Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Akron, OH

ATLAS Certified Payroll, Inc. is the payroll arm of ATLAS CPAs & Advisors, an accounting and advisory firm in Northeast Ohio. It works with employers of very different sizes. A company hiring its first worker and an established firm with around a hundred staff can both use it, and it supports weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly pay schedules.

Its main pitch is that it takes care of accuracy and regulatory compliance so owners can spend their time running the business instead of doing payroll.

Service Tiers

The firm sells its services as three named packages. Each one covers payroll processing along with preparation of payroll tax returns, so buyers can pick the level of involvement that suits them:

• Web Pay: described as the firm's most advanced option for processing and tax filing
• Premier Pay: identified as the package most clients choose
• Standard Pay: a budget-friendly replacement for running an internal payroll department

Prospective clients ask for a quote by giving their headcount, how often they pay, and which package interests them. The firm also invites them to book a consultation before signing up.

How They Work With Clients

The team presents itself as a partner and advocate for its clients. Staff track changes to payroll rules and let clients know about developments that could affect the business or its employees. Day-to-day work is split among named processors, each handling a group of client payrolls. A separate tax and escrow department looks after tax deposits.

Senior staff set up every new client and train the processors. They also handle Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) and state unemployment (SUTA) audits, respond to tax notices and do tax research. For employers with workers in more than one jurisdiction, the firm files applications for new withholding accounts across states, counties and localities.

Its staff also have experience with online retirement plan transmissions, BWC filings, benefit administration, wage-and-hour audits and unemployment claims and hearings.

Team and Credentials

Several staff members hold payroll certifications. The Vice President of Payroll Services is a Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) who joined in 1999. She belongs to the American Payroll Association and its Hall of Fame chapter in Canton.

The payroll supervisor is also a CPP, has a business administration and finance degree from The University of Akron, and has more than twenty years in payroll and payroll tax. The tax escrow coordinator has been with the company since 1998.

Another CPP in the tax and escrow group has a long background in bookkeeping, much of it in retail motor sports. Some of the processors hold the Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC), and others are working toward the FPC or CPP. Team members are active in regional payroll chapters in Canton and Greater Cincinnati.

What Sets Them Apart

Buyers comparing providers may value the long tenure of the senior staff and the number of certified payroll professionals on the team. Because the firm sits inside a larger CPA practice, payroll clients are connected to a wider group of accounting and advisory professionals. Its experience with Ohio workers' compensation and unemployment audits, plus local withholding registrations, makes it a practical choice for employers in the Akron, Fairlawn and Canton area.

Overview

Paramount Payroll, Inc. is a payroll processing firm based in Northeast Ohio. It has an office in Bath, with an Akron mailing address, and a second location in Munroe Falls. Certified public accountants founded the company to give smaller employers an alternative to running payroll themselves or relying on a national processor. It serves businesses with anywhere from one employee to about one hundred, whether they work from a single site or have staff in several states.

The firm presents itself as more than a vendor that prints checks. Its founders describe a view of the whole business: the team considers how payroll fits into a client's broader operations and growth plans instead of treating it as an isolated task. Payroll clients can also get time management tools and human resources support, and the firm offers bookkeeping and bill payment as extra options.

Payroll services

Paramount covers the core functions a small or midsize employer typically outsources:

• Full-service payroll processing each pay period
• Direct deposit of employee wages
• Payroll tax handling and compliance
• Tracking of employee benefits
• New hire reporting
• Time clock integration and advanced timekeeping
• Custom reports and data extracts
• General ledger journal entry reports for accounting
• Bookkeeping and bill pay

Clients can choose how they work with the firm. They can submit payroll data by phone, by fax or online. The company offers both remote payroll management software and internet-based payroll systems. Depending on the client's preference, paychecks and reports are delivered to the employer's office, or wages go straight into employee bank accounts.

Technology and quality control

Processing runs on the company's APEX payroll platform, which automates the more complicated calculations. Paramount pairs that technology with a quality step it calls the Peak 7 review. This is a set of seven major checks applied to every paycheck so that each element of a client's payroll is accounted for and documented before funds are released.

The firm says it monitors changes in payroll and tax law to keep clients compliant, guarantees accurate and on-time payroll, and is fully bonded.

Prospective clients can request a free payroll analysis, which the company calls its Peak Payroll review. The comparison is meant to show side by side how Paramount measures up against an in-house process, a large national provider or another local bureau. Sales staff can also prepare quotes and arrange demonstrations with no obligation.

What sets them apart

For buyers comparing providers, Paramount's main distinctions are its CPA roots, its local Northeast Ohio presence with two offices, and its review checks on every pay run. The company's published pledge stresses attentiveness to clients, avoiding gimmicks, following through on commitments and involvement in the communities where its staff are based.

Client testimonials on the site describe the team as proactive, prompt and professional. Employers who want a hands-on regional partner rather than a self-service national platform may find the firm worth evaluating.