This page lists bookkeeping and accounting firms that serve home-service and trades businesses such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, landscaping, and general contracting in Milwaukee, WI. Each entry summarizes the firm based on its own website, and notes when a firm serves the area remotely rather than from a local office.
Firms listed: 3.
Giersch Group – Milwaukee, WI #
Website: https://www.gierschgroup.com
Phone: 414-255-4866
The Giersch Group is a bookkeeping, accounting, and consulting firm with an office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to its website, the firm maintains offices in Milwaukee (1661 N. Water St. #408, Milwaukee, WI 53202), Brookfield (225 Regency Ct. #220, Brookfield, WI 53045), and Madison (5610 Medical Circle, Madison, WI 53719). The site describes the firm as a family business that primarily serves clients in and around Milwaukee, Dane, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties, and it states that the firm’s services are fully virtual and available to businesses anywhere in the country. The Milwaukee office on the Lower East Side is presented as a local base for the firm’s southeastern Wisconsin work.
The firm’s core services include bookkeeping and small business accounting, CFO and controller services, payroll, tax compliance, QuickBooks Online support, accounts payable, cash flow analysis, and grant writing. Beyond accounting, the website describes a substantial consulting practice covering startup consulting, growth strategy, mergers and acquisitions, one-time business reviews, ongoing board services, family business and succession planning, and nonprofit consulting, fundraising, and board development. The firm describes assigning each client a controller who oversees monthly reporting and works with the firm’s CFOs on more complex issues.
Construction and contractors are a prominent specialty. The website includes a detailed page on bookkeeping for construction companies and contractors, in which the firm states that the construction industry’s accounting rules and tax regulations demand specialized expertise that most general bookkeepers lack. It describes managing complex job costing and project allocations, tracking equipment costs, depreciation, and maintenance, monitoring construction-specific compliance, and providing metrics for bidding and forecasting. The firm’s listed construction services include job estimating and costing, payroll for construction companies, payment applications and draw requests, change order accounting, retainage and deposit tracking, job profitability reports, fixed asset accounting and depreciation, and outsourced CFO and controller services, among others. The website states the firm recommends QuickBooks for construction clients and offers QuickBooks at half the retail cost as a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor.
The website lists a broad range of trade and specialty businesses the firm serves, including home builders, plumbers, electricians, painters, roofers, HVAC companies, cabinet makers, window and blind installers, siding and insulation installers, handyman services, mechanics, flooring and carpeting companies, fire, smoke, and water restoration services, audio visual companies, and road, bridge, and highway construction. The firm states that it is a member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and has pledged to observe the NARI code of ethics, and it notes that in 2016 it received the Gordy Ziglinski Spirit of Education Award from the Wisconsin Remodelers Association. Beyond construction, the website identifies many other industries it serves, from restaurants and bars to architects, landscapers, law firms, real estate professionals, nonprofits, and more.
The website describes the firm’s pricing approach as charging an hourly rate to initially assess and correct issues in a client’s books, after which it establishes a monthly fee for ongoing bookkeeping support. It offers an online cost estimator and a free consultation. The site states that the firm has served more than 700 clients over the past decade. Client testimonials and case studies reference a woodworking business, an architecture and design firm, a brewery distribution business, and several nonprofits; these are statements from clients rather than independent assessments, and promotional phrasing such as descriptions of the firm as offering the best value is presented as the firm’s own characterization.
In summary, the website presents The Giersch Group as a family-owned bookkeeping, accounting, and consulting firm with a Milwaukee office serving the city and southeastern Wisconsin, supported by offices in Brookfield and Madison and fully virtual service available nationwide. The firm maintains a deep, clearly documented specialization in construction and contractor accounting alongside broad small business and nonprofit work. Prospective clients are directed to call the firm or book a free consultation through the website.
MKE Bookkeeping & Tax Prep – Milwaukee, WI #
Website: https://www.mkebookkeeping.com
MKE Bookkeeping is a bookkeeping and tax preparation firm based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to its website, the firm is based in Milwaukee and serves clients there and throughout the surrounding area, while also offering virtual services to businesses elsewhere. The site lists the firm’s location simply as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and states that its heaviest concentration of clients is in southeastern Wisconsin, where it notes deep familiarity with the local market and Wisconsin tax requirements. The firm is led by its founder, Mike, who the website describes as a former e-commerce business owner who became a certified bookkeeping professional.
The firm’s services cover monthly bookkeeping, cleanup and catch-up bookkeeping, QuickBooks Online setup, and tax preparation and filing. The website describes monthly bookkeeping as keeping books accurate and current, with profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and accounts receivable and payable delivered each month. Cleanup bookkeeping is offered for businesses that are months or years behind, and QuickBooks Online setup covers the chart of accounts, bank connections, and settings configured for a client’s business. For taxes, the site states that the firm provides full tax preparation and e-filing for individuals and small businesses and identifies itself as an IRS-authorized e-file provider with an EFIN and PTIN. The team is described as certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors.
Contractors and construction businesses are a clearly stated specialty. The website includes a dedicated page on contractor and construction bookkeeping in Milwaukee, explaining that construction does not work like retail or service businesses with predictable monthly revenue. It describes contractors managing multiple active jobs, variable crew sizes, equipment costs, retainage, and change orders, and it argues that contractors need job-level financial visibility to understand which projects are profitable. The firm’s contractor services, as listed, include monthly bookkeeping and bank reconciliations, job costing and project-level profitability tracking, QuickBooks Online setup and management, payroll processing for field crews and office staff, certified payroll reporting for federally funded jobs under Davis-Bacon, accounts payable and vendor tracking, cash flow monitoring and invoicing support, catch-up and cleanup work, business and personal tax preparation, and year-round tax planning.
The website goes into detail on construction-specific topics. It explains job costing as comparing what each project cost in labor, materials, subcontractors, and overhead against the original bid. On payroll, it notes that federally funded public work is subject to Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage requirements and certified payroll documentation, and it states that Wisconsin repealed its own state prevailing wage law in 2017 while federal Davis-Bacon rules still apply to projects receiving federal funding. On tax planning, it references Section 179 of the IRS tax code, under which equipment purchases can often be fully expensed in the year of purchase rather than depreciated over several years. The firm states that it works with contractors year-round rather than only at tax time.
The website lists a wide range of construction and specialty trade businesses the firm works with, including general contractors, home builders, remodelers, plumbers, electricians, HVAC companies, roofers, painters, flooring contractors, concrete contractors, landscapers, siding and insulation installers, cabinet makers, handyman services, fire and water restoration businesses, and subcontractors of all trades. Its stated primary service area covers Milwaukee and the surrounding counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington, with named communities across each, and the firm notes that its virtual services allow it to work with contractors anywhere in the United States.
The site includes client reviews, several of which it identifies as verified Google reviews, from clients including a landscaping business owner, a landlord, and several small business owners; these are statements from clients rather than independent assessments. The firm describes its process as getting in touch, receiving a custom quote with no hidden fees, and then beginning work, and it offers a free consultation.
In summary, the website presents MKE Bookkeeping as a Milwaukee-based, owner-led firm specializing in bookkeeping and tax preparation for small businesses, with a strong and detailed focus on contractors and the construction trades, serving the Milwaukee metro and southeastern Wisconsin while also offering virtual service nationwide. Prospective clients are directed to request a quote or free consultation through the website.
Manley Garvin – Milwaukee, WI #
Website: https://www.manleygarvin.com
Phone: 864.229.4951
Manley Garvin is a certified public accounting firm that provides tax, accounting and bookkeeping, and assurance services. According to its website, the firm is South Carolina-based, with its office listed at 340 Main Street, Greenwood, SC 29646. It does not maintain a local office in Milwaukee. The website states that the firm serves clients across the Southeast and proudly serves 11 states, so any work for Milwaukee businesses would be handled remotely from its South Carolina base rather than from a Wisconsin location. The site describes the firm as having a team of eight CPAs.
The firm’s services fall into three main areas. Its tax solutions include planning, preparation, compliance, and consulting, which the website describes as designed to minimize liabilities and avoid surprises while keeping pace with changing regulations. Its accounting and bookkeeping services are presented as providing accurate, timely financial reporting that helps clients make informed decisions year-round, with the firm handling the numbers so owners can focus on their business. Its assurance services include audits, reviews, compilations, and agreed-upon procedures; the website specifies that these assurance services are available specifically for clients located in South Carolina, a geographic limitation the firm states plainly.
Manley Garvin lists a range of industries it serves, including retail, restaurants, nonprofits, professional services, government, education, plumbing and HVAC, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, automotive, and landscaping. Several of these are home-service and contractor trades, and the firm dedicates a page to accounting services for HVAC companies and plumbers. On that page, the website describes the financial realities of trades businesses, including fluctuating cash flow, seasonal demand, job costing, and the difficulty of keeping records current while managing crews and service calls. It states that the firm tailors accounting to the trades, helping businesses stay organized, improve cash flow visibility, and apply proactive tax strategies.
For HVAC and plumbing clients, the website outlines day-to-day bookkeeping that organizes expenses, categorizes transactions, and tracks payments, along with tax planning that identifies deductions for tools, vehicles, and equipment and forecasts tax obligations across a seasonal workload. It also describes tax preparation aimed at completing records, maximizing deductions, and filing accurately and on time. The firm’s stated reasons that trades professionals work with it include understanding the trade business model, from job-based billing to service contracts and seasonal fluctuations, responsive communication, and clear, actionable financial reports. The site includes an accounting assessment tool that lets HVAC and plumbing businesses compare their current practices to industry standards.
The website includes a set of frequently asked questions for trades clients. It states that the firm can provide bookkeeping systems to track expenses by job and help owners understand their true costs and improve pricing and profitability, that it helps identify deductions such as vehicle expenses, tools and equipment, uniforms, and home office costs, and that its tax planning strategies account for seasonal income highs and lows to help manage cash flow and avoid surprise tax bills.
The site features numerous Google reviews, many identified as verified through Trustindex, in which clients describe long-standing relationships and service for both business and personal tax matters. These are statements from the firm’s clients rather than independent assessments, and promotional descriptions such as the firm being trusted or among the best in the business are presented as claims made by the firm and its reviewers. A notice on the site states that Manley Garvin is now part of UHY.
In summary, the website presents Manley Garvin as a South Carolina-based CPA firm offering tax, accounting and bookkeeping, and assurance services across the Southeast and 11 states, with assurance work limited to South Carolina clients. For a Milwaukee business, the firm would provide accounting, bookkeeping, and tax services remotely rather than through a local office. The firm maintains a clear focus on trades industries, including a dedicated HVAC and plumbing practice as well as construction and landscaping. Prospective clients are directed to the firm’s South Carolina contact information and online assessment through the website.