Payroll Services in Salt Lake City, UT
Every pay cycle run, with registrations in every state your team works from.
- Based in South Jordan, UT
- Melanie is your contact
- Call or email
Ivory Balance Books offers payroll as an add-on to monthly bookkeeping and registers the business for payroll in every state your team works from. The practice is based in South Jordan and serves Salt Lake City businesses remotely, so nothing waits on a trip into the city.
In Salt Lake City, your staff count also feeds the business license fee, and the city's count isn't the same as your payroll headcount.
How the city counts employees for the license fee
Salt Lake City's consolidated fee schedule charges an annual employee fee on top of the base license fee. Under city code 5.04.070, that fee applies to each full-time and part-time employee after the first, so a business with one person doesn't owe it. Under the fees effective September 2026 it is $29 per employee, up from $28, and the base fee for a commercial business is $198, up from $193. Some types of business owe additional fees on top.
The count itself is set out in city code 5.02.005. It is the average number of employees engaged at the place of business on each regular working day during the preceding calendar year. "Employee" there includes the owner or manager, salespeople, agents, leased employees and independent contractors engaged in the operation of that place of business.
Where payroll and the books come in
Payroll and the city's count overlap, but they don't match. The city counts people engaged at your Salt Lake City place of business, so whether a remote employee or a contractor is in that number depends on their work there, and the licensing office can confirm it. Your payroll records and the contractor payments in your books are where to start, not the city's number itself.
Ivory Balance Books doesn't file or renew city licenses. That part is yours, and the city's licensing fee line on the schedule, 801-535-6644, can confirm how the count applies to you. The books record the fee when you pay it, against the company that holds the license.
What payroll in Salt Lake City includes
Payroll processing
Your team's pay run on every cycle.
State payroll registrations
Your business registered for payroll in every state your team works from.
Kept in the monthly books
Recorded each month and closed by the 10th.
More on the service itself: payroll.
Before your next Salt Lake City renewal
Three questions to answer from your own records before the renewal comes due.
Averaged across last year's regular working days, how many people were engaged in the operation of your Salt Lake City location, counting yourself, staff, agents and contractors?
Has that number changed since your last renewal?
Is the license fee booked to the company that holds the license?
If any answer takes more than a minute to find, start with the books.
Who runs payroll for small businesses in Salt Lake City, UT?
The right fit runs payroll every cycle, handles the registration when a hire works from another state, and keeps payroll in books your CPA can open and file from. Ivory Balance Books, founded by Melanie Mathews, a QuickBooks ProAdvisor in South Jordan, offers payroll processing and state payroll registrations to Salt Lake City businesses as an add-on to monthly bookkeeping. Call (385) 257-9602.
Payroll Services in Salt Lake City: FAQs
Does a Salt Lake City business license cost more with more employees?
Yes, once you have more than one. City code 5.04.070 adds an annual fee for each full-time or part-time employee after the first, and the city's fee schedule sets it at $29 per employee from September 2026. The count is last year's average at your Salt Lake City place of business, with owners and contractors engaged in its operation included, so the city's licensing office is the place to confirm your total.
Does Ivory Balance Books handle the city license renewal?
No. The license and its renewal stay with you. Ivory Balance Books runs payroll and keeps the books, so the fee you pay is recorded against the right company.
Can payroll for a Salt Lake City business be run remotely?
Yes. Ivory Balance Books is based in South Jordan and serves businesses across Salt Lake and Davis County remotely, plus clients nationwide.
How do I get started?
Call (385) 257-9602 or book a discovery call. The call is complimentary, and Ivory Balance Books replies to messages within one business day.
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Where to Next
Keep reading, or get in touch and tell us where your books stand.