Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Milwaukee, WI

AM Accounting is a CPA-led firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that has served individuals, small businesses and nonprofit organizations since its founding in 1997. Payroll is one part of a broader practice that also covers tax preparation, tax planning, tax resolution and ongoing outsourced accounting. Buyers comparing payroll providers should know that the firm treats payroll as part of each client's overall tax and compliance picture, not as a separate stand-alone job.

Payroll Services

The firm aims to give small employers a dependable, repeatable payroll routine so owners spend less time on administration. Its staff handle the complete pay cycle, from figuring gross wages and deductions through to filing returns with tax agencies and producing annual employee forms. The team monitors changes in federal, Wisconsin and local rules so that employer obligations stay current. Payroll work includes:

• Calculating wages and employee withholdings each pay period
• Paying staff by direct deposit or with checks the business can print
• Computing, filing and remitting federal, state and local payroll taxes
• Automated processing options for a streamlined routine
• Year-end payroll reporting

Because the same professionals who process payroll also prepare business returns and keep the books, payroll figures feed directly into the client's accounting and tax planning. The firm presents this connection as a way to cut mistakes and lower compliance exposure. Pricing is tiered by headcount, with a base package covering very small staffs and added charges as employee numbers grow.

Accounting, Advisory and Tax Work

Beyond payroll, AM Accounting offers CAAS, a client accounting and advisory model in which the firm acts as an outsourced finance partner. Instead of only reviewing past results, the team keeps an ongoing relationship with owners, using up-to-date numbers to support planning and decisions.

Support can scale up to virtual CFO-level guidance, giving small companies access to experienced accountants without staffing a full internal department. The firm also prepares individual returns and partnership, S corporation and C corporation returns, and it assists with prior-year filings, extensions, IRS installment arrangements and offers in compromise.

How the Firm Works With Clients

Clients deal directly with their CPA and receive steady, continuing attention rather than piecemeal service. Documents can be submitted through a secure TaxDome online portal or dropped off in person, and the firm offers both office and video appointments. New prospects can request a short complimentary consultation. The stated goal is not just fixing issues as they surface but helping clients prevent them through education and forward-looking planning.

Team and Credentials

Founder Alice Zaganczyk Peterson is a Wisconsin-licensed CPA with more than three decades in tax, accounting and advisory work. She earned a master's degree from UW-Whitewater and belongs to the WICPA, the AICPA and the NATP, and she has particular experience with local nonprofits.

Anna Sheteron, who holds a master's in accounting and tax, has been with the firm for over fifteen years and manages tax, accounting and payroll services, bringing strong QuickBooks and payroll administration skills. Administrative assistant Vanessa Sanchez Lopez performs bookkeeping, coordinates client documents and runs daily office operations. The office is open weekdays during standard business hours.

Overview

Brian D Joyce, CPA is a certified public accounting practice that serves the Milwaukee area from two offices. One is on North 68th Street in Wauwatosa and the other is in Oak Creek. The firm holds a Wisconsin license.

It works mainly with small and growing companies, and also with executives and self-employed professionals who want a single advisor for accounting, tax and payroll. Payroll is one part of a wider practice that also covers bookkeeping, QuickBooks support, tax work and financial advisory engagements.

That may suit employers who want their payroll provider to understand the rest of their books.

Payroll options

The firm presents outsourced payroll as a way for owners to get back the hours they lose each month to calculating wages, tracking rule changes and filing returns. Instead of one fixed package, it describes three ways of working with clients:

• Comprehensive payroll: the firm handles processing from start to finish. This includes laser-printed checks on blank stock built to meet Federal Reserve encoding requirements, and direct deposit at no added cost.
• After-the-fact payroll: for employers who write their own checks by hand, the firm takes those records, enters them into its system and handles the filings that follow.
• Online payroll processing: clients enter hours and earnings through a secure web connection and print checks right away on their own printer. Direct deposit is also available.

All three options include federal and state tax reporting, EFTPS deposits, and monthly, quarterly and annual payroll tax reports. Clients also get year-end W-2s, W-3s and 1099s, accrual tracking for vacation, sick and personal time, state new-hire reporting, and ongoing maintenance of payroll records. For an added charge, the firm can prepare union reports, certified payroll and workers' compensation reporting. These may matter to contractors and other employers with specialized compliance obligations.

Help with payroll tax problems

Beyond routine processing, the practice helps businesses that have fallen behind on payroll tax deposits or returns. Its materials point out that the IRS treats unpaid employee withholding very seriously. Penalties grow quickly, and collection can extend to seizing business assets. The firm urges owners in this position not to deal with the agency alone and offers representation. It also provides related help with liens, levies, wage garnishments, installment arrangements and offers in compromise.

Broader accounting and advisory support

Payroll clients can use other services from the same office. These include small business accounting, QuickBooks setup, training and tune-ups, audits, reviews and compilations, cash flow management, and help with bank financing. The firm also offers business valuation, succession and strategic planning, new business formation, internal controls and work for non-profit organizations.

Its part-time CFO service gives growing companies budgeting, profitability and trend analysis, cash management, supervision of accounting staff, and support in negotiations with lenders and insurers, without the cost of a full-time executive. For individuals, the firm prepares returns and provides tax planning and IRS audit representation.

Working with the firm

Clients get a password-protected online portal for sharing documents. The website also offers newsletters, financial guides, tax calendars and calculators. For employers comparing payroll providers, the main difference is that an accounting practice runs the payroll and can also handle tax planning, bookkeeping and IRS matters. That keeps payroll data and the rest of a company's finances with one team. The firm describes itself as approachable and reasonably priced, with experienced staff.

Contable Tax Group is a Milwaukee accounting practice built around small and mid-sized businesses. Carla Perez founded it in 2019, and it has since added a second location in Waukesha. The firm offers four core services: tax planning, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll. Keeping all four under one roof lets an owner work with a single team rather than juggling several vendors.

Payroll Services

Payroll is handled from start to finish. The firm calculates wages and deductions, pays federal and state payroll taxes ahead of deadlines, and submits the compliance filings that go with them. Employees may receive their pay through direct deposit or a printed check. The firm describes its approach to fees as individualized: each plan is shaped around the client's situation after a discussion of requirements. Payroll clients receive:

• Calculation of wages, deductions and tax withholdings every pay period
• Payment and filing of payroll taxes at the federal and state levels
• W-2 and W-3 forms at year end, along with 1099s where needed
• Quarterly and yearly reporting that supports staffing-cost tracking and budgeting
• Guidance on overtime, worker classification and tip reporting

Industries Served

Clients come from construction, restaurants, real estate, law firms and dental practices, among others, and their workforces may be salaried, hourly or seasonal. Restaurant owners can hand off tip reporting and employee classification questions. Contractors get help with how overtime is paid and how it is taxed. The construction offering extends to roofers, concrete crews, landscapers, painters, homebuilders, subcontractors and remodelers, combining payroll with job-cost insight, tax planning and bookkeeping so owners can see which projects earn the most.

In real estate, the firm supports landlords, agents, investors, property managers, homeowner associations and property flippers. Services there include rent tracking, reconciliations, budgeting, entity selection and 1099 preparation for management companies.

Working Together

New bookkeeping clients begin with an onboarding session in which the team learns about the business and its growth plans. After securing access to banking and business information, the firm builds a bookkeeping system around those goals. Standard deliverables include a balance sheet, cash flow statement, income statement and general ledger, issued quarterly, with more frequent schedules available.

Sales tax reporting is also offered. Documents move through a secure TaxDome account with bank-level encryption, and clients who prefer a personal touch can bring paperwork to the office.

The Team

Carla Perez earned bachelor's degrees in both accounting and Spanish at Mount Mary University in 2016. She works with accounting manager Victoria Lopez, office administrator Lizbeth Sanchez, and Leticia Bustos, who serves as office manager and payroll specialist. Most of the staff are Mount Mary graduates.

Language ability is a point of emphasis: reviewers describe the firm as bilingual and note Perez's Spanish, which can help owners and employees across Milwaukee's Spanish-speaking community. Reviews also praise its patience, responsiveness and clear explanations.

Beyond routine work, the firm says it follows changes in tax law. It also responds to IRS and state notices, helps with new business formation and supports EIN applications.

Giersch Group is a family-run bookkeeping, accounting and consulting firm based in Wisconsin that handles payroll for small businesses, startups and nonprofit organizations. The firm marked ten years in operation with a note of thanks to the roughly 700 clients it has worked with over that period.

Its main office sits in downtown Milwaukee, and it also lists offices in Brookfield and Madison. Clients can meet in person or work with the team entirely online, and the firm takes on engagements from companies across the country.

Payroll Services

For employers weighing whether to hand off payroll, Giersch Group presents outsourcing as a way to cut overhead, free staff for revenue-generating work and stay on the right side of IRS requirements. Its payroll offering covers the routine mechanics of paying a workforce as well as the reporting that follows:

• Configuration and ongoing help with QuickBooks or comparable cloud accounting tools
• Pay delivered by direct deposit or printed check, with pay stubs
• Tracking of attendance and hours, plus calculation of paid time off balances
• Filing of payroll taxes at the local, state and federal levels
• Year-end W-2 forms and 1099 preparation

Processing runs on RUN Powered by ADP, which the firm uses through a partnership with ADP. This arrangement gives the team access to ADP resources while keeping payroll data connected to each client's books. Businesses that already rely on another payroll vendor are not required to switch; when they sign up for bookkeeping, the team coordinates with the existing provider instead.

How They Work With Clients

The firm positions itself against larger payroll companies by emphasizing hands-on training, quick responses to client questions and the personal attention of a smaller family enterprise. Prospective clients can begin with a no-cost consultation by phone, video or at one of the offices.

Because payroll sits alongside a wider set of financial services, a business can start with paychecks and later add other support without changing firms.

Those additional offerings include full accrual bookkeeping, cleanup of disorganized books, monthly and annual financial statements with ratio dashboards, accounts payable management, sales tax and business tax filing, tax planning, and part-time, interim or virtual CFO and controller engagements. The team describes itself as Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors and frequently helps companies move onto QuickBooks Online.

Industries and Background

Giersch Group works with a broad mix of sectors, among them construction contractors, restaurants and bars, medical practices, law firms, retailers, breweries and wineries, salons, trucking companies, real estate professionals, franchises, churches and ministries, and e-commerce sellers.

It also runs a dedicated practice for nonprofits covering bookkeeping, board development and fundraising, and offers consulting on startups, growth, mergers and acquisitions, and family business succession. Many team members grew up in entrepreneurial households, and that background shapes the firm's focus on helping owners understand their numbers and base decisions on data.

Client testimonials describe help with business turnarounds, board leadership and covering accounting duties after a bookkeeper's unexpected departure.

For an employer in the New Berlin area, Giersch Group suits owners who want payroll bundled with bookkeeping and financial advice from a single provider, rather than a standalone payroll platform with limited personal contact.

Groth Accounting is a Wisconsin-licensed accounting practice. It is based in Oconomowoc and also keeps an appointment-only office in Wauwatosa. The firm works mainly with owners of small companies, executives and self-employed professionals across the Milwaukee, Waukesha and Madison areas. For employers looking at payroll providers, its appeal is that it handles payroll alongside bookkeeping, tax work and QuickBooks support. A business can keep wage processing and its broader financial records with a single team.

Payroll and Related Services

The firm sets up payroll arrangements around the needs of each business, so owners spend less time on administrative chores and more on daily operations. It can also help when payroll has gone wrong. Groth Accounting assists employers facing payroll tax problems with the IRS, and its tax relief work covers liens, levies, wage garnishment, payment plans and offers in compromise. Its wider business offering includes:

• Payroll processing solutions for small employers
• Resolution of payroll tax disputes and back taxes owed
• Bookkeeping and ongoing small business accounting
• QuickBooks setup, training, tune-ups and discounted software purchases
• Business and individual tax preparation and tax planning
• IRS audit representation
• Bank financing preparation, succession planning and new business formation

Background and Team

Founder and CEO Robert S. Groth opened the practice in November 2009. He saw growing demand for accounting focused on the owners of smaller firms. He has more than 35 years in tax and accounting and holds the Enrolled Agent credential. He earned a degree in accounting, business and human resources from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1993.

He grew up around the profession, since his father ran an accounting office in Waukesha for over four decades and his mother kept its books. The practice has since grown from no clients to handling more than 850 tax returns. Its staff includes three accountants, two administrative assistants and a customer service specialist.

Named team members include senior accountant Ed Poznanski, accountant Perry Seonbuchner and Christine Groth in administration.

Specialties and Approach

A distinctive niche for the firm is home-based childcare. Robert Groth built expertise in the tax rules affecting daycare operators after his wife opened a family daycare in 1998. Over the following decade he went on to serve more than 150 childcare providers. Client testimonials also mention a law firm that began tracking expenses through monthly profit and loss statements with his guidance.

The practice describes its work as guided by professionalism, responsiveness and quality. It emphasizes personal attention from staff and ongoing professional education. Much of its growth has come through client referrals. Prospective clients can request a no-cost first consultation. Existing clients can share documents through a secure online portal. For Wauwatosa-area employers, the Mayfair Road office offers a local meeting option by appointment, while most day-to-day operations run from the Oconomowoc headquarters.

Nelson Tax Accounting Ltd is a family-run accounting practice on West Oklahoma Avenue on Milwaukee's south side, a short drive from West Allis. It has operated from the same office for more than thirty years. Its clients include individuals, estates, executives, independent contractors and small to mid-sized companies. Tax work is a large part of what it does, but the firm also runs a payroll practice for local employers who do not want to handle processing and compliance themselves.

Payroll Options

The firm treats payroll as a service built around each client rather than a fixed package. Employers can pick one of two arrangements, and either can be adjusted to fit the business:

• Comprehensive payroll: the firm does all of the processing. Checks are laser printed on secure blank stock that meets Federal Reserve encoding standards. Direct deposit is also available. This is the option most clients choose.
• After-the-fact payroll: the employer writes its own checks and sends the records to the firm each month. The firm then takes over the compliance work.

Both arrangements include several core tasks. The firm schedules federal and state tax deposits and prepares easy-to-read payroll tax reports. It files the quarterly returns and the year-end W-2s and 1099s. It also prepares the required new hire reports and keeps organized payroll records, so it can answer questions about past pay quickly.

Compliance and Reporting

A main reason clients outsource to the firm is the risk of costly payroll tax penalties. Federal, state and local rules change often. The firm says it will cover penalties caused by its own errors. Its staff also track new legislation, including Affordable Care Act requirements, on clients' behalf. Beyond standard payroll reports, the firm prepares special filings that agencies may request, such as:

• Workers' compensation audits
• Social Security, child support and unemployment audits
• Union reports
• W-2/W-3 and 1099/1096 processing

Related Business Services

Payroll clients can use the firm for other accounting needs as well. These include ongoing bookkeeping, business and individual tax preparation, tax planning and help resolving IRS problems. The firm also advises on choosing an entity type for a new business and works on succession plans for family-owned companies. It serves non-profit organizations that need to protect their tax-exempt status.

For businesses on QuickBooks, it offers setup, training, troubleshooting and tune-ups, and it sells the software. Its online resources include a guide to the FICA tip credit for salons, barbershops and spas.

Background and Credentials

The National Society of Accountants has recognized the firm's principals for their tax knowledge and research. Mark Nelson Sr received its Tax Talker award in 2012, and Mark Nelson Jr received it in 2015. The team has also taught Affordable Care Act rules to tax preparers across the country.

The firm says its fees are lower than those of the large national payroll companies. It also points to its personal, attentive service. Clients can use a secure online portal and receive a monthly newsletter, and office hours are extended during tax season.

Nolan Accounting Center is an accounting firm based in Greenfield, Wisconsin, that combines payroll processing with bookkeeping, tax work and business advisory support. Its clients are mainly owner-operated small and mid-sized companies in the Milwaukee area, including communities such as Waukesha, Muskego, Greenfield, West Allis and New Berlin. For buyers weighing a dedicated payroll bureau against an accountant-led option, the firm offers payroll as one part of a broader set of financial services handled under one roof.

Payroll Services

Payroll work is run through the firm's in-house division, Payrolls R Us, which has handled employer payrolls across the region for more than three decades.

Rather than offering a single fixed package, its payroll staff and accountants first review how a business pays its people and then build a setup sized to the company today, with room to expand as headcount grows. The stated aim is to help owners keep the expense of producing and distributing pay under control. Its payroll offering covers:

• Printed paychecks for employees
• Electronic direct deposit of wages
• Pay cards (payroll debit cards) for staff
• Electronic filing of payroll taxes
• Digital timesheets and timekeeping
• Online tracking of time and attendance

Employers who want to avoid paper can choose the firm's Go Green option, in which payroll data is submitted and reports and electronic pay stubs are returned through a secure online portal, removing shipping charges and delivery delays. Clients also get portal logins and a page of payroll-related links on the website.

Payroll Tied to Accounting and Tax

The central argument behind Nolan's approach is that payroll, bookkeeping and taxes are closely linked. Because pay data feeds into company and personal tax returns and also affects benefit compliance, the firm schedules payroll deposits, reports and filings alongside the audit dates and tax due dates it already manages for each client.

Connecting payroll records directly with the general ledger is meant to keep financial figures current so owners can make decisions based on accurate numbers.

Other services include monthly financial statements and simplified reports, chart-of-accounts setup and ongoing bookkeeping, bank reconciliation to catch missing deposits or unauthorized charges, tax planning that looks at the business and the owner together, individual income tax returns, year-end planning, and one-on-one consulting to help owners understand their statements.

Background and Approach

The firm's accountants and CPAs together bring over half a century of combined experience in assisting small companies to lower their taxes and become more profitable. Nolan describes itself as a relatively small practice, which it says lets each client receive individual attention and prompt replies.

It also bases its client relationships on the four questions of Rotary International's 4-Way Test, covering truthfulness, fairness, goodwill and mutual benefit. Prospective clients can request a free initial consultation with one of the firm's accountants to talk through payroll or accounting needs.

Payrolls R Us is a payroll provider based in Greenfield, Wisconsin, that works mainly with smaller employers in the southeastern corner of the state. Its clients come from Milwaukee and neighboring communities, including Greenfield, New Berlin, Muskego, West Allis and Waukesha. The firm has run payroll for its customers for more than thirty years. It presents itself as a personal alternative for owners who feel like just another account number at a national processor.

Background and Team

The company operates as a division of Nolan Accounting Center. Nolan's CPAs and accountants also handle bookkeeping, tax returns and general accounting work for owner-operated companies. Because of this connection, payroll clients work with both payroll specialists and accountants. Those staff review each employer's situation before recommending a setup.

The firm says it built its reputation by combining attentive, relationship-based support with modern processing tools. It treats client trust, and dependable delivery on every pay date, as the core of what it offers.

Payroll Services and Products

Rather than offering one fixed package, Payrolls R Us designs payroll arrangements around each company's current needs and expected growth. These setups can cover employees in a single locality or across several states. The core offerings include:

• Printed payroll checks
• Direct deposit of employee pay
• Payroll debit cards for workers without bank accounts
• Electronic filing of payroll taxes
• Electronic time sheets
• Timekeeping tools, either the firm's own system or a link to one the client already uses

When a business has its own time-tracking platform, the firm can connect it so that hours flow electronically into payroll. This reduces manual entry and speeds up both check production and pay distribution. Billing is charged per item processed, which lets owners forecast payroll costs as headcount rises. The company also points out that outsourcing this work can help a growing business avoid hiring extra administrative staff.

The Go Green Option

For employers who want to eliminate paper, the firm offers a paperless program called Go Green. Clients submit payroll data and receive reports and electronic pay stubs through a secure online portal. Stubs can also be sent by email straight to each worker. A company's outside accountant can be given access to the payroll reports as well.

This option requires every employee to be paid electronically. Staff who lack a bank account can receive wages on a payroll debit card instead. Going paperless also removes shipping charges and the risk of delayed courier deliveries.

Why Buyers Consider Them

Payrolls R Us suits small and mid-sized Milwaukee-area companies that want a local payroll partner with accounting expertise close at hand. Its main strengths are its three-decade track record and custom-built systems. It also offers transparent per-item billing and timekeeping integration. For buyers who value direct contact with the people processing their payroll, the firm's emphasis on individualized support may be the deciding factor.

Prestige Accounting Services is an accounting practice in Greenfield, Wisconsin. It works mainly with owners of small companies and with private individuals. Payroll is one of the firm's core service areas, alongside tax work and general business support. Employers can therefore keep wage processing, bookkeeping and tax returns with one provider instead of spreading them across several vendors.

Payroll services

For employers, the firm takes on the full payroll cycle. It works out what each employee is owed for a pay period, prepares and runs the payroll, and handles the payroll tax obligations that follow. The practice also manages tax filings owed to federal and state agencies and to local jurisdictions.

This helps businesses that would rather not track deposit and reporting deadlines themselves. The firm presents its payroll offering as a way for owners to save time and lower the cost of administering pay in-house.

Broader business and tax support

Payroll rarely stands alone, so the practice pairs it with related work for companies and households:

• Ongoing bookkeeping to keep company records in order
• Consultation and setup for newly formed businesses
• Tax return preparation for both businesses and individuals
• Electronic filing of returns
• Income tax planning and projections
• Notary public services
• Help with immigration matters, including referrals
• Assistance completing state assistance applications

On the tax side, the firm says it follows changes in tax law and regulation. Its stated goal is returns that are accurate and compliant and that claim the deductions and credits a client qualifies for. This combination can suit a new employer. The same office that helps form the company and set up its books can also bring the first employees onto payroll and plan ahead for year-end filing.

How clients work with the firm

The practice operates from an office suite in Greenfield and offers walk-in hours on weekdays. The schedule varies by day, and the office is closed on weekends. Clients who cannot visit during those windows can request an appointment at another time. The website also offers online booking, a client account area, a chat option, and a secure portal for uploading documents. Payroll records and tax paperwork can be exchanged without a trip to the office.

The site does not publish the firm's founding date, staff members or professional credentials, so buyers who need that information should ask the firm directly. What it does present is a single-office provider that emphasizes precision and reliability. It suits small employers in the Greenfield area who want hands-on help with payroll, books and taxes from one local team.

Overview

Quigley Tax Service is a Milwaukee-area tax and accounting firm that has operated since 1984. It is best known for tax preparation, and it also runs a payroll practice for small businesses and employers. These clients would rather hand off recurring pay-cycle tasks and compliance filings than manage them in-house. The same team also handles bookkeeping and business tax returns, so clients can keep payroll, books and annual filings under one roof.

For employers in Greenfield and the nearby southwest Milwaukee suburbs, the most convenient office is the Greenfield Avenue location, which the company calls its Southside office. Quigley also has a second Milwaukee office on Fond du Lac Avenue on the northwest side and a third office in Richfield.

The Greenfield Avenue site keeps extended weekday and Saturday hours during tax season and works by appointment in the off season. The Fond du Lac Avenue office lists Barbara Peters and Lance Quigley as contacts.

Payroll services

Quigley's payroll offering covers each pay period as well as quarterly and annual reporting. According to the firm, its payroll work includes:

• Preparing employee paychecks each pay cycle
• Producing earnings statements (pay stubs) for staff
• Submitting federal and state payroll tax deposits electronically
• Preparing 1099 forms
• Filing IRS Form 941 each quarter
• Quarterly state unemployment reporting and state withholding tax filings
• Quarterly federal unemployment (FUTA) deposits
• Year-end W-2 preparation and the annual FUTA return

Direct deposit is listed among the firm's additional services, so employers are not limited to paper checks. Walk-ins are accepted for payroll matters. This may appeal to owners who prefer face-to-face service over an online-only provider.

Related accounting and tax work

Beyond payroll, Quigley offers bookkeeping intended to keep a company's accounting running smoothly. It also provides tax planning, preparation and reporting for individuals and businesses. Its business return work includes:

• Form 1065 for partnerships
• Form 1120 for C corporations
• Form 1120S for S corporations
• Form 1041 for estates and trusts

Individual clients can get federal and state returns, homestead credit claims and electronic filing, including returns for prior years. Notary service is also available.

How the firm works with clients

The firm presents itself as a year-round resource rather than a seasonal tax shop. It says its goal is to meet clients' tax needs and reduce stress at filing time and throughout the year, at affordable rates. Clients can contact the team by phone, through an online form or in person at an office, and off-hours appointments can be arranged. Quigley also pays referral bonuses to clients who send new business its way.

Quigley Tax Service suits small employers looking for a long-established local accounting office with in-person access. It combines routine payroll processing with quarterly and annual tax compliance, bookkeeping and business returns, all delivered from several Milwaukee-area offices.

SDS Payroll Services is a Wauwatosa, Wisconsin firm that acts as a fiscal agent and payroll broker for people who direct their own in-home care. Instead of offering general payroll outsourcing to companies, it focuses on a narrow niche: handling wages for caregivers hired directly by individuals who receive support services. Buyers comparing payroll providers should note this specialty, since its processes are built around publicly funded, participant-directed care rather than conventional commercial payroll.

Background

The business previously operated as ANEW Fiscal Agent and adopted the SDS Payroll Services name in August 2018. The company is clear about its legal role: it does not employ the caregivers it pays. The care recipient, referred to as the member, is the actual employer and is the person who approves and signs each worker's time records.

SDS carries out the payroll function on that employer's behalf. Its site references the My Choice Family Care program, which indicates a close connection to Wisconsin's managed long-term care system.

How Payroll Works

Pay runs are driven by submitted time reports. Once a time sheet comes in, staff check it, bill the relevant funding source for the service, and then release wages.

Members are expected to confirm that each report lists the actual hours worked on each day, includes daily and period totals, and stays within the hours a case manager has budgeted and authorized.

Reports are due by a midday cutoff, and anything arriving late moves to the following cycle, so a single late sheet can hold up pay for every worker under the same member. A published payroll calendar helps households plan around these deadlines.

Services for Members and Workers

• Fiscal agent and payroll broker services for self-directed supports
• Verification and billing of caregiver time reports
• Sign-up for Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) training
• Online employee access through the Paylocity platform and mobile app
• Processing of direct deposit and tax withholding updates
• Assistance with reporting work-related injuries and workers' compensation paperwork
• Payroll summaries that workers can use for state benefits, loan applications, or employment verification
• Downloadable time sheet, employer, employee change, and workers' compensation forms

Caregivers paid through SDS use Paylocity to review and print pay stubs and tax documents and to update personal details such as mailing address, phone number, banking information, and withholding choices. The company supplies step-by-step registration guidance and short tutorial videos, and its own staff help workers who have trouble signing in.

Members and employees are asked to report changes such as a move, a new marital status, a hospital stay, travel away from home, an adjustment to authorized services, or departure from the care program. Banking changes must be submitted well before the affected pay date.

What Sets It Apart

The firm's value lies in its familiarity with the rules of participant-directed care in Wisconsin, including authorized hour limits, EVV requirements, and the employer-of-record structure in which the care recipient holds the employer role. Separate checklists for members and for employees spell out each party's responsibilities. The office is staffed on weekdays from early morning through mid-afternoon, giving families and caregivers a local point of contact for payroll questions.

Thomas F. Roepsch, CPA is a Wisconsin-licensed certified public accounting practice with an office in downtown Milwaukee. It works with business owners, executives and independent professionals. Payroll is one of several business offerings, alongside bookkeeping, tax work, QuickBooks support and financial advisory services. Companies in Franklin and the southern Milwaukee suburbs can consider it as a CPA-led alternative to large national payroll processors.

The firm presents outsourced payroll as a way for small companies to reclaim the hours owners lose each month to wage calculations, withholding rules and filing deadlines. Handing the work to accountants means a business does not need specialized in-house payroll staff. The owner also no longer has to track federal, state and local tax changes or maintain payroll software.

Three Ways to Run Payroll

The practice does not use a single standard package. Clients choose from three processing arrangements:

• Comprehensive service: the firm handles the full cycle, including laser-printed checks on secure blank stock that meets Federal Reserve encoding standards, plus direct deposit for employees.
• After-the-fact payroll: businesses that write their own paychecks submit those records, and the firm enters them into its system to produce filings and reports.
• Online processing: employers enter hours and earnings through a secure web connection and print checks immediately on their own printers. Direct deposit is also available with this option.

All three options include IRS and state tax reporting and EFTPS tax deposits. Clients also receive monthly, quarterly and year-end payroll reports and W-2, W-3 and 1099 forms. The firm tracks accruals for vacation, sick and personal days, prepares and submits mandatory new hire reports, and keeps payroll records organized. Union reporting, certified payroll reports and workers' comp documentation can be added for an extra charge.

Help With Payroll Tax Trouble

The firm also represents employers who have fallen behind on payroll tax deposits or returns. It stresses that the IRS treats unpaid withholding very seriously and that penalties can grow quickly. Owners in this position are urged to bring in a professional before speaking with the agency. Related services cover IRS liens, levies, wage garnishments, seizures, payment plans, offers in compromise and audit representation.

Broader Accounting Support

Because payroll sits inside a full accounting practice, clients can combine it with other services. These include QuickBooks setup, training, troubleshooting and tune-ups, and the firm also offers QuickBooks software at a discount. A part-time CFO arrangement covers budgeting, cash management, profitability and trend analysis, internal controls, bank financing assistance and supervision of accounting staff.

Other services include audits, reviews and compilations, business valuation, succession planning, new business formation, nonprofit accounting, and tax preparation and planning. Individual clients can get personal financial planning and estate planning. Clients have a password-protected online portal for exchanging documents, and prospective clients can request an initial consultation at no cost.