SMALL BUSINESS PAYROLL

Payroll Services for Small Businesses in Cary, NC

Paid right. Filed on time.

Payroll run correctly, taxes deposited on time, and the quarterly and annual filings handled, so the one part of small business compliance with the sharpest penalties stops being something you worry about.

Free 30-minute consultation · Price quoted before any work starts · No obligation

WHAT GETS HANDLED

Payroll processed

Withholding calculated

Federal & NC tax deposits

Form 941 & NC filings

Form 940, W-2s & 1099s

New hires & departures

Employees paid by direct deposit, with pay stubs and access to their records.

Three ways to get payroll right

Pick the one that fits where you are today. Many businesses start with setup or catch-up, then move to ongoing payroll.

RECOMMENDED

Ongoing payroll

For businesses with employees, whether one or twenty.

First employee setup

For businesses hiring their first employee.

Catch-up

For businesses behind on payroll taxes or filings.

HOW PRICING WORKS

A clear price, given before any work starts.

Based on how many employees you have and how often you run payroll. Catch-up filings are quoted as a one-time project.

What payroll actually involves

Paying employees is the visible part, and it’s the smaller part. Behind each paycheck sits a set of obligations with fixed deadlines.

Withholding and matching

Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Carolina income tax from every paycheck, plus your matching share and federal and state unemployment tax.

Deposits on a schedule

Withheld money goes to the IRS monthly or semi-weekly, depending on your payroll size. North Carolina has its own deposit requirements.

Quarterly and annual filings

Form 941 every quarter. Form 940, W-2s by January 31 and North Carolina’s annual reconciliation every year. New hires reported, records retained.

Money held in trust

Withheld taxes belong to your employees. Late-deposit penalties escalate quickly, and unpaid employment taxes can become a personal liability for owners.

That’s the argument for having someone handle it: not complexity, but consequence.

What's included

EVERY PAY PERIOD

Payroll processing on your schedule: weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly
Federal, North Carolina, Social Security, and Medicare withholding calculations
Direct deposit for employees
Pay stubs and employee access to records
Federal and state tax deposits on the required schedule

QUARTERLY AND YEAR-END

SETUP, REVIEW AND CATCH-UP

New hire reporting to the state
Employee onboarding setup, including W-4 and I-9 guidance
Reasonable compensation review for S corporation owners
Employee versus contractor classification review
Catch-up filings for businesses that have fallen behind
Coordination with your bookkeeping and business tax return

Is this for you?

If any of these sound like you, a free consultation is the right next step.

Small businesses with employees, whether one or twenty
S corporation owners who must take reasonable compensation through payroll and need it done properly
Businesses hiring their first employee who want the setup done correctly from the start
Businesses running payroll themselves who find deadlines slipping or aren't confident the filings are right
Businesses behind on payroll taxes or filings who need to get current
Employers unsure whether a worker is an employee or a contractor
Businesses with household employees, such as a nanny or in-home caregiver
Businesses that have outgrown a cheap payroll app but don't want a large provider's call center

Sound familiar?

Seven things employers tell me most, and how we fix them.

I'm hiring my first employee and don't know where to start.

There’s a defined setup sequence: an EIN if you don’t have one, state employer registration for withholding and unemployment, deciding a pay schedule, collecting W-4 and I-9 forms, and new hire reporting. Getting this right at the start avoids notices later.

I missed a payroll tax deposit.

Deposit penalties scale with how late the payment is, which means acting quickly genuinely reduces the cost. We get the deposit made, assess what’s owed, and where there are grounds, request abatement.

I've been paying myself distributions from my S corp and no salary.

This is one of the most common compliance issues among S corporation owners, and one the IRS actively examines. An owner who works in the business is expected to take reasonable compensation as W-2 wages before taking distributions. Correcting it prospectively is much simpler than having it reassessed with penalties.

I've been paying my workers as 1099 contractors.

Sometimes correct, sometimes not, and the answer depends on the working relationship rather than what the agreement says. Misclassification exposes you to back taxes, penalties, and interest. Worth reviewing before someone else reviews it for you.

My payroll software filed something wrong.

Self-service payroll tools work well when set up correctly and poorly when they aren’t, and the common failures are wrong deposit schedules, missing state registrations, or a filing that was never actually submitted. We identify what’s been filed and what hasn’t, then correct it.

I owe payroll taxes and can't pay them.

More urgent than other tax debt, because part of that money was withheld from employees. Payment arrangements exist, but this is a situation where waiting genuinely makes things worse, including the risk of personal assessment against you.

I have a nanny and just learned I might be an employer.

Household employment has its own rules and thresholds. Many families find out about this well after the fact. It’s fixable, and getting current is worthwhile since it affects the caregiver’s Social Security record as well as your own tax position.

Behind on payroll taxes? Every week you wait costs more.

Penalties compound, and unpaid employment taxes can become a personal liability. Start now and get current before it grows.

Employee or Contractor: Why the Difference Matters

This is the payroll question with the largest consequences, and the one most often gotten wrong.

The distinction turns on the nature of the relationship, not on what either party prefers or what a contract says.

Someone who works set hours, uses your equipment, follows your methods, and works only for you is likely an employee, whatever the paperwork calls them.

WHAT THE IRS LOOKS AT

Behavioral control

Do you direct how the work is done, set hours, provide training?

Financial control

Who supplies tools, can the worker make a profit or loss, do they work for others?

The relationship itself

Is it ongoing, is the work core to your business, are there benefits?

Getting it wrong is expensive: back employment taxes, penalties, and interest, plus state exposure and potential claims for benefits. And it isn’t always the IRS that raises it. Often it starts when a former worker files for unemployment.

If you’re unsure about someone, it’s worth reviewing now.

S CORPORATION OWNERS

Reasonable compensation, set properly.

If you elected S corporation status, your compensation matters. The IRS requires reasonable compensation paid through payroll before you take distributions, and getting the figure wrong is one of the most common S corp problems.

How it works

From first call to a clean year-end, in eight steps.

Free consultation

We discuss your business, how many people you pay, your current setup, and whether anything needs correcting.

Setup

Employer registrations if needed, payroll system configuration, employee records, pay schedule, and deposit schedule.

Cleanup, if needed

If filings or deposits are behind, we get current before moving to routine processing.

Each pay period

You submit hours or confirm salaries. I process payroll, employees are paid by direct deposit, and you receive the reports.

Deposits

Federal and state taxes are deposited on schedule, without you tracking dates.

Quarterly

Form 941 and North Carolina filings, with copies for your records.

Annually

Form 940, W-2s to employees and the SSA, 1099s for contractors, and state reconciliation.

Ongoing

New hires, departures, rate changes, and questions handled as they arise, with an annual compensation review for S corp owners.

Getting started is easy

Bring what you have to the free consultation. That’s all it takes.

Your EIN and NC employer numbers

If you don’t have them yet, setting them up is part of the service.

A list of who you pay

Names, pay rates and your pay schedule. W-4s too, if you have them.

Recent payroll reports and filings

Any 941s, NC filings or notices, so I can see what’s been filed.

Your current payroll login, if any

QuickBooks Payroll, Gusto or another app. No system at all is fine too.

DON'T HAVE IT ALL?

Book anyway.

Tell me where payroll stands, even if deposits or filings are behind, and I’ll tell you what it takes to get current. Documents can come later, through your secure client portal.

WHY TRIANGLE TAX

Your payroll, books and taxes, in one.

Large payroll providers process accurately and are fine at what they do, but they don’t know your business, and when something goes wrong you’re explaining it to whoever answers. Cheap payroll apps are only as good as their setup, and their support generally can’t tell you whether your worker is properly classified or your owner salary is defensible.

One person, start to finish

You deal with one person, who also keeps your books and prepares your tax return. Payroll decisions get made with the tax consequences in view.

Connected, not re-entered

Your owner compensation connects to your tax planning, and your payroll flows into your books automatically.

Authorized to represent you

If the IRS sends a notice about a payroll filing, the person who filed it is also federally authorized to represent you in resolving it.

Local, in three languages

Based in Cary, serving businesses throughout Wake County and the Triangle, in English, Hindi and Nepali.

Payroll questions

How much do payroll services cost?

It depends on how many employees you have and how often you run payroll. Businesses with one or two employees, which includes most S corp owners paying themselves, are at the simpler end. You get a clear price at the consultation.

Can you handle payroll for just me as the S corp owner?

Yes, and it’s a common arrangement. A single-employee payroll still requires the full set of deposits and filings, and it’s worth having the compensation figure set with some thought behind it.

What happens if I've been running payroll wrong?

We work out what’s been filed, what’s missing, and what’s owed, then get you current. Amended filings are possible where needed. It’s worth addressing promptly, since payroll penalties accumulate faster than most.

Do you handle payroll for employees in other states?

Multi-state payroll is possible but adds registration and filing requirements in each state where you have employees. Tell me where your people are located and I’ll explain what it involves.

When are payroll taxes actually due?

Your deposit schedule depends on your total payroll tax liability over a prior lookback period, and is generally either monthly or semi-weekly. New employers usually start monthly. Quarterly returns and annual forms have their own deadlines, and January is the heaviest month. Handling the calendar is part of the service.

Can I just use QuickBooks Payroll or Gusto myself?

You can, and for a straightforward setup with an owner who watches the deadlines, it works. What those tools don’t do is tell you whether your classification is right, whether your owner salary is defensible, or what to do when a notice arrives. If you’re comfortable with the compliance judgment and just want processing, self-service is reasonable, and I’ll say so.

What's the difference between a W-2 and a 1099?

A W-2 goes to an employee, with taxes withheld and the employer paying a matching share. A 1099-NEC goes to an independent contractor, with no withholding and the contractor responsible for their own taxes. Which applies depends on the working relationship, not on preference.

Do I need workers' compensation insurance?

North Carolina requires it for most employers once they reach a certain number of employees, with different rules for certain industries. It’s separate from payroll and obtained through an insurance carrier, but it’s worth confirming your obligation when you start paying employees. I can point you in the right direction.

Can you help if I have a nanny or household employee?

Yes. Household employment has its own thresholds and reporting, generally handled through your personal return rather than a business filing.

Works even better with

Bookkeeping

Payroll flows straight into books that are kept current every month.

Learn more →

S-Corporation Tax Services

Owner salary, distributions and the election, handled together.

Learn more →

Business Tax Preparation

Business returns built from the same payroll and books.

Learn more →

Ready to get started?

Schedule a free consultation. Whether you’re hiring your first employee, cleaning up a payroll situation, or just want it off your plate, we’ll go through where things stand and what it takes.

After booking, I’ll ask about your employees, your current setup, and any filings you’re unsure about. You’ll have a clear scope and price before anything starts.