Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Mandan, ND

Goodhart & Associates PC is a certified public accounting firm based in Mandan, North Dakota. It handles payroll alongside tax, bookkeeping and advisory work. Most of its clients are in Mandan and Bismarck, on both sides of the Missouri River, and it also serves Western North Dakota towns such as New Salem, Glen Ullin, Steele and Washburn.

The firm works with individuals as well as companies. Its business clients are mostly smaller and midsize employers, including family-owned operations and organizations with more than 50 workers.

Payroll processing

For employers that want to hand off their pay runs, the firm works out regular wages and salaries each pay period, plus overtime, bonuses and commissions. Staff can be paid by direct deposit or printed check. Withholding is handled for federal and state agencies and for local jurisdictions.

The firm also prepares the regular filings that come with having employees, from quarterly Form 941 and yearly Form 940 returns to state unemployment reports. At year end it issues W-2s to employees and 1099s to contractors. Other payroll work includes:

• Deductions for retirement savings, health coverage and wage garnishments ordered by courts
• Reporting newly hired employees to the state and tracking paid time off
• Payroll reports that owners can use for oversight and records
• Compliance for employers with staff in more than one state
• Catch-up filing of overdue payroll and sales tax returns, with penalty negotiation where possible

Timekeeping with Swipeclock

The firm offers Swipeclock as a time-tracking tool that connects to payroll. Employees can punch in from a phone, a computer or a wall-mounted clock. Their recorded hours go directly into payroll, so staff do not have to type in timesheets by hand. The tool also calculates overtime, keeps paid leave balances and handles shift scheduling. Clients who prefer not to use it can still send hours by email as timesheets or spreadsheets.

Onboarding and pricing approach

The firm aims to make switching providers simple. It collects company and employee details, sets up pay schedules and works with whatever system the client prefers. Businesses can move over from QuickBooks Payroll or another service, even partway through the year. In that case the firm loads the earlier payroll history so the year-end W-2s are correct.

Most transitions are finished within a single pay cycle. Fees depend on how many employees a client has and how often they are paid.

Background and differentiators

Goodhart & Associates presents itself as a local alternative to national payroll providers. Employers deal directly with professionals who can quickly fix a paycheck problem or add a bonus. The team includes CPAs and QuickBooks specialists with many decades of experience between them. The firm stresses its knowledge of North Dakota tax rules and the regional economy.

It also offers bookkeeping, QuickBooks setup and training, business and individual tax returns, help forming new companies, succession planning and outsourced CFO-style advice. Because of this, payroll figures can feed straight into a client's books and tax returns. Its clients include construction, retail, farm and ranch operations, and professional services.

The firm uses secure, encrypted systems and an online client portal, and it meets with clients in person or remotely.