up with changing federal, state and local payroll rules. Each outsourcing client gets an assigned payroll specialist who handles the whole cycle from start to finish.

That means the business does not need its own payroll staff or system. The firm also tracks rule changes that affect payroll compliance for its clients. Its published payroll offering covers:

• Paying employees by direct deposit or EFT
• Printing paychecks
• Payroll tax compliance, including electronic filing and sending tax payments
• Payroll reports split out by employee or by department
• Year-end preparation of W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms
• Plain-language payroll tax summaries each month, each quarter and at year end
• Paying third-party deductions such as insurance premiums

Related business and tax services

Payroll is one part of a wider set of business services. These include:

• Small business accounting and bookkeeping
• Audits, reviews and compilations, which give lenders, investors and stockholders three tiers of assurance
• Help forming new businesses
• Accounting for non-profits that want to keep their tax-exempt status
• Reviews of internal controls, with suggestions for improvement

On the tax side, the firm prepares individual, business, estate and trust returns. It also does tax planning and represents clients in IRS audits. Its tax relief work includes fixing payroll tax problems, which could help employers with payroll tax issues involving the IRS. It also handles innocent spouse relief. Finally, the firm sets up QuickBooks and helps users get more out of the software.

Industries and approach

The firm lists experience in construction, dental practices, hospitality, law firms, manufacturing and real estate. It says its work rests on three principles: professionalism, responsiveness and quality. It stresses close attention to each client and open communication to learn what clients need. It also says it looks ahead, planning for both current finances and longer-term goals.

New clients can ask for a free consultation to see if the firm is a good fit. Existing clients can use an online client portal and a SecureSend tool to share files securely.

Wilson Tibor & Maves describes itself as a long-standing member of the Rochester-area business community. It serves individuals, executives, self-employed professionals and company owners. Its team includes experienced tax professionals, and it also offers financial planning guidance. For companies that want one team to handle payroll, books and tax returns, the firm offers a single local point of contact for all three.