Paterson Payroll:
Re-energized by new location
10 years
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — When Curt Paterson, president of Paterson Payroll, Inc., first went into business for himself 10 years ago, he was working from home. A decade of growth and evolution later, Paterson has since set up shop at 6 Caribou Road.
CURT PATERSON, president of Paterson Payroll, Inc., recently moved the business from the Houlton Road to 6 Caribou Road as a way to better focus on the customer. The full-service payroll provider is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Here, Paterson and Lynn Boucher, certified payroll professional, review an online file.
“Before we moved here Nov. 14, 2012, I shared business space at Storage Solutions on the Houlton Road, a business that I bought with Shawn Manter,” said Paterson. “We were there from 2005 until November when Shawn bought me out. I had wanted to be closer to town for several years, so when I sold my part of the business, that provided me the opportunity to look elsewhere.
“I was at a point with the payroll business that I had to be 100 percent focused on what we do. Payroll takes a lot of time to make sure you get it right; you don’t want to make a mistake on a check,” he said. “I felt it was time to separate from the storage customer to just focus on our customer. Plus the visibility on the Houlton Road wasn’t the greatest. People are going 50 mph past you. It’s not, ‘Oh, Paterson Payroll is there, let’s swing in.’ I was looking for more traffic and found it at our new location.”
Paterson said the new office is working out very well.
“We’re not quite fully settled yet as we were rushed to get in, and now we’re into tax season,” he said, “but things have been going great. We’re getting a lot of positive feedback from the customer. Being on this end of town is proving to be a convenience and we couldn’t be happier.”
The second floor of the building is a one-bedroom apartment that Paterson rents out, and the business occupies the whole bottom floor.
Paterson said the business has evolved significantly over the years.
“Ten years ago I was at a point in my career where I wasn’t happy with what I was doing. I had just left a public accounting firm and went to a new job, and it wasn’t working out like I had anticipated, so I decided to get back in the public field,” he said. “I knew there was a need for a small business.
“In the year 2000, everything was being pushed away from paper bookkeeping to computerized bookkeeping and there was a lot of uncomfortable feelings with that, so I didn’t feel that the small business was being served,” said Paterson, “so I jumped in and started doing bookkeeping and taxes for individuals with small businesses.”
Paterson worked out of his home for two years before relocating to the Houlton Road.
“For the first three years we did bookkeeping and income taxes exclusively which allowed me to go out and do some fieldwork at the customer’s location,” said Paterson. “In 2006, after having numerous requests to become a payroll processing company, I became licensed for payroll processing and kicked off that arm of our business. Since 2006 the payroll processing has blossomed; that’s probably our biggest part of the business. After Advantage Payroll left in 2009, our growth just flourished. We’re the only remaining local full-service payroll provider that maintains an office in Presque Isle.”
At Paterson Payroll, Paterson and Lynn Boucher, certified payroll professional, handle everything to do with payroll. Boucher has 20 years of experience in the payroll field.
“The customer’s only responsibility is to remit the hours, then we prepare the checks, the paperwork for the week, the quarterlies, W-2s, W-3s, and remit your tax deposits,” he said. “Once you remit your payroll hours to us, you’re done.”
Staying in business for 10 years is no small feat. Paterson attributes the company’s success to customer service.
“We try to give the little things that the bigger companies can’t — or refuse — to give. We do a lot of flexible reports and we don’t charge extra for certain things,” he said. “To stay in business for 10 years you have to work hard and be committed to your customer.
“We’re thankful for the 10 years that we’ve had,” said Paterson, “and hope to continue to grow and stay around in the years to come.”
Paterson Payroll is open from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday. During tax season (Jan. 1-April 15), Paterson is typically there from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and a half-day on Saturday. For more information, call Paterson Payroll at 764-6945 or log onto www.patersonpayroll.com.
