Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Conway, NH

Anchor Payroll Services is the payroll arm of Anchor Payroll and Business Services, a small firm in Conway, New Hampshire. It works mainly with small businesses that would rather hand off the mechanics of paying staff and handling employment taxes than run that work themselves. A companion operation, Anchor Business Services, handles tax preparation and has its own phone line, so clients can get payroll and tax help from one local provider.

Background and experience

The firm says it has run payrolls for over two decades. Its first clients were very small employers, and the client list later grew to include payrolls of many different sizes and structures. The company presents itself as a hands-on local shop rather than a national processing platform. It stresses quick, personal attention whenever a client has a question or needs something changed.

How the service works

Anchor's model is built to keep the employer's workload as light as possible. Once the account is set up, the client has two main jobs: add up the hours each employee worked, and keep enough money in the business checking account for each payroll cycle.

Anchor then pulls one combined amount that covers net wages, the related tax liabilities and its own processing fee. After each run, the client gets a cost summary by fax or email showing exactly what was taken from the account.

Wages are paid out of a payroll clearing account that Anchor Business Services keeps at Northway Bank. Printed checks carry the clearing account's name, with the employer's name and the pay period in the memo line. From the same account, the firm can pull funds from any account a client has authorized and send direct deposits to employee accounts at any bank or credit union.

Services offered

• Weekly payroll preparation
• Printed paychecks delivered on schedule
• Direct deposit to employees at any bank or credit union
• Electronic funding of payroll from the client's checking account
• Payroll cost reports for each pay period
• Preparation of quarterly payroll tax returns
• Payroll tax deposits made for the employer
• Tax preparation through Anchor Business Services

What sets it apart

Anchor sets itself apart from large processors that give every customer the same standardized package. Instead, it adjusts its service to each employer's circumstances and says it can serve companies of almost any size and in almost any line of business. Its target clients range from long-established firms to start-ups setting up payroll for the first time.

For buyers in northern New Hampshire who want a nearby contact, a simple hours-in, payroll-out process and tax filings handled for them, Anchor is a small, personal alternative to national payroll brands.