Bookkeeping & Payroll

Payroll Services for Small Businesses

Keep payday moving without the last-minute scramble.

Our payroll services help small businesses organize employee records, approved hours and recurring pay runs. Led by Allana Steele, we coordinate payroll processing through your agreed provider, with clear approvals, exception handling and reporting back to your books.

Discuss this serviceExplore the scopeExplore Strategy & Business Operations

Every pay run has a clear handoff.

Approved inputs and explicit employer authorization keep the process accountable.

  1. Approved hours & changes
  2. Prepare & review
  3. Employer authorization
  4. Process & reconcile

Reports and correction records flow back to your team and bookkeeping.

Washington Contractor Network home page with service and location search for Washington contractorsWashington Contractor Network
William Smith's hand-coloured 1816 sketch of the succession of strata, from the granite of Snowdon to the chalk of the Thames valley
Above, Washington Contractor Network. Below, William Smith, Sketch of the Succession of Strata and their relative Altitudes, 1816. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Unearth at the physical layer.

Payroll Services works in the physical layer. Strata Modus raises the information floor, from the physical layer to the digital surface.

  1. Convert
    The digital surface

    Where buyers search, ask AI and decide who to call: your website, Google, AI answers and campaigns.

    Marketing & AdvertisingWeb Design, Development & CRO
  2. Connect
    The signal layer

    How an inquiry reaches a person: AI voice, missed-call text back, intake, CRM and follow-up.

    AI & Business Automation
  3. Build
    The operating structure

    The systems the work runs on: strategy, software, technology and the integrations between them.

    Strategy & Fractional LeadershipCustom Software & IntegrationsTechnology Consulting
  4. Unearth
    The physical layer

    The work itself: crews, jobs, records, compliance and the numbers behind them.

    Compliance & Operational ReadinessBookkeeping & Payroll

The person accountable for the work

Led by Allana Steele.

Portrait of Allana Steele wearing a navy dress and pearl necklace.

Allana Steele, MBA

Director of Compliance & Automation Controls

Allana brings experience in internal controls, data governance and reporting automation at J.P. Morgan Chase, alongside public-sector risk and compliance work. She applies that background to organized records, documented approvals and reliable bookkeeping and payroll routines for your business.

Your consultation defines the accounts, workforce, systems and support you need. We agree on delivery responsibilities, review dates and pricing before work begins.

Meet Allana and explore her experience ↗
Discuss your financial operations ↗

The business opportunity

Payroll Services,
with a clear purpose.

Missing hours, unrecorded changes and unclear approvals create avoidable payroll pressure. When nobody owns the full handoff, the same questions return every pay period and employees wait for answers.

Give payroll a reliable schedule and a clear path from approved time to processed pay. Your team knows when to submit changes, who authorizes the run and where corrections go, while payroll records stay connected to bookkeeping.

Build growth you keep.

Start with our infrastructure. Strengthen the assets in your business.

Strata tools & networks
Your retained assets

Your financial records, reporting and documented routines.

See the ownership pathway

Shared Strata networks remain Strata-owned. Your commissioned assets and access are documented in the scope.

The engagement

What we build
with your business.

A defined scope gives your team a clear picture of the work and what it needs to operate.

01

Payroll setup and calendar

Document your pay schedule, provider configuration, submission cutoffs and responsible approvers.

02

Employee and time-data coordination

Organize authorized employee changes and approved hours, and resolve missing information before processing.

03

Pay-run preparation and processing

Prepare the run in your agreed payroll platform, flag exceptions and process only after the designated employer approval.

04

Reports and bookkeeping handoff

Organize payroll reports, reconcile agreed totals and track provider confirmations and correction requests.

From first conversation to working system

How the work moves.

  1. 01

    Map your payroll

    Review the workforce, locations, provider, pay schedule and current handoffs.

  2. 02

    Confirm responsibilities

    Document access, employer approvals, provider responsibilities and escalation contacts.

  3. 03

    Run the pay cycle

    Collect approved inputs, resolve exceptions and process the authorized payroll.

  4. 04

    Close the loop

    Deliver reports, record corrections and connect payroll totals with your books.

Before we begin

Useful questions.

We’ll refine the details around your business in the first conversation.

Can you use our current payroll provider?

We review your provider, access options and workflow first. The service agreement names the platform and which setup, processing and reporting tasks we handle.

Who approves payroll and releases funds?

Your designated employer approver authorizes each run. Funding and payment permissions are agreed during setup, with changes and approvals recorded.

Are payroll tax filings included?

The proposal identifies which filings and remittances your payroll provider handles and what coordination we provide. We confirm that responsibility before the first run and track the agreed provider confirmations.

Can you support teams working in more than one state?

We review work locations and provider coverage before confirming scope. Location-specific setup and requirements are coordinated with your payroll provider and qualified advisers.

How is payroll priced?

Pricing depends on employee count, pay frequency, locations, provider and support needs. Provider fees and any setup or cleanup work are specified in your proposal.

Connected services

The next layer.

Explore this layer
01

Bookkeeping

Our small business bookkeeping services keep transactions, reconciliations and monthly reports organized. Led by Allana Steele, we help service-business owners spend less time chasing receipts and get a clearer view of income, expenses and outstanding payments.

Explore the service
02

Finance Back-Office Operations

Finance back-office operations connect recurring bookkeeping, payroll coordination and receivables into a clearly owned process. We organize source records, support agreed work in the tools approved for your business and prepare reports and open items for owner review and accountant handoff.

Explore the service
03

Compliance Automation

Compliance automation helps service businesses stay ahead of recurring requirements with reminders, organized evidence and visible ownership. We connect each step to its reviewer so routine work keeps moving and exceptions reach the right person.

Explore the service

Meet the people.
Define the work.

Consultation-scoped pricing

This work is scoped separately after consultation. Your proposal defines implementation, responsibilities and any ongoing support.

Read the pricing and scope termsDiscuss the work for your business

Start with your business

Put Payroll Services to work.

Tell us what needs to improve and what you use today. We can help plan the change, build the solution and provide ongoing support, with responsibilities and pricing agreed in your proposal.

Let’s talk