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Comprehensive payroll processing and support to ensure your employees are paid accurately and on time.
Most bookkeeping mistakes cost you clarity. Payroll mistakes cost you money on a schedule. Deposits have due dates, quarterly returns have due dates, and the penalty for missing them is calculated automatically whether or not anyone noticed. It is also the area where a well-meaning shortcut, like paying someone as a contractor because it was simpler, creates a liability that sits there quietly for years.
The specifics, rather than a bullet list you have to interpret.
We process each run in your payroll platform on the agreed schedule, including hourly imports, salaries, bonuses, commissions and reimbursements. You approve; we handle the rest. The point is that the run happening on time stops being something you remember on a Sunday night.
Withholding deposits are due on a schedule set by your prior lookback period, which means the deadline can change on you. We track your deposit frequency, make sure Form 941 and your state withholding returns are filed each quarter, and keep the annual W-2 and 1099-NEC deadlines in view well before January.
A remote hire in another state usually means registering for withholding and unemployment insurance in that state, sometimes within days of the hire. Each state has its own agencies, its own rates and its own idea of what creates nexus. We identify what is needed and walk you through registering, so the first run in a new state is not also your first penalty notice.
The difference between a W-2 employee and a 1099 contractor is not a preference, and reclassification after the fact is expensive because it comes with back taxes and penalties on both sides. We flag arrangements that look risky, such as long-term full-time contractors who use your equipment and follow your schedule, and tell you plainly what we are seeing so you can take it to your CPA or an employment attorney.
Health premiums, 401(k) deferrals, employer matches, garnishments and pre-tax versus post-tax deductions all have to land in the right place, and the payroll platform will not tell you when they have not. We check that employee and employer portions are split correctly and that what came out of the paycheck matches what was actually remitted to the provider.
This is the step almost everyone skips. Payroll software posts a summary to your accounting file, and if the mapping is wrong the wages, taxes and liabilities all sit in the wrong accounts. We reconcile the payroll register to the general ledger every month, so accrued liabilities clear when they are paid and your labor cost is a number you can rely on.
Managing payroll can be complex and time-consuming. Our payroll support services handle all aspects of payroll processing, from calculating wages and deductions to filing payroll taxes and generating reports.
We ensure compliance with federal and state regulations, so you can focus on your team while we handle the details.
No ambiguity about what you are paying for. These are the artifacts, and when each one arrives.
Only the first step needs anything from you.
Headcount, pay frequency, which states you pay in, which platform you use and what the last few quarters of filings look like. If there are open notices, we want to see those first.
Deposit frequency, state registrations, deduction mapping and the connection between payroll and your accounting file all get checked and corrected. Most problems we find start here rather than in the runs themselves.
Each period is processed and approved, each quarter is filed on time, and every month the payroll journal is tied back to the books as part of the close.
If that is you, say so on the call. We would rather point you somewhere better than take on work we are not the right firm for.
The honest trade-offs. Plenty of businesses are better off with one of the other two.
| With Feather | Doing it yourself | Hiring in-house | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who watches the deadlines | We track deposit and filing dates for every state | You, alongside everything else | One person, with no backup |
| New state hires | Registration requirements identified before the first run | Usually discovered after a notice arrives | Depends on their experience |
| Payroll to ledger | Reconciled monthly as part of the close | Rarely checked at all | Often left to the bookkeeper anyway |
| Classification risk | Flagged plainly when we see it | Not looked at until it is a problem | Varies |
| Cost | An add-on to your monthly rate | Software plus your time plus penalty risk | A salary for a part-time need |
Whichever service you pick, the same bookkeeper handles your account every month — someone who understands how your business actually runs and can spot the things a rotating team never would.
Anything we have not covered, ask on the call — it is free and there is no follow-up sequence.
No. You keep Gusto, ADP, QuickBooks Payroll or whatever you use, and the provider remains responsible for calculating and remitting taxes. We run it properly, watch the deadlines around it and make sure the results land correctly in your books.
Most clients combine two or three. The flat rate covers whatever you pick.
Tell us where things stand and we'll show you exactly what payroll support would look like for your business — with a flat rate and a start date in 20 minutes.