Skils Sets Down Roots In Culbertson

Skils Inc. partners Susan Engstrom, Kim Kurtz and Lisa Klein have been offering bookkeeping, payroll and tax preparation services for small businesses and individuals in the Plentywood area since 2008. Along with Laura Darvis, who joined the group in 2020, they have also set down roots in Culbertson.

Darvis and Klein purchased an office building at 110 Broadway Ave. from Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen in 2021. They are currently open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the location. They are also taking appointments.

“We like to say we take the paperwork out of small business,” said Klein. Klein told the Community

News that the group came together when she, Engstrom and Kurtz began brainstorming ideas for employment for three single mothers who wanted to be able to work and take care of their children. It helped that all three women had backgrounds in accounting. In the intervening years, Klein said, business has been good, prompting expansion into the Culbertson area. She said their beginnings in Plentywood were humble.

“We started in the basement of a Dairy Queen,” said Klein.

Skils Inc. offers an area of services along with tax preparation, including life and health insurance, notary public, payroll preparation and general business services. Klein said the Culbertson branch was close to breaking even in its first year, which was better than she expected. She said all signs point to a successful experiment.

Skils Inc. is located at 110 Broadway Ave. in Culbertson and 102 N. Main St. in Plentywood. They can be reached at 406-765-2132 or via email at skilsinc1@gmail.com. More information is available at the group’s Facebook page and by visiting skilsinc.com.