Home / Comparisons / vs STAR Services

HAR Financial Services vs STAR Services

STAR consults on compliance. We do the accounting, the payroll and the books, with the compliance knowledge built in. Here is a direct comparison, including where they may be the better choice for you.

20 years

In practice in Minneapolis since 2006

240

Payroll clients migrated with zero missed payrolls

$1M+

Secured for clients in grants and loans

600+

Businesses served across Minnesota and Wisconsin

The short version

STAR Services is one of the best-known consulting firms in Minnesota's 245D and HCBS provider community. They offer policies and procedures, training, licensing consulting and some financial consultation for care providers across the state.

Where we differ: STAR consults on compliance. We do the accounting, the payroll and the books, with the compliance knowledge built in.

Side by side

How the two firms compare

Every entry below reflects what each firm publicly states about its own services. Where a firm does not publish a figure or list a service, we have said so rather than guessed.

HAR Financial Services

STAR Services

Primary service

HAR Financial Services Bookkeeping, payroll, tax and CFO advisory

STAR Services Compliance consulting, policies, training

Runs your payroll

HAR Financial Services Yes, 240 payroll clients

STAR Services No

Maintains your books

HAR Financial Services Yes, full-cycle bookkeeping

STAR Services No

Files your taxes

HAR Financial Services Yes, IRS Authorized E-File Provider

STAR Services No

245D policy and procedure support

HAR Financial Services Yes

STAR Services Yes, a core strength

Training library

HAR Financial Services No

STAR Services Yes, extensive

DWRS rate worksheet reconciliation

HAR Financial Services Yes, against actual payroll and cost records

STAR Services Rate consulting

Grant and loan applications

HAR Financial Services $1,000,000+ secured

STAR Services Not a stated service line

Entity formation and licensing coordination

HAR Financial Services Yes

STAR Services Licensing consulting

Ongoing monthly relationship

HAR Financial Services Yes, named point of contact

STAR Services Project and product based

In depth

What actually separates us

These are different jobs, and you may need both

We want to be straightforward here, because pretending otherwise would insult your intelligence. STAR Services and HAR Financial Services are not really the same business.

STAR consults. They will help you build a policy manual, train your staff and navigate a licensing question. They are well regarded for it.

We run the financial operation. We reconcile the books every month, process payroll for your staff across every site, file your returns, produce the reports you use to make decisions, and reconcile your cost records against your DWRS rate worksheet.

Plenty of providers use a compliance consultant and an accounting firm at the same time. That is a perfectly sensible arrangement.

Where the two jobs actually meet

The reason this comparison exists at all is that compliance and accounting are not separable for a 245D provider.

A DWRS rate is built from wage data, staffing ratios and cost records. Those live in your payroll and your general ledger. If your bookkeeping is sloppy, your rate worksheet is indefensible, and no policy manual will fix that. If your payroll records cannot substantiate the hours you claimed, the rate is exposed.

This is why we do not treat compliance as a separate product. It is a property of doing the accounting correctly in the first place.

The advantage of one firm holding both

When your compliance consultant and your bookkeeper are different companies, you become the integration layer. You forward emails. You explain to one what the other said. When something falls between them, it is your problem.

We hold both. When a reevaluation deadline appears, the person preparing the documentation is the same person who has your payroll records open. Nothing has to be requested, explained or reconciled between vendors.

What we do that a consultancy cannot

We are an IRS Authorized E-File Provider with an active EFIN. We are a BBB accredited business, a member firm of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers and a member of the National Association of Tax Professionals. Our team includes staff with international CPA credentials.

Those credentials exist because we file returns, run payroll and sign off on financial statements. A consulting firm does not need them because it does not do that work.

Twenty years of operating history

We have been in Minneapolis since 2006. We serve roughly 600 clients, 240 of them on payroll. When our payroll processor shut down, we moved all 240 to a new provider without a single missed payroll.

That is not a consulting engagement. That is operational responsibility for other people's payroll, held for two decades without a break.

240

Payroll clients migrated. Zero missed payrolls.

When our payroll processor announced it was shutting down, every one of our 240 payroll clients was at risk at once. We rebuilt every account on a new platform, transferred the data and verified compliance client by client, on a hard deadline. Nobody missed a paycheck. Nobody had a compliance gap. If you are worried about what happens to your books during a transition, that is the standard we hold ourselves to.

Being straight with you

Where STAR may be the better choice

STAR Services is genuinely good at what they do. Their policy and procedure products are widely used across Minnesota, their training library is substantial, and many providers rely on them. If what you need is a compliance consultant and a policy manual, they are a strong choice and we have no interest in pretending otherwise.

We would rather tell you this now than have you find out three months in. If that describes your situation, they are worth a conversation. If it does not, we would like the chance to earn the work.

The problems people bring us

Why business owners call in the first place

After twenty years the patterns are consistent. Almost every client who moves to us arrives with some combination of the following.

An accountant who takes days to answer a simple question

Not a complicated question. A simple one. And the answer arrives Thursday, after the decision has already been made without it.

Books they do not trust

The statements balance, but the owner could not defend a single line to a lender or an auditor, and quietly suspects some of it is wrong.

Months or years of backlog

Nothing reconciled since spring. Sometimes since the year before. We currently do catch-up bookkeeping free as part of onboarding, because arguing about how it happened helps nobody.

Tax bills that arrive as surprises

No planning, no warning, no advance conversation. Deductions missed because nobody was looking for them during the year, only after it ended.

Reports that explain nothing

Templated output that reports what happened without telling you what it means or what to do about it.

A firm that did not understand their industry

This is the most expensive one. A bookkeeper who has never seen a DWRS rate worksheet, does not know what 245D requires, and finds out during your audit.

Constant turnover at the firm

Re-explaining your business to a new person every eighteen months, forever. Most of our team works from our Minneapolis office, and clients keep the same point of contact.

In their words

What clients say after several years

Their team handles payroll, IRS matters and state payments with accuracy and professionalism. When issues come up they move fast and provide clear solutions. This support saved me time and prevented costly mistakes in my business.

Client of eight years

Their bookkeeping and tax filing are flawless, but their CFO reports are the real game-changer for my business strategy. If you want a team that is knowledgeable, clear and professional, look no further.

Client since company founding

They take the time to explain everything clearly and ensure that all financial matters are handled accurately and on time. They are organised, trustworthy, and truly care about helping businesses stay compliant and financially healthy.

Payroll, bookkeeping and tax client

Questions

HAR Financial Services vs STAR Services

Do I need both STAR Services and HAR Financial Services?

Some providers use both, and that can work well. If your compliance needs are heavy and specialised, a dedicated consultant adds value. If you want your compliance handled inside your accounting relationship rather than as a separate vendor, we can cover both.

Can HAR write our 245D policies and procedures?

Yes. Policy and procedure development for 245D and 245A is part of our DHS provider support service, alongside licensing support, corrective action plans and DHS survey preparation.

Does STAR Services do bookkeeping and payroll?

Not as a core service. They offer financial consultation, but they are a consulting and training organisation rather than an accounting firm. We run books, payroll and tax filing directly.

What if we already have a compliance consultant?

That is fine and fairly common. We will work alongside them. Many clients eventually consolidate once they see the overlap, but there is no requirement to.