Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Columbus, OH

Brown & Brown CPAs, LLC is a certified public accounting firm serving small businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals in central Ohio. It operates from an office in Upper Arlington, on the northwest side of Columbus, and from a second location in Mechanicsburg that serves the Urbana area.

The firm has provided tax, accounting, bookkeeping and advisory help for over twenty years. Its owners point to their own experience running a small company as a reason they understand the pressures their clients face.

Payroll Services

The firm positions its payroll offering as a locally handled option for employers who might otherwise turn to a national provider, and it says its pricing is reasonable by comparison. Its accountants process payroll for small employers, start direct deposits to employees and prepare the related payroll tax returns.

Year-end paperwork such as W-2 and W-3 forms is part of the service, and 1099s can be prepared for businesses that pay independent contractors. Because payroll, bookkeeping and tax preparation sit under one roof, wage data can flow into a client's books and annual returns without being reconciled between unrelated vendors.

Bookkeeping, Account Reviews and Tax Work

Business owners with too little time can hand day-to-day bookkeeping to the firm. Staff record sales and deposits, enter vendor payments, pay bills, reconcile bank and credit card accounts, and can take over accounts payable so that suppliers are paid on time while the owner stays in control. Clients also receive financial reports and conversations about how the business is doing.

Owners who would rather keep their own books can choose a QuickBooks or account review package. A professional examines the file monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually, performs reconciliations and records closing entries. The firm will also set up QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online and provide customized one-on-one training, whether for newcomers or for people tackling more complex questions.

On the tax side, the firm prepares and e-files returns for:

• Individuals, including federal, state, school district and city returns
• Partnerships and limited liability companies
• S corporations and C corporations
• Trusts and estates
• Nonprofit organizations

Clients work through a checklist so that available tax breaks are not missed, and married couples receive a complimentary comparison of joint and separate filing. The firm also assists with tax planning, estimated taxes and the resolution of notices and delinquencies. Business filings extend to sales and use tax, CAT, IFTA, property and franchise tax. Worksheets for summarizing income and expenses are available to owners, landlords and farmers who do not use accounting software.

Assurance and Consulting

The firm participates in peer review and performs audits, reviews and compilations for small businesses and not-for-profits. An audit offers the highest level of assurance, a review provides limited assurance, and a compilation involves no assurance at all. It also prepares financial statements, agreed-upon procedures, forecasts and projections. Consulting engagements are shaped around each client's goals and can cover cost and cash flow analysis, overhead reviews, accounting process improvements, debt restructuring and bank loan presentations.

Industries Served

Its accountants have worked with a broad mix of sectors, including:

• Agriculture, landscaping and trucking
• Attorneys and insurance agencies
• Construction and manufacturing, including machine and fabrication businesses
• Medical, chiropractic and dental practices
• Programmers and IT professionals
• Real estate rentals, sales, agencies and 1031 exchanges
• Restaurants, retail and home-based businesses

Prospective clients can meet directly with a CPA at either office. For a small employer, the firm's main distinction from a payroll-only vendor is range: one team can run payroll, maintain the books and prepare both business and personal returns, giving the company a single contact for its compliance needs.

Laubie, Dotson, Ryan LLC is a certified public accounting firm on Dublin Road in Columbus, Ohio. It has worked with clients in the region since 1975, mainly in Grandview, Upper Arlington and Columbus itself. Payroll is one of its core offerings, along with bookkeeping, tax work and accounting software support. The firm describes its approach as pairing the capabilities of a much larger organization with the personal attention that a compact team can provide.

Payroll Services

The firm works with employers who are setting up payroll for the first time and with those who want to improve a system they already have. Each engagement begins with an assessment of the client's existing payroll setup and past records, looking for weak spots and room for improvement. After that, the firm effectively becomes the client's payroll department.

The business submits employee hours, and staff work out gross pay, apply tax withholding and other deductions, and arrive at net wages. Workers are then paid by direct deposit or paper check, depending on what each employee prefers. The firm says it has automated parts of this workflow over time to make processing more efficient.

• Payroll processing based on submitted employee hours
• Calculation of tax withholding and deductions
• Direct deposit or printed paycheck distribution
• Review of current payroll operations and history
• Preparation and filing of 1099 forms
• Guidance on classifying workers correctly
• Consolidation of fragmented payroll systems into one standardized process
• Help resolving payroll tax issues with the IRS

The firm focuses on several common payroll problems: data entry errors that can lead to IRS penalties, inconsistent processes left behind after switching between providers, and misclassified workers. Its staff are familiar with the rules for full-time and part-time staff, temporary hires and independent contractors.

The service is flexible, so clients can hand over the entire payroll function or only selected tasks. The firm presents it as a lower-cost alternative to hiring an in-house payroll specialist. Clients can ask questions in person or by phone.

Accounting, Tax and Software Support

Payroll ties in with a wider set of business services:

• Small business accounting and bookkeeping, supported by current technology and payroll software
• Reviews and compilations
• Cash flow projections and preparation for bank financing
• Strategic and succession planning
• New business formation, nonprofit accounting and litigation support

On the tax side, the firm prepares business and individual returns and offers tax planning. It also represents clients with the IRS on audits, liens, levies, wage garnishments, unfiled returns, back taxes, payment plans and offers in compromise. For accounting software, it provides QuickBooks and Sage 50 setup, training and tune-ups.

Clients and Industries

Clients range from self-employed, home-based owners to small and mid-size companies with staff, including partnerships, S corporations and rental property owners. The firm highlights experience in construction, dentistry, healthcare, hospitality, law firms, manufacturing and real estate. Meetings can take place at the office, which sits near US 33 between Dublin Road and Ridge Street, or virtually.

Clients can also use a secure portal and file-sending tool. The firm stresses careful verification of figures and says it alerts clients to inconsistencies in data across platforms. A no-cost first consultation is available to prospective clients.

Overview

Schultz CPA, LLC, which operates under the columbusaccountants.com name, is a certified public accounting firm in Columbus, Ohio. It works mainly with small businesses, executives and independent professionals. Its practice covers tax preparation, tax planning, tax resolution, bookkeeping, entity selection, business financial planning and risk management. Payroll is one part of that broader engagement. The firm recently moved to a new Columbus office.

How Payroll Fits In

Buyers comparing payroll providers should understand one key point. This firm offers payroll only as an add-on for businesses that already use it for accounting or tax work. It does not accept payroll-only clients. The firm presents payroll as a convenience for existing clients, not as a standalone product.

The advantage is consistency: the wages reported on tax returns match the wages recorded in the books. Clients who prefer their own payroll vendor can keep it. In that case, the firm simply needs copies of the payroll returns to complete its tax and accounting work.

Engagements can be very small, such as one household employee, or cover a full staff. The team helps each client choose the setup that suits it. The firm puts particular weight on Ohio's complex payroll rules. Employers may owe local income tax withholding in every municipality where staff work, plus school district tax on top of that. The state workers' compensation reconciliation also comes due only after the coverage year has ended.

Payroll Capabilities

• Tax deposits and automated payroll tax filings
• Ohio municipal income tax and school district tax handling
• Annual payroll true-up reporting for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation
• Direct deposit for employees and a self-service portal for staff
• An administrator portal for the employer, with a selection of payroll reports
• Wage garnishments and payments to vendors
• Data files prepared for 401(k) plans
• Optional timekeeping tools
• Automatic production of W-2 and 1099 forms

Accounting Integration and Industries

Payroll is usually paired with the firm's bookkeeping service. That service includes routine transaction coding, account reconciliation, periodic closes, consistent financial statements, and cleanup of neglected prior-year records. The firm can also help clients select and configure accounting software, and it supports budgeting and analysis. Staff describe themselves as both accountants and technologists.

They work in existing double-entry platforms such as QuickBooks and NetSuite. The firm lists several industry focuses: construction and the skilled trades, dental offices, family-run companies, IT, data and security consulting firms, law firms, marketing agencies, medical and healthcare practices, mental health providers, and owners of rental real estate.

Team and Credentials

Ben Schultz leads the firm. He is an Ohio-licensed CPA, holds the AICPA's Personal Financial Specialist credential, and has Big 4 experience. Kevin Smith is a CPA licensed in Ohio and Florida, a Certified Valuation Analyst and an advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor. John Stea is a CPA licensed in New York.

Diane Miller, MBA, brings more than 25 years of experience working with small businesses. An office manager and a staff accountant support client scheduling, billing, documents and day-to-day accounting. The firm states that fees depend on scope and complexity and are not set as fixed packages.