Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Dayton, OH

Overview

937 Payroll is a Dayton-based provider of payroll and human capital management services. It takes its name from the area code that covers much of southwest Ohio. The firm lists Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus as its markets. It works with businesses that want a modern payroll system backed by people they can reach locally. Beyond paychecks, it offers HR support, recruiting and onboarding tools, and time and attendance tracking, so employers can bring several workforce functions under one vendor.

Bryan Hunter, SPHR, established the company in May 2017. He grew up in Oakwood, studied at The Ohio State University and has spent over 15 years working with Dayton-area employers on payroll and compliance.

The firm was built on the belief that a nationally recognized payroll platform works best when paired with hands-on service from a nearby team rather than a distant call center. Its office is in The Hub within the downtown Dayton Arcade, and weekday visits are by appointment.

Payroll services

Clients run payroll through an online dashboard in a short sequence. They open the dashboard, enter hours and pay, then review a preview before approving. The preview step is meant to catch mistakes before funds move. Core payroll capabilities include:

• Calculation, deposit, filing and reconciliation of payroll taxes, plus handling agency questions about returns the firm has filed
• Four pay methods: checks printed by the client, checks produced through ADP, direct deposit and Wisely pay cards
• Garnishment processing, including child support and creditor orders remitted straight to the recipient
• State new hire reporting
• Journal entry exports to QuickBooks, Xero, Creative Solutions or a generic file
• More than 15 standard online reports, along with custom report building
• ACA dashboards, calculators and reporting
• Employee self-service access on PC and mobile

For Ohio employers, the firm pays Bureau of Workers' Compensation installments for the client and submits the annual payroll report. Where eligible, it helps clients pursue a 53% premium discount. It also lists private Ohio workers' compensation coverage and coverage in all 50 states. Other offerings include retirement guidance for Simple IRA and 401(k) plans, healthcare guidance covering Healthcare.gov and employer-sponsored options, and federal and state labor law posters.

HR, hiring and timekeeping

The 937 Get Hired tool lets employers push openings to several job boards and social media. Employers can also search a resume database, screen applicants by video and audio, and book interviews automatically. Onboarding is handled electronically. It supports custom documents, background checks built into the workflow, E-Verify, screening for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and digital employee files.

HR support runs through HR411, which offers handbook and job description wizards, toolkits, a help desk, a compliance database and audit tools. Timekeeping options range from PC and mobile clock-ins to wall-mounted kiosks with fingerprint or facial recognition. These include geofencing, scheduling, job costing, time-off requests and a direct connection to payroll.

Team and credentials

The staff is small and locally rooted, organized into client teams. Team members hold professional credentials such as CPP, FPC, SPHR, PHR and aPHR. Vice President Alec Snead, CPP, was the first employee. Client Success Manager Rebecca Rodriguez, CPP, oversees implementation for new and existing accounts. Compliance and HR specialists round out the group. For Cincinnati-area buyers, the firm is a regional option that combines certified payroll expertise with a personal service model.

DCS Accounting and Tax, LLC is an accounting practice based in Beavercreek, Ohio, that combines payroll work with bookkeeping, accounting and income tax support. The firm reports more than two decades of experience. It concentrates on new ventures and smaller companies, and it also serves individuals and households. For a business owner comparing payroll providers, the firm's appeal is that wage processing sits inside a broader set of financial services. Payroll is not sold as a standalone software subscription.

Payroll and Accounting Services

Payroll processing is one of the core offerings named on the firm's website. It is listed alongside the routine accounting tasks that small employers usually need handled together. Because the same team keeps the books and prepares the tax returns, wage data, ledger entries and year-end filings can be managed in one place rather than split across several vendors. The firm's published services include:

• Payroll processing for small and growing employers
• Bookkeeping on a monthly, quarterly or yearly schedule
• Maintenance of the general ledger and preparation of financial statements
• Help setting up and supporting accounting systems
• Cash flow budgets and forecasts
• Personal financial statements
• Corporate and personal accounting

Tax Planning and Preparation

Alongside its bookkeeping and payroll work, DCS offers tax management for both businesses and individuals. Its staff advise clients on planning and preparation decisions, with the aim of keeping tax liabilities as low as the rules permit. The firm says it researches changes in the tax code so clients can benefit from new opportunities.

It prepares and electronically files returns and draws on its familiarity with federal requirements and with Ohio's state tax rules. For employers, this matters because payroll records feed directly into business tax filings, and an outside firm that sees both can spot problems before they reach a return.

Who They Work With

The firm describes its client base as ranging from start-ups to established enterprises, with particular attention to newer and smaller businesses. Those clients often need help building a workable accounting setup from scratch, and DCS lists initial system setup and cost-containment among the areas where it can support them. It also serves families and individuals with personal accounting and income tax returns. A business owner can therefore keep both company and household finances with one advisor.

How They Work With Clients

DCS presents itself as a hands-on partner that works alongside clients toward their financial goals, rather than a high-volume processing center. Prospective clients can reach the firm by phone or email, or through an online inquiry form. The firm states it typically responds to form submissions within one to two business days and keeps submitted information private.

The practice operates from Beavercreek in the Dayton area, which suits employers in Greene County and nearby communities who prefer a local accountant handling their payroll. Buyers who want an outsourced bookkeeper and tax preparer that also runs payroll may find this bundled, small-firm model a practical fit.

Essex & Associates is an accounting and tax firm in Dayton, Ohio, close to Kettering on the city's south side. It serves both individuals and businesses. For companies looking for an outside payroll provider, the firm offers payroll processing as one part of a wider set of tax, bookkeeping and advisory services. That suits business owners who would rather have one firm handle their payroll, books and tax returns than use several vendors.

Payroll and Related Business Services

The firm's payroll service is built around running payroll on time and getting the figures right, so owners can spend less time on administrative work. Because the same office also prepares business tax returns and manages sales tax, payroll data can feed into the company's wider compliance work instead of being handled separately.

Businesses that have no in-house accounting staff, or whose current bookkeeping setup no longer keeps up, can also hand off their bookkeeping and write-up work. As a company grows, the team helps adjust its accounting and financial systems to fit.

• Payroll processing for small and growing businesses
• Bookkeeping and write-up services
• Business tax returns for partnerships, S corporations and C corporations
• Sales tax compliance support
• Business consulting, including choosing an entity and buying or selling a business
• Representation during IRS audits and other IRS contact

Individual and Planning Services

Beyond business clients, Essex & Associates prepares personal income tax returns, sets up estates and trusts to make things easier for beneficiaries, and offers retirement planning based on each client's goals. Its financial analysis service gives clients a clear view of where they stand financially, which they can then use to plan toward their goals. The firm says its focus is on tax strategies aimed at building wealth over the long term, not just filing returns each year.

Background and Leadership

Wayne T. Essex founded the firm in 2004 and describes it as a faith-based practice. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance from Wright State University, an MBA from Liberty University and a doctorate from Louisiana Baptist University. He also teaches an introductory personal income tax course at Edison Community College and speaks at public events about why filing taxes matters. The firm describes itself as one of the larger accounting practices in Ohio.

How the Firm Works With Clients

Essex & Associates presents itself as an advisor that stays available to clients, helping them make informed financial decisions and building relationships meant to last for years. It says it is big enough to offer a full range of professional services but small enough to give each client personal attention.

Staff are expected to keep up their training to strengthen their technical and financial knowledge. Clients usually book appointments through the office. Its mission emphasizes integrity, care and sound judgment in the financial solutions it provides. For Kettering-area employers comparing payroll providers, the firm's main draw is having payroll, bookkeeping, tax and IRS representation all at one local office.

Kincaid & Forsthoefel CPAs, Inc. is a certified public accounting practice based in Kettering, Ohio. It serves small and mid-sized businesses, individuals, partnerships and community associations. Payroll is not its only line of work. The firm offers payroll tax services within a broader accounting relationship, and its contact directory names a dedicated staff contact for that work.

Buyers who want payroll compliance handled by the same advisors who prepare their financial statements and business tax returns may find this combined approach convenient.

Services

The firm's work centers on accounting, tax and advisory support for companies that want more time to run their operations. Its published service areas include:

• Payroll tax services
• Financial statement preparation, reviews and compilations
• Year-round tax planning along with return preparation
• Consulting on decisions such as leasing versus buying, cash flow effects of mergers, internal controls and human resources matters
• Setup, training and troubleshooting for QuickBooks and Peachtree
• Personal financial planning, including college and retirement goals
• Trust and estate tax work

How They Work With Clients

The firm describes a hands-on relationship. Staff can help a new business draft its plan, attend meetings with its lender and get its bookkeeping software running. For companies that keep their own books, the team provides training, steps in on difficult entries and reviews the financial data periodically to check progress toward stated goals.

Tax planning happens throughout the year to help limit liabilities, and the partners coordinate with outside attorneys and financial planners when clients need it. The firm generally bills by the time spent on each engagement.

Industries Served

The client base includes healthcare and health services providers, construction contractors, restaurants, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and real estate holding companies. Condominium and homeowner associations are a notable specialty. For these groups the firm handles tax filings, annual reports and attendance at yearly meetings, sets up initial budgets and advises on reserve funding. It also helps associations through the handover from the developer.

Background and Credentials

Michael Kincaid and William Forsthoefel founded the practice on October 1, 1977. Both graduated from Wright State University and were licensed as CPAs in 1976. Kincaid previously served as controller for a motel group, where he oversaw financial reporting and a sizable office staff. He now acts as the firm's tax partner.

Forsthoefel came from a Dayton accounting practice that focused on audits and tax work, and he serves as managing partner. He has also held treasurer roles with a regional homeowner association education group and a Montgomery County hearing and speech nonprofit. He kept parish books for twelve years as well.

Jennifer Baglio, licensed in 1991, joined in 1994 after auditing nonprofits in Atlanta and became a partner in 1999. She is a certified QuickBooks specialist and a premier advisor in Sage's Peachtree accountant program.

The firm has three CPAs supported by several staff members. All of the partners belong to the Ohio Society of CPAs, and the firm is affiliated with the National Network of Accountants, which gives it access to outside financial planning specialists.

Overview

ML Logan & Associates LLC is a Dayton, Ohio accounting and tax practice led by Michael (Mike) Logan. The firm works with small businesses and individuals across the Dayton area, including nearby Kettering, Oakwood and Centerville. It offers payroll processing as part of a broader set of accounting, bookkeeping and tax services. This lets employers keep wage administration, books and tax filings with one local provider instead of splitting them among several vendors.

Payroll and Business Services

Payroll is one of the firm's core business offerings. The practice presents it as tailored to each employer rather than sold as a fixed package. The firm also handles payroll tax problems through its tax resolution work, which helps owners who have fallen behind on employment tax deposits or filings. Related business services listed on its site include:

• Payroll services and payroll tax problem resolution
• Small business accounting and bookkeeping
• Part-time CFO services and cash flow management
• New business formation and business consulting
• Internal controls and support for non-profit organizations
• Audits, reviews and compilations
• QuickBooks setup, training and tune-ups, plus discounted QuickBooks purchases

Tax and IRS Representation

Tax work makes up a large share of the practice. The firm prepares returns and plans ahead to limit what clients owe. It also represents clients in IRS matters such as audits, unfiled returns, back taxes, liens, levies, installment agreements and offers in compromise, and it can help clients obtain their IRS file.

For individuals, the firm offers retirement planning, estate planning and elder care assistance. The elder care service is aimed at families who want a trustworthy advocate watching over an aging relative's finances.

Background and Approach

Mike Logan has more than three decades of experience in accounting and management. His career includes years of military service and a decade as an IRS agent, along with more than 15 years of tax accounting and audit work. That government-side perspective can be valuable to employers dealing with payroll tax notices or examinations.

Logan describes himself as a Christian accountant and openly links his practice to faith-based values of honesty and integrity, a theme that also appears in the symbols built into the firm's logo. The firm says it is guided by professionalism, responsiveness and quality.

Unlike seasonal tax shops, the practice is open throughout the year. Clients can reach the owner with accounting or tax questions outside of filing season. New clients can start with a free consultation, and existing clients exchange documents through a secure online portal and file upload page. The firm also publishes a monthly newsletter, tax guides and financial calculators for clients who want to stay informed.

Who It Fits

The firm suits Dayton-area small business owners who want a hands-on, owner-led accountant to run payroll alongside bookkeeping and tax compliance, and who value direct access to the principal rather than a call center. Likely beneficiaries include:

• Businesses already using QuickBooks
• Startups forming a new entity
• Nonprofits
• Employers with unresolved payroll tax issues

PayXact, Ltd. is a payroll service provider based in the Centerville area south of Dayton, Ohio. It runs payroll for businesses remotely. Rather than selling do-it-yourself software, the firm does the processing work for its clients, with a focus on accurate paychecks and correct tax handling. This suits employers who would rather hand off payroll administration than manage it in-house. PayXact shares its contact details with CompuBooks, Ltd., a related bookkeeping and QuickBooks consulting practice.

How PayXact works with clients

The company describes its offering as customizable. Each employer's setup is shaped around its own pay schedules, deductions and reporting needs instead of a single template. PayXact's own staff handle onboarding. They configure the account to the client's specifications and register it with the relevant tax agencies, so the business starts out compliant at the federal, state and local levels.

Once payroll is running, clients can send each pay period's information whichever way suits them: through an online portal, by fax or by phone. Because the work is done remotely, in-person meetings are by appointment. New clients can start with a no-cost consultation to discuss their needs.

Services and tools

Beyond core payroll processing, PayXact bundles several related services that buyers often get from separate vendors:

• Payroll processing with online, fax or telephone data entry
• Preparation and filing of federal, state and local payroll taxes
• Complete account setup and tax registration handled by staff
• Direct deposit and pay card options for employee wages
• Online access for employers and employees to pay records and reports
• Automated timekeeping that captures and approves hours, then feeds them into payroll
• Electronic new hire onboarding, where new employees complete forms, handbooks and agreements through an emailed portal link
• Annual labor law poster subscription with emailed updates when required notices change

The paperless design is a notable part of the package. Electronic wage payments and web-based records aim to remove printed checks and paper reports from the workplace. Managers and staff can also look up their own payroll information at any time. The timekeeping module helps control labor costs by letting supervisors review hours before they are imported for processing, which can cut manual data entry and errors.

What sets the firm apart

PayXact positions itself around reliability, tax expertise and responsive support. Its stated philosophy is that owners should be free to focus on running and growing their companies while payroll specialists handle the details. It promises clients ongoing access to knowledgeable staff for questions and guidance, and it commits to accuracy and regulatory compliance in its processing.

For employers comparing payroll providers, the firm offers hands-on service from a local company along with online access, timekeeping integration, digital onboarding and compliance posters. That mix may be a practical alternative to large national payroll companies. Its website does not name specific industries, so it appears to serve a general mix of businesses.

Sanderson Accounting, Inc. is a CPA-led accounting and tax practice based in Beavercreek, Ohio. It serves individuals and companies across the greater Dayton region. Business owners comparing payroll providers should know that it is a full-service accounting office rather than a dedicated payroll bureau. Payroll is one part of a wider set of bookkeeping, tax and advisory work. That suits owners who want wage processing, compliance and their general ledger handled by the same accountants who also prepare their returns.

Payroll and Compliance Support

On its business services page, the firm lists handling payroll among the tasks it takes off an owner's plate. It also points to the risk of falling out of step with federal and state payroll obligations, along with sales and use tax. Its tax relief practice has a specific area for payroll tax problems.

This can help employers who have fallen behind on withholding deposits or filings and need help sorting matters out with the IRS. Related offerings include IRS payment plans, help with back taxes owed, and preparing returns that were never filed.

• Payroll handling as part of ongoing business accounting
• Guidance on federal and state payroll compliance
• Resolution of payroll tax problems and IRS payment arrangements
• Bookkeeping and small business accounting
• Part-time CFO, cash flow management and business advisory work
• Help forming new businesses, plus work for non-profit organizations
• QuickBooks setup, training, tune-ups and troubleshooting

Accounting Software and Industries

Much of the firm's day-to-day work runs through accounting software. It can set up a client's books in either QuickBooks or Sage 50, train staff to use the program, answer questions as they come up, and review files that have drifted out of order.

For a smaller employer whose payroll lives inside QuickBooks, this support can be as useful as the processing itself. The site names several industries it works with: construction, dental practices, healthcare, hospitality, law firms, manufacturers and real estate.

Background and Team

Ellen Sanderson founded the practice in Beavercreek in 2005. She earned an MBA from Wright State University in 1991. She then managed accounting at two manufacturing companies and spent time at two Dayton CPA firms after becoming a certified public accountant. William Sanderson grew up in Beavercreek and holds a journalism degree from Bowling Green.

He worked for several years as a sports writer before joining the firm, then completed the coursework needed for the CPA exam. He received his CPA certificate in 2017.

Approach to Clients

The firm describes its mission as helping clients understand where they stand financially so they can make sound choices and reach favorable tax results. It stresses open, two-way communication, careful research, and keeping up with changes in tax rules. It also aims to present accounting and tax results in a way clients can readily follow.

Clients can exchange documents through an online portal and a secure file transfer tool. Beyond business work, the office prepares individual returns, offers tax planning and projections, and handles estate and trust filings. It also provides personal financial, retirement and wealth planning. A business owner can therefore keep both company and household finances with one local team.

Tax Retriever Inc. is a public accounting practice in Beavercreek, Ohio. It works with individuals and small businesses on taxes, bookkeeping and payroll. The firm was founded in 2012 and is led by Taylor Herrick, an Enrolled Agent.

It aims to be a single point of contact for owners who want their compliance work handled together rather than split across several vendors. Buyers comparing payroll providers should see it as a small, credentialed tax office that includes payroll and payroll tax work within a broader accounting relationship.

Payroll and related services

Payroll is one of the firm's core offerings, alongside bookkeeping. Its tax preparation list also names payroll tax returns. This suits small employers who want the team that keeps their books and files their business return to handle payroll filings as well.

The firm also deals with notices and correspondence that arise from this work at the federal, state and local levels. That can matter to an employer who gets a letter from a taxing agency about withholding or deposits. Services include:

• Payroll and payroll tax return preparation
• Bookkeeping, billed by the hour
• Business tax preparation for sole proprietors, partnerships, S corporations and C corporations
• Tax planning and consulting
• Audit support and representation
• Negotiation of tax debt, including payment plans and settlements
• Sales tax and highway use tax filings
• Guidance on entity structure for new ventures
• Notary services

Beyond business work, the office prepares personal, rental, limited estate and limited trust returns. Fees depend on which forms are needed and how complex the engagement is.

Team and credentials

Taylor Herrick, EA, is authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS and serves as senior public accountant. Herrick holds a bachelor's degree in financial services, with a minor in marketing, from Wright State University. Herrick is also a member of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor program, an Ohio notary and eligible to teach tax courses.

The founder has more than two decades in public accounting and over 8,000 prepared returns. Accountant Jared (Taylor) Bytendorp is a registered PTIN preparer who focuses on return preparation, research and scheduling. Both staff members take part in the IRS Annual Filing Season Program.

The firm says it completes at least 24 hours of training on tax code changes each year.

How the firm works with clients

The office operates year-round rather than only during filing season. It often offers non-standard hours and can arrange weekend appointments on request for clients who work during the day. Clients can meet in person in private consultation rooms or work remotely through secure portals. Signatures and payments can be handled electronically by phone or computer. The firm reports experience with returns for every state and serves clients elsewhere in Ohio and abroad.

Locally, it serves Beavercreek, Dayton, Fairborn, Kettering, Xenia, Centerville, Bellbrook, Huber Heights and nearby communities. The entrance is handicap accessible. In keeping with its name, the office sometimes has a therapy dog present to help ease anxious clients, and the dog can be kept away for anyone who prefers.

Businesses looking for a large-scale payroll platform may find this practice smaller than national providers. Owners who want direct access to an Enrolled Agent for payroll, bookkeeping and tax matters will find those functions combined in one office.

UAI Accounting and Tax Services is an accounting and tax practice based in Beavercreek, Ohio. It serves businesses and individuals across Dayton and the wider Miami Valley. For companies comparing payroll providers, the firm offers outsourced payroll processing aimed mainly at small businesses. Its clients range from solo owners who pay only themselves to organizations with around two hundred workers.

Payroll sits alongside bookkeeping, tax preparation and human resource support, so clients can keep several back-office functions with a single local team.

Payroll services

The firm handles the full cycle of running payroll, from initial setup through year-end reporting. Its published payroll offering includes:

• Establishing and maintaining payroll records
• Tabulating employee time cards
• Withholding for taxes, benefit contributions and wage garnishments
• I-9 eligibility verification for new hires
• EFTPS deposits and federal, state and local payroll tax returns
• Workers' compensation reporting
• Applying for tax identification numbers
• Configuring retirement, cafeteria and health plan deductions and payments
• Paper checks or direct deposit, plus W-2 preparation
• After-the-fact payroll reporting
• Onboarding new staff, including new hire reporting
• Employee background checks

The list covers compliance work such as garnishments, I-9 verification and new hire reporting as well as routine processing. The firm presents the service as a way for owners to hand off the administrative burden and spend their time on the parts of the business only they can manage. Payroll also appears among the firm's bookkeeping tasks. Bookkeeping clients can add 1099 preparation, budgeting and forecasting help, and financial files produced monthly, quarterly, annually or whenever needed.

Background and credentials

The company began in 2009 as Updegraff Accounting Incorporated. At first it did contract work for clients of a large Dayton accounting firm. During 2011 it shifted toward building its own client roster, cut ties with that firm at the end of April, and adopted the UAI Accounting and Tax Services name that August.

Founder and CEO Stephen Updegraff is an Indiana Wesleyan University graduate. His career includes leading accounting, finance and HR departments for companies in construction and personal care, as well as positions at several tax and accounting firms.

He is a federally licensed Enrolled Agent, a credential that allows him to act for taxpayers before every administrative level of the IRS in audit, collection and appeal matters.

How the firm works with clients

UAI emphasizes being physically present in the Dayton area rather than operating as a distant national processor. It describes its goal as building lasting relationships that simplify clients' work and save them time and money. For business clients, its stated purpose is to keep books accurate and payroll compliant.

It supports this with year-round tax planning and forecasting rather than a filing-season-only approach. The firm names honesty, integrity, faith, family and professional knowledge among its core values. Buyers who want payroll bundled with tax representation, bookkeeping and HR guidance from a small local practice may find this combination useful.