If you’re one of our clients, you may have no idea that ASAP Accounting & Payroll started in the small town of Telluride, Colorado. And unless you’re one of our clients in that small town, then you may have no idea we work so far afield. The truth is, whether you’re based in Telluride, elsewhere in Colorado, or in one of the other 42 states we serve, we bring the same small-town approach we learned from our mountain roots.

One of the most interesting facets of ASAP’s beginnings is that Richard didn’t set out to start a new business. He had retired to Colorado to ski after selling his homebuilding company in Texas. But when the Telluride business community realized Richard’s areas of expertise, they started going to him for business related questions. To help provide this resource, Richard opened the doors to what was then called ASAP Customized Office Support in 1990.

“In the beginning, we were doing things like typing résumés for people because, believe it or not, there weren’t many people in town who had computers,” Richard recalls. “We were one of the only businesses in town that actually had a color copier, so everybody would come to us for copies. Meanwhile, we were doing more and more to help small businesses answer questions regarding accounting. As time went by, more businesses also relied on us to help them with their payroll.”

Before too long, Richard realized that he could offer more specialized services than copies and word processing. Payroll processing and accounting were what Telluride businesses wanted guidance with the most. So ASAP changed its name—and more importantly, its offerings—in order to help its community succeed.