Switched from a big payroll service to a local bookkeeper last year

I used to run payroll through one of those national companies, paying $89 a month plus fees every time I had a new hire. Then a buddy recommended a woman over in Ferndale who handles 15 small businesses. She charges a flat $150 a month, catches mistakes before they hit the state, and I can actually text her. Has anyone else made that swap and seen their costs drop like I did?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyn6928d agoTop Commenter

Bigger picture though, a bookkeeper doesn't have a dedicated security team or encryption the way the national services do. If that local person's laptop gets stolen or they fall for a phishing scam, all your employees' Social Security numbers and banking info are out there. I've seen it happen to a dentist's office near me. Their bookkeeper clicked a bad link and payroll data for 40 people ended up sold online. Plus what happens when she goes on vacation or gets sick? Those big companies have backup staff ready to go. You're stuck waiting for her to get back. Paying extra for the big service felt like insurance to me after that.

violaramirez28d ago

Nah, @morgan.rose the big services get hacked all the time too.

morgan.rose28d ago

yeah that dentist office thing is exactly what happened to a friend of mine who runs a small landscaping company. he had this older lady doing his books for years, super nice, but she fell for one of those fake boss emails asking her to change direct deposit info for a few employees. whole payroll got rerouted to some scammer and the bank couldn't do anything because she authorized it. took him months to sort out with the employees and the IRS, lost a lot of trust with his crew. the big services have fraud protection built in and they cover losses if something happens. vacation thing too, his bookkeeper got covid and was out for two weeks and he couldn't cut checks. ended up paying people late and that pissed everyone off. i'm with you on the insurance part, it's worth it when you look at what's at stake.