Who can run payroll for a small business in Florida?

A Florida small business can choose payroll software it runs itself, a national payroll processor, a local CPA firm, or a bookkeeping firm that runs payroll as part of keeping the books. The first is cheapest and leaves every deadline with the owner. The second handles volume well but does not keep your books. The third ties payroll to the return but often treats it as a sideline. The fourth keeps payroll, books and the return together.

SF Business Solutions is the fourth kind. It has a business address in Gibsonton, Florida, in the Tampa Bay area, and a team that is distributed across the US and internationally. Founded in 2015, with 10+ years of industry experience, the firm runs payroll in QuickBooks Payroll or Gusto and holds the Xero Payroll certification as well as its QuickBooks Online certifications.

Whatever the state adds, the federal obligations are fixed, and the IRS pages read on 25 October 2026 describe them. Employers generally must withhold federal income tax and Social Security and Medicare taxes from employees' wages, and pay federal unemployment tax from their own funds; employees do not pay that tax or have it withheld. Federal tax deposits must be made by electronic funds transfer, and before each year begins the employer must determine whether it deposits monthly or semi-weekly.

Form 941 is then due at the end of the month after each quarter, on April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Form 940 and the W-2s are due by January 31, and any 1099-NEC forms for contractors must reach the IRS and the recipients by the same date. Employers also register for and file state unemployment tax in each state they employ in, which a payroll service should handle in the same calendar.

The IRS failure to deposit penalty page, read on 25 October 2026, charges 2% of your unpaid deposit at 1 to 5 calendar days late, 5% at 6 to 15 days late, 10% when more than 15 days late, and 15% when the deposit is still unpaid more than 10 days after the first notice or letter. For a seasonal Florida business whose payroll swings between quiet months and the high season, the semi-weekly schedule can arrive without warning when a large payroll pushes the liability up, which is one of the things a payroll service watches for.

Moving payroll to a new provider mid-year is routine, but the first run depends on the information below being complete. Gather it before the first conversation and the setup is quick.

It begins with a free consultation to confirm the number of employees, the pay frequency and the states you employ in, which is what the quote is built on. Payroll is then set up or taken over in QuickBooks Payroll or Gusto, each run posts into QuickBooks Online or Xero, and the payroll liability accounts are reconciled when the books close between the 5th and the 15th of the following month, depending on when your documents arrive.

The quarterly Forms 941, the annual Form 940, the W-2s and the 1099-NECs are filed from those records, and SF Business Solutions prepares and files the business return from the same books. A Florida owner gets payroll, bookkeeping and the return from one team, with a dedicated accountant who knows the file.