Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in Wausau, WI

Financial Planning & Tax Center is an accounting practice in Wausau. It handles payroll, bookkeeping, tax work and financial planning within one firm. Its clients are mainly small business owners and individual filers in Wausau and in nearby Weston, Schofield and Rothschild. For companies comparing payroll providers, the main difference is who does the work.

The staff who process wages are the same people who keep the ledger and prepare the business return. Clients do not deal with a separate payroll vendor that works apart from the accountant.

Payroll and related services

The firm offers payroll as part of a bundled package for small businesses. It runs payroll for each pay cycle and prepares year-end wage forms for employees and contractors. That work is tied into whatever bookkeeping schedule the client picks, whether monthly, quarterly or yearly. Because the same group also reconciles the accounts, it can catch cases where an apparent payroll error actually starts in the books. Services described across the site include:

• Payroll processing for every pay cycle
• W-2 and 1099 forms prepared at year end
• Categorizing income and expenses and reconciling bank and card accounts
• Financial reporting, including P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statements
• Setting up, cleaning up and supporting QuickBooks files
• Budgeting, forecasting, cash flow guidance and long-range business planning
• Succession planning and help forming new entities
• Business and individual returns, year-round tax planning, and tax work for estates and trusts

The firm says its own staff do all accounting and bookkeeping, with no offshore staff or outside processing firms involved. If a business's records have fallen behind, the team can rebuild and update the accounts before ongoing service begins. Businesses coming from do-it-yourself QuickBooks, a part-time bookkeeper or another platform can have their current setup reviewed for gaps.

Many clients do routine bookkeeping remotely and come to the office for periodic reviews or tax meetings. Fees depend on transaction volume, account complexity and scope, so prospective clients discuss their needs before getting a quote.

How the firm works with clients

Each client is paired with one dedicated accountant who handles every visit and filing, so clients do not get a different preparer each season. Payroll, bookkeeping, planning and advisory work continue throughout the year, not only during filing season. Advisory check-ins are scheduled to suit each business, either quarterly or more often during growth or major changes.

Advisory clients do not have to use the firm's bookkeeping, although those who do give the team more context to work with. Budgets reflect a company's real payroll timing, supplier arrangements and seasonal revenue swings. Existing clients can access their documents through an online portal.

Background and team

The name is recent, but the practice has served Wausau-area households and companies for more than three decades. It previously operated under the name Mesenberg & Bird Tax & Accounting. Owner James Ison leads the advisory side of the firm. He holds a master's degree in accounting and the Certified Financial Planner designation.

His community work includes chairing the Emerging Leaders board of Marathon County's United Way and serving on the board of the Get $mart Wausau Coalition. He has also volunteered as a financial counselor through UW-Extension and taught courses for the Wausau Money Conference, and he earned "20 Under Forty" recognition from the Wausau Daily Herald.

On the accounting and bookkeeping staff, Denver Coscio is a UW-Stevens Point accounting graduate preparing for the CPA exam. Joseph Abadeer studied accounting and business administration at the same school and draws on his own experience running a small business.

Tax preparers Orion Ison, Emily Hollis and Kestler Ison complete the team, and Kestler also coordinates the firm's outside IT support.

Gassner Company, S.C. is a certified public accounting practice based on the west side of Wausau, Wisconsin, that pairs payroll processing with tax preparation, bookkeeping and financial statement work. James Gassner established the firm in 1966 as a modest tax practice for residents of central Wisconsin. Over the following decades it expanded into several additional disciplines, and it now handles work for individuals and companies located well beyond the region, including clients in other states.

Payroll Services

For employers comparing payroll providers, the firm runs payroll on several schedules and supports companies of very different sizes, from a business with a single worker to organizations employing more than 100 people. Beyond calculating pay, the team takes care of the government deposits and filings that come with having employees. Two staff members are designated as payroll specialists, giving clients dedicated contacts for payroll questions. Payroll offerings include:

• Weekly, semiweekly and semimonthly payroll runs
• Payroll tax deposits
• Quarterly and annual federal filings such as Forms 941 and 940
• Year-end W-2 preparation
• Health care reporting forms required of employers

Tax and Accounting Work

Because payroll sits alongside the firm's other services, an employer can keep wages, books and tax returns with one office. The practice reports preparing roughly 1,000 corporate, partnership and LLC returns each year, along with tax planning for sole proprietors, limited liability companies and corporations.

On the individual side, returns range from straightforward filings with one W-2 to complicated situations involving multiple states and pass-through entities, and the staff also completes estate, trust and gift tax returns. Monthly bookkeeping covers maintenance of QuickBooks files and general ledgers, bank reconciliations and sales tax filings, with financial statements produced from each month's activity.

Clients can also hand off bill paying and check writing, request QuickBooks consulting and support, or engage the firm for fractional CFO assistance.

Industries and Assurance Services

The firm performs financial statement audits for manufacturers, adult family homes, foster homes and nonprofit organizations whose contributions exceed $500,000, and it audits 401(k) retirement plans. Reviewed statements are prepared for businesses in manufacturing, construction and the nonprofit sector, often when lenders or other outside parties request that level of assurance.

Compiled statements, built from data supplied by the owner, can be delivered monthly, quarterly or annually. Its client base spans everything from first-time sole proprietors to long-established corporations, and the level of service is adjusted to match each client's needs.

Team and Background

The staff combines several CPAs with paraprofessionals and support personnel, and together the accountants bring more than 130 years of combined experience in tax and accounting matters. Several of the CPAs share the Gassner family name, reflecting the firm's roots as a long-running local practice.

The office extends its hours during the busy filing period from late January through mid-April, including Saturday mornings. For Wausau-area employers who want payroll handled by the same accountants who prepare their business returns and maintain their books, Gassner Company offers an integrated, locally based option.