Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Springfield, OH

Overview

Ascension Advisory and Accounting Groups is an accounting and tax firm based in Springfield, Ohio. It works with business owners, executives and individual taxpayers. Its website does not present payroll as a standalone product line. Instead, the firm treats payroll support as one part of a wider accounting relationship that also covers bookkeeping, tax work and financial management.

Buyers who want payroll handled alongside their books and tax filings, rather than through a separate software-only vendor, may find this combined approach a useful point of comparison.

Payroll-Related Services

The firm's business services page says its team handles payroll for clients as part of keeping company finances in order. The page also asks whether owners are meeting their state and federal payroll obligations, along with sales and use tax requirements. Several payroll-adjacent services appear across the site:

• Payroll handling for business clients as part of ongoing accounting support
• Payroll tax compliance, which is included in the firm's outsourced CFO and controller engagements alongside sales and use tax
• Help resolving payroll tax problems with the IRS, listed under its tax relief services
• Related IRS matters such as liens, levies, wage garnishment, payment plans and offers in compromise

The site does not name a specific payroll platform, pricing structure or employee self-service tool. Prospective clients should ask the firm directly about processing frequency, direct deposit and year-end form preparation.

Accounting, Advisory and Tax Work

Beyond payroll, the firm offers:

• Bookkeeping and general accounting for smaller and growing companies
• Cash flow projections and strategic planning support
• Help setting up new businesses
• Reviews of internal controls
• Guidance for nonprofit organizations on keeping their tax-exempt status

Its fractional CFO or controller service gives companies a part-time financial manager. That person can produce financial statements on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, build forecasts and manage payables and receivables. They can also set up accounting systems and controls and advise on profitability. On the tax side, the firm prepares returns for individuals, businesses, estates and trusts and offers proactive tax planning. It also represents clients in IRS audits and collection matters, including unfiled returns and back taxes.

Software and Systems Experience

The firm reports more than five decades of combined experience with accounting and ERP platforms such as QuickBooks, Sage and Great Plains. It says it helps clients implement new systems and upgrade or improve existing ones. It also continues day-to-day accounting in whichever system the client prefers. For employers whose payroll data feeds into the general ledger, this familiarity with common accounting software may make integration and reconciliation simpler.

Working With the Firm

Ascension operates from an office in Springfield, Ohio. Clients get a secure, password-protected online portal for storing and retrieving financial documents. The firm also offers online invoice payment and a secure file-sending tool. It describes its tax approach as efficient, affordable and discreet, and it says it puts the needs of clients ahead of everything else.

For business clients, its stated aim is to take routine financial tasks off the owner's plate so they can concentrate on operations. Springfield-area companies comparing payroll providers may want to consider Ascension if they prefer a single accounting partner that connects payroll, tax compliance and broader financial oversight.

LWS Tax & Accounting is an accounting practice in downtown Springfield, Ohio. It offers payroll processing as well as tax preparation and bookkeeping. Its office is in the historic News Sun Building on North Limestone Street. The firm started as a small local business, and it says its clients now come from many parts of the country. That means it works with employers in the area and with businesses far outside Clark County.

Payroll services

Payroll is run by the firm's own internal staff instead of being passed to an outside processor. The team first learns how each client pays its workers and then builds a process to fit. Its work covers initial setup, ongoing administration and the required regulatory filings. The firm puts flexibility at the center of its offer and says the team can handle unusual pay arrangements. The payroll offering includes:

• Payroll runs on weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly schedules
• Quarterly payroll tax returns
• Year-end W-2 forms for staff
• 1099 forms for independent contractors
• Direct deposit of wages
• Delivery of payroll
• Electronic reporting
• A mobile app for employees

Because payroll sits alongside the firm's other services, an employer can move several back-office tasks to one provider. LWS prepares business tax returns and looks for legitimate deductions. It also keeps the books and produces financial statements that are meant to be easy to read. The firm prepares personal returns too, which helps owners who want their own filings and their company's filings handled in one place.

Specialties and clients

One specialty stands out: professional disc golf. The firm calls itself enthusiastic about the sport and offers a separate service for people who work in it. Pro disc golfer Ricky Wysocki appears among its client testimonials. He credits the team with easing his tax and payroll workload and with understanding the details of how his business works.

Another testimonial comes from the owner of New Life Media. As a new business owner, he expected a large tax bill and says he received a refund instead.

Background and team

Blake Shaffer founded the firm in 2008. His goal was to make tax and accounting work feel more approachable. The initials LWS honor his son, Landon William Shaffer, who was born with Menkes Disease, a genetic disorder, and died in 2022. The firm describes Landon's resilience as its central inspiration. Shaffer is still the owner and president.

Partner Brian Plank manages individual tax and payroll, and the payroll group also includes two payroll specialists, Nancy Worley and Allie Comer. Marilyn Morrison-Manning leads accounting and Andrew Young leads business tax, both as partners. The rest of the staff includes senior, staff and junior accountants, an account manager, administrative support personnel and Levi King, an Enrolled Agent.

What sets LWS apart is a deliberate effort to break the stereotype of a dry, formal accounting office. The firm mixes humor with professional rigor and wants clients to find the process low-stress and even pleasant. For employers comparing payroll providers, it offers an internal payroll team, flexible pay schedules and compliance filings, along with tax and bookkeeping support from a single Springfield office.

Overview

Minette Tax & Accounting Service LLC is a small accounting and tax practice based in downtown Springfield, Ohio. Enrolled Agent Kimberly Minette founded the firm in 2011. It works with both private individuals and companies. Payroll processing is one part of a broader menu that also covers bookkeeping, tax filing and IRS matters.

Some local employers would rather keep payroll, books and tax returns under one roof. For them, the practice offers a single point of contact who knows the whole financial picture.

Payroll and Bookkeeping Support

The firm lists payroll among its core offerings and pairs it with ongoing bookkeeping and write-up work. This pairing can help owners of smaller businesses, because wage records feed directly into the general ledger and later into the year-end business return. Clients who keep their own books in QuickBooks can get hands-on help with the software.

That may suit companies that want to keep some control in-house while handing off the more technical pieces. Beyond routine payroll, the practice advises on staff retirement and benefit arrangements, including pension and profit-sharing plans. This gives employers a resource when they are planning compensation beyond the paycheck.

Services relevant to employers include:

• Payroll processing for business clients
• Bookkeeping and write-up of accounting records
• QuickBooks guidance and troubleshooting
• Support with employee benefit, pension and profit-sharing plans
• Business tax preparation and filing
• Cash flow review, budgeting, projections and forecasting
• Advice on choosing or restructuring a business entity

Tax and IRS Resolution Work

Tax work makes up a large share of the practice. The firm prepares and files returns for individuals and businesses, and it also handles estate and trust returns. For taxpayers who have fallen behind, it provides representation before the IRS. It also helps negotiate settlements, including offers in compromise aimed at clearing outstanding tax debt and back taxes.

Payroll tax problems are a common source of IRS trouble for small employers. Having a credentialed representative already involved with a company's payroll can therefore be a practical advantage.

Background and Credentials

Kimberly Minette completed coursework in accounting and management at Wittenberg University. She then spent about thirteen years, from 1998 until 2011, at a local CPA firm, building experience in both accounting and taxation before opening her own practice. In 2005 she earned the Enrolled Agent designation.

This credential is granted by the IRS and lets holders represent taxpayers before the agency. The firm operates from a single office on South Limestone Street and gives clients access to an online client portal.

Working With the Firm

The practice presents its modest size as a benefit. Clients deal with the same person rather than being passed between departments of a larger organization. Ms. Minette makes a point of learning about each client's circumstances, so services can be shaped around what a given household or business actually needs, whatever the size of the engagement.

Prospective clients are invited to start with a consultation. Buyers comparing payroll providers in the Springfield area may find the firm a good fit if they want a local, owner-led practice that can tie payroll to bookkeeping, tax compliance and IRS representation.