Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Newark, OH

DWA Tax Consultants is a tax advisory and accounting practice in Newark, Ohio, led by principal Corey D. Wills, an Enrolled Agent who also holds the CTRS designation. The firm presents itself as a year-round planning partner for small and growing businesses. It brings payroll, bookkeeping, tax work and CFO-level support together in a single relationship.

For buyers comparing payroll providers, the main difference is that payroll is not sold as a standalone processing product. It is treated as one part of a wider tax and cash-flow strategy.

Payroll and Compensation Services

The firm sets up payroll arrangements to fit each client's operation. It is aimed at owners who find that handling employee pay is taking time away from running the company. DWA goes beyond processing and links payroll to planning.

It advises owners on how to structure their own pay and helps businesses that are taking on staff understand the tax consequences. It also assists with payroll tax compliance, human resource questions and sales and use tax duties. Companies that already use another payroll setup can have the team coordinate with it, so that filings and returns stay consistent.

• Payroll solutions sized to the business
• Owner compensation and payroll planning
• Payroll tax compliance support
• Coordination with existing payroll and bookkeeping systems
• Bookkeeping and QuickBooks optimization
• CFO and advisory services

How the Firm Works With Clients

DWA describes its model as forward-looking rather than historical. Many accountants mainly document what already happened. This firm instead stays in contact with clients across the year to limit surprises before year-end. That work includes income forecasting, estimated tax planning, advice on entity choice and business structure, and input before major moves. Examples include hiring, buying equipment or making investments.

The aim is to show owners how a decision will affect taxes, cash flow and longer-term goals before they commit to it.

Alongside payroll, the practice offers bookkeeping for owners whose records have fallen behind. It helps QuickBooks users get more out of the software and prepares business and individual tax returns. It also prepares income tax returns for estates and trusts and provides wealth management built around a comprehensive financial plan. Clients who have made errors on past returns can get help resolving disputes with the IRS. Documents and 1099 information are exchanged through dedicated online portals.

Team and Credentials

Because the principal is an Enrolled Agent, the firm can represent taxpayers before the IRS. This covers return preparation, tax advice, audits and appeals. The staff includes senior accountants Elizabeth Cavinee and Charles Williams, with David Fryman joining as a seasonal senior accountant.

Tier II accountants Gail Burrier, CPA, and Meridi Bosley are on the team, as is accountant and bookkeeper Laura Moore. Jenna Finehout manages client relationships, Kelley Andrews handles client support, processing and billing, and Ruth Holmes oversees quality assurance. The firm says it aims to combine the personal attention of a small office with the depth of a larger practice.

That makes it a fit for Licking County employers who want payroll handled by advisors who also manage their tax planning.

Overview

Rea Business Advisors is an Ohio-based accounting and advisory firm whose Newark location, opened in 2020, gives Licking County employers a nearby point of contact. For buyers evaluating payroll providers, Rea is best understood as a full-service CPA firm in which payroll processing sits inside a broader outsourced accounting offering, rather than as a stand-alone payroll bureau. That structure suits companies that want wages, books and tax work coordinated by one team.

Payroll and Outsourced Accounting

Payroll is delivered through the firm's Accounting & CFO Services group, which takes on the entire pay cycle so employees are paid correctly and on schedule while compliance obligations are tracked by the firm. A practical detail for organizations already invested in a system: Rea operates payroll on whichever platform the client currently uses, so switching software is not a precondition. Payroll can be bundled with related work, including:

• Monthly bookkeeping and month-end close handled by an accounting and controller team
• Fractional CFO support such as cash flow forecasting, budgeting, KPI dashboards and financial analysis
• Tax-ready accounting that keeps records organized for year-end filing
• QuickBooks Online setup, bill pay integration and connections to third-party tools

The group concentrates on privately held companies with annual revenue in roughly the one to fifty million dollar range, a size where in-house finance staff is often thin. Engagements are run remotely on cloud systems, with QuickBooks Online as the primary platform, and clients can begin with basic accounting and later layer on controller review or CFO-level planning as they grow. Prospective clients are offered an introductory 30-minute conversation to assess where their financial function stands.

Industries and Wider Services

Rea highlights experience in construction and real estate, dental practices, government entities, manufacturing and distribution, and not-for-profit organizations, along with professional services firms on the accounting side.

Beyond payroll, the firm provides audits, employee benefit plan (ERISA) audits, retirement plan consulting, business and state and local tax work, valuation, transaction and litigation advisory, plus managed IT and security through an affiliated unit and wealth management through a related company.

Employers that sponsor a 401(k) or similar plan may find value in having payroll, benefit plan audit and retirement plan consulting available from the same organization.

Background and Local Presence

The firm traces its roots to 1938, when founder Richard Rea started the practice in New Philadelphia, Ohio, by setting up accounting systems for businesses that needed reliable numbers to secure bank financing.

It has since expanded to more than a dozen offices across Ohio plus locations in Sarasota and Tampa, Florida, is ranked in Inside Public Accounting's Top 100 list, and is a member of the BDO Alliance USA.

The Newark office is led by Principal Doug Houser and Managing Director Jared Cottrell and works with clients in Licking, Knox, Franklin, Fairfield, Muskingum, Perry and Delaware counties, giving central Ohio employers local access to the resources of a larger regional firm.

Solutions Bookkeeping Plus is a Newark, Ohio firm that provides payroll processing, bookkeeping, tax preparation and tax planning to self-employed people and small business owners. Its office is on North Park Place in downtown Newark.

Nearly all client work is handled remotely, so the firm can support companies in Granville, Heath, Utica, Mount Vernon and Newark itself, across Licking and Knox counties, as well as owners located well outside the region. For buyers comparing payroll providers, the key point is that payroll here is not a standalone product.

It is run together with the client's books so that wage, tax and ledger records match.

Payroll and related services

The firm runs payroll entirely remotely and coordinates it with monthly bookkeeping. This reduces the reconciliation gaps that can appear when payroll and accounting are handled by separate vendors. Clients can also draw on a broader set of financial services:

• Remote payroll processing tied to the general ledger
• Full-service bookkeeping with monthly account reconciliations
• Cleanup of disorganized or long-ignored books
• Business tax filing prepared in-house by an Enrolled Agent
• Year-end tax advisory covering entity choice, owner pay, estimated payments and depreciation timing
• QuickBooks Online setup, conversion from Desktop editions or other accounting software, ongoing support and staff training
• Business consulting, planning, budgeting and forecasting
• Guidance for new business start-ups

How the firm works

Every engagement runs on QuickBooks Online. The team chose the cloud platform so it can reach client files at any hour and from any location. Moving a business onto QuickBooks Online is offered at no charge, and the monthly software subscription is bundled into the firm's fee rather than billed separately. Owners can choose how involved they want to be.

The team can train in-house staff to manage the software, or it can take over entirely and act as an outsourced controller and bookkeeper. New relationships begin with a complimentary consultation that carries no commitment, and the founder handles incoming phone calls personally. The office keeps weekday hours plus Saturday availability through early afternoon.

Team and credentials

Founder Ken Kulakowski spent three decades consulting for and owning small businesses before starting the firm. He says he noticed that many owners lacked a clear way to read their own financials, saw their accountant rarely, or relied on helpers who were still learning. He set up the practice to address those gaps.

Accountant Karen King has held the Enrolled Agent designation, the top credential issued by the IRS, for 40 years. She is also certified as a ProAdvisor on both the online and desktop editions of QuickBooks. The business itself holds Advanced Certified ProAdvisor status for QuickBooks Online.

Both team members have owned businesses, which the firm says helps it understand client concerns. Together they bring roughly 70 years of combined experience.

What distinguishes the practice is that payroll, bookkeeping and tax work all sit with the same small team. As a result, tax advice draws on current figures instead of records rebuilt at filing time. Client reviews mention help responding to notices from the IRS and the unemployment office.

They also describe a QuickBooks Desktop-to-Online migration and training for a Newark church, and ongoing support for real estate businesses and an auto repair shop. The firm reports a 5.0 rating across 21 Google reviews.