— Outsourced payroll
Outsourced payroll services without the 1-800 number
Hand payroll, tax filings, and audit paperwork to one team in California and Nevada — flat monthly fee, named contact, and every filing reconciled before it goes out.
In-house vs. outsourced
Doing it in-house
- Software subscription plus per-run fees
- You own every filing deadline
- Penalties and amendments on you
- Audits land on your desk mid-season
- Owner pay whenever cash allows
Outsourced to us
- One flat monthly fee, filings included
- Deadlines tracked and filed for you
- We answer the IRS and EDD notices
- Workers' comp audit handled end-to-end
- Owner pay scheduled first, every cycle
Weighing providers? See Gusto and Paychex compared, or start with small business payroll services.
Outsourced payroll FAQs
- What does outsourcing payroll include?
- Pay-cycle processing and direct deposit, federal and state tax calculation and remittance, 941/940 and state filings including California EDD and Nevada MBT, new-hire reporting, garnishments, year-end W-2s and 1099s, tip reporting, and workers' comp audit support.
- Is outsourcing payroll cheaper than doing it in-house?
- For most businesses under 60 employees, yes — once you count the hours spent on filings, the penalty risk, and the software subscription. A flat $149–$299 per month is usually less than a few admin hours a week.
- Who is liable for payroll tax mistakes?
- The employer is always ultimately liable to the IRS, which is exactly why we file and reconcile every deposit ourselves and monitor for notices instead of forwarding them to you.
- How is this different from a big outsourced payroll provider?
- You get one named person who knows your business, not a rotating ticket queue — and Profit First setup so the owner's pay is scheduled, not leftover.
- Can you work with our CPA or bookkeeper?
- Yes. We send clean journal entries and quarterly reconciliations, and most CPAs prefer it that way.
— Founder story
Built by blue-collar, for blue-collar.
Profit First Payroll was founded by Matt Frechette, who brings 20+ years of hands-on experience in blue-collar environments. He's seen shops thrive — or unravel — because of poor cash flow, inconsistent owner pay, late crew checks, and workers' comp audit nightmares. PFP is built explicitly for trades and labor-heavy businesses: proper crew classification, project-based volatility, and protecting profit in high-risk industries.