Bookkeeping and payroll in Hawaii
Bookkeeping and payroll for Hawaii businesses.
Visory provides bookkeeping and payroll services for growing Hawaii businesses, from professional firms to nonprofits. A dedicated team you know by name works inside your own QuickBooks or Xero file, with Delphi AI taking the repetitive parts under that team’s oversight, and keeps your books and pay runs to Hawaii’s general excise tax, withholding, disability insurance, and prepaid health care rules. One flat monthly fee covers the agreed scope.
- A dedicated team you know by name
- Hawaii rules in every pay run and close
- One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
Who we work with in the State of Hawaii
Growing businesses across the State of Hawaii.
Accommodation and food services is Hawaii’s largest private industry, with about 106,000 jobs, 1.8 times its share of jobs nationally, and health care and social assistance employs about 76,000 (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages). Across the state, private employers averaged about 520,000 jobs in 2025.
- Services businesses with revenue of roughly $750k to $20m, led by a CEO, president, or founder.
- Nonprofits with grants, programs, and a board to report to.
- Franchise networks and payroll-heavy operations, with many sites and many pay runs.
- Nonprofits Religious, grantmaking, civic, and professional organizations employ about 14,000 people in Hawaii, 2.4 times their share of jobs nationally (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Architecture and design firms Architectural services firms employ about 1,100 people in Hawaii, 1.27 times the industry’s national share, and architectural and engineering firms about 6,700 in all (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Professional services Professional, scientific, and technical services employ about 27,000 people in Hawaii in about 6,700 establishments, at average annual pay of $107,193 (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Consulting firms Management, scientific, and technical consulting firms employ about 3,900 people in Hawaii across almost 1,200 establishments, at average annual pay of $108,098 (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
Hawaii rules
The Hawaii rules your finance function runs on.
Eight rules set by the State of Hawaii, each with the law that sets it and what it does to your month. Your team works to them every pay run and every close.
The deposit schedule follows the annual total.
Passing $5,000 or $40,000 of withholding a year changes how often tax is paid over, so a growing payroll is watched against both thresholds, and each quarter’s Form HW-14 is reconciled to the deposits made.
Employers withhold Hawaii income tax from wages for services performed in the state, and from wages for work elsewhere when the employee’s regular place of employment is in Hawaii. The 2026 withholding rates run from 1.40% to 7.90% of annual wages after allowances, the top rate applying above $125,000 for single persons and $250,000 for married persons. Tax is paid over quarterly with up to $5,000 of withholding a year, monthly up to $40,000, and semi-weekly above that, and Form HW-14 is filed quarterly.
Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 235, sections 235-61 to 235-69; Booklet A (Rev. 2025); withholding tables effective as of December 5, 2025, for withholding on and after January 1, 2026.Sources Hawaii Department of Taxation: Withholding Tax, For Employers Hawaii Department of Taxation: Booklet A, Employer’s Tax Guide (Rev. 2025)
The cost runs through the year.
Contributions continue until an employee’s wages pass $64,500, so for many staff the cost is spread across all four quarters rather than paid off early, and the cash forecast follows each employee’s pay.
In 2026, employers pay unemployment insurance contributions on the first $64,500 of each employee’s wages, up from $62,000 in 2025. New employers pay 2.40%, the maximum rate is 5.60%, and an Employment and Training assessment of 0.01% applies as well. Form UC-B6, the quarterly wage, contribution, and assessment report, is due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31, even for a quarter with no wages paid.
Hawaii Employment Security Law, Chapter 383, Hawaii Revised Statutes; wage base and contribution rates for calendar year 2026.Sources Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: Tax Rate Schedule and Weekly Benefit Amount Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: Unemployment Insurance Handbook for Employers
The next step is already set.
The rate rises from $16.00 to $18.00 on January 1, 2028, so a pay plan for 2027 and 2028 builds in the increase now, and tipped rates are checked against the $23.00 test each pay period.
Hawaii’s minimum wage is $16.00 an hour from January 1, 2026, up from $14.00, and rises to $18.00 on January 1, 2028. Employers may take a tip credit of $1.25 an hour, paying tipped employees at least $14.75, only if the employee receives more than $20 a month in tips and wages plus tips reach at least $23.00 an hour.
Hawaii Wage and Hour Law, section 387-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes; $16.00 from January 1, 2026; $18.00 from January 1, 2028.Sources Hawaii Wage Standards Division: Minimum Wage and Overtime Hawaii Wage Standards Division: Notice to Employees, Tip Credit under the Hawaii Wage and Hour Law
It is a tax on revenue, not on the customer.
The tax is owed on gross income whether or not the invoice shows it, so pricing either builds it in or passes it on visibly, and the books accrue it every month.
Hawaii has no sales tax. Its general excise tax is assessed on all business activities at 4% of gross income, with 0.5% for wholesaling, manufacturing, and wholesale services, and 0.15% for insurance commissions. Honolulu, Kauai, Hawaii, and Maui counties each add a 0.5% surcharge on 4% activities through December 31, 2030, and the tax may be passed on visibly at up to 4.7120%. Returns are monthly above $4,000 of tax a year, due on the 20th of the following month.
Hawaii General Excise Tax Law, Chapter 237, Hawaii Revised Statutes; county surcharges in force through December 31, 2030; Maui County from January 1, 2024.Sources Hawaii Department of Taxation: General Excise Tax (GET) Information Hawaii Department of Taxation: An Introduction to the General Excise Tax (Revised May 2025)
Twice a month is the minimum.
Every employee is paid at least twice a month, within seven days of the period closing, and a dismissal moves final pay to the next working day, so the pay calendar leaves room for an off-cycle run.
Employers pay wages at least twice each calendar month, on regular paydays set in advance, and pay all wages earned within seven days after the end of each pay period. An employee who is discharged is paid in full at the time of discharge or by the next working day. One who quits is paid by the next regular payday, or on leaving if they gave at least one pay period’s notice.
Hawaii Payment of Wages and Other Compensation Law, sections 388-2 and 388-3, HRS.Source Hawaii Wage Standards Division: Unpaid Wages, pay dates, pay frequency, and final pay
Onboarding is part of the pay run.
The new-hire report and the written pay notice draw on the same setup as the first pay, so both are done when someone is added to the payroll file.
Employers report each new employee to the Child Support Enforcement Agency as soon as possible and no later than 20 days after the employee’s first day of work, and a late report carries a $25 penalty; departures are not reported. Employers also notify each employee in writing at hiring of the rate of pay and of the day, hour, and place of payment.
Hawaii new hire reporting (Child Support Enforcement Agency); section 388-7, HRS; new hire reporting required from October 1, 1998.Sources Hawaii Wage Standards Division: Unpaid Wages, pay dates, pay frequency, and final pay Hawaii Child Support Enforcement Agency: State Directory of New Hires Q and A (FLO100)
The employer carries most of the premium.
The employee deduction stops at half the premium or $7.50 a week, whichever is less, so the rest of the policy cost sits with the business and is budgeted per head.
Employers must provide temporary disability insurance for eligible employees’ off-the-job injury or sickness, including pregnancy. An employer may withhold half the premium cost, but no more than 0.5% of weekly wages and, in 2026, no more than $7.50 a week, on a maximum weekly wage base of $1,500.21. Statutory benefits pay 58% of average weekly wages from the eighth day of disability, for up to 26 weeks, to a 2026 maximum of $871 a week.
Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance Law, Chapter 392, Hawaii Revised Statutes; 2026 maximum weekly wage base and benefit amount, published December 10, 2025.Sources Hawaii Disability Compensation Division: About Temporary Disability Insurance Hawaii Disability Compensation Division: 2026 Maximum Weekly Wage Base and Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount
Health coverage is a payroll cost here.
Coverage starts after four weeks for anyone over the 20-hour and $1,387 thresholds, and the employee deduction stops at 1.5% of wages, so each new hire’s premium share is in the hiring budget.
Hawaii employers must provide health care coverage to employees who work 20 or more hours a week and earn at least 86.67 times the minimum wage a month, $1,387 in 2026, once they have worked four consecutive weeks. The employer pays at least half the premium, and the employee’s share is capped at 1.5% of monthly wages; if that is less than half, the employer pays the rest.
Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act, Chapter 393, Hawaii Revised Statutes; 2026 minimum monthly wage for coverage, published December 10, 2025.Sources Hawaii Disability Compensation Division: 2026 Maximum Weekly Wage Base and Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount Hawaii Disability Compensation Division: Highlights of the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Law (Rev. 06/2026)
Rules last checked October 9, 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page. General information only. It does not take your circumstances into account.
How it works from anywhere
Can a team outside Hawaii run a Hawaii business?
Yes. Visory’s US leadership team is in New York, and its teams work with businesses across the United States remotely, inside your own accounting file, so nothing about the work depends on where your office is.
Your own file
Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file. Your team works inside it, so you see the same numbers they do, whenever you look.
A team you know by name
A dedicated team runs the work, led by a Business Performance Partner. You meet them by video call, and you always know who to ask.
Hawaii rules, built in
Visory runs the finance function for growing businesses across the United States, with its US leadership team in New York. Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file, and your team works inside it with you. Every pay run and every close is checked against the rules on this page.
Business hours, and the platform after them
Your team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round, and the Visory platform is open to you around the clock for documents, approvals, and your numbers.
What we run for Hawaii businesses
The whole finance function, actually handled.
Bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable, run end to end by a dedicated team with Delphi AI working under their oversight. Flat monthly fee. No hourly billing.
Bookkeeping
Every transaction coded and reconciled, month-end closed on schedule.
Explore bookkeepingPayroll
Pay runs prepared, checked, and paid on time, every cycle.
See how payroll runsAccounts payable
Bills captured, checked against what's already paid, and paid when you say so.
See accounts payableAccounts receivable
Invoices out on schedule, overdue accounts followed up in your name.
See accounts receivableVisory Insights
Once a month: what changed, what it means, and what to do next.
See how Insights worksBusiness Performance Partner
A named partner who walks you through the numbers and the next move.
How your partner worksVisory Insights
What your numbers should show in the State of Hawaii.
Clean books are the start. Every month, Insights turns them into a plain-English report, and a named Business Performance Partner walks your leadership team through what they mean for the year ahead.
Unemployment cost, spread across the year
At the 2.40% new-employer rate plus the 0.01% assessment, an employee paid $64,500 or more costs $1,554.45 in 2026, and contributions continue until wages pass that base. Insights spreads the cost through the forecast quarter by quarter, following each employee’s pay.
The disability deduction has a ceiling
At $7.50 a week, an employee contributes no more than $390 to temporary disability insurance in 2026, and the employer pays the rest of the premium. Insights shows the business’s share of disability and health care premiums as a cost per employee, so hiring decisions carry the full cost.
Excise tax scales with revenue
On $500,000 of service income in Honolulu, the 4.5% general excise tax and surcharge is $22,500 a year, about $1,875 a month, far above the $4,000 a year that requires monthly returns. Insights accrues it monthly, so margins are measured after the tax.
Looking for a fractional CFO in Hawaii? Visory has no standalone CFO offer. That work sits inside Visory Insights and your sessions with a Business Performance Partner. See Visory Insights
What customers say
In a customer’s words.
“Visory applies a commercial lens to how we manage client revenue, always ensuring we balance serving our clients with our business' best interests.”
Rachelle Harper Co-founder and COO, BrandBossHQ Common questions
Questions Hawaii businesses ask.
Straight answers about bookkeeping and payroll for a Hawaii business, from a team that works remotely.
Does Visory have an office in Hawaii?
Visory’s US leadership team is in New York, and its teams work with growing businesses across the United States remotely, so we support businesses in Hawaii as we do everywhere else. A Hawaii business gets a dedicated team you know by name, who keep the books and run payroll inside your own QuickBooks or Xero file and meet you by video call. Your records stay in your file, which you can open at any time.
What hours does my Visory team work?
Your team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round. Outside those hours, the Visory platform is your 24/7 access point, so your financial information is there whenever you need it.
Can a bookkeeper outside my office look after a Hawaii business?
Yes. What matters is that the team knows Hawaii’s rules and works inside your own accounting file. Visory connects to your bank feeds and software, codes and reconciles transactions through the month with Delphi AI working under an expert team, and meets you by video call. Nothing about the work depends on where your office is.
How much does a bookkeeper cost in Hawaii?
Visory charges one flat monthly fee for the scope we agree, with no hourly billing and no timesheets. The fee reflects the services you take, from bookkeeping and payroll to accounts payable, accounts receivable, and Insights, and the volume of work in your business. After a discovery call, you get a clear proposal, so you know the monthly cost before you start.
See how pricing works Do you work in QuickBooks and Xero?
Yes. Visory works inside the systems you already use: QuickBooks and Xero for the ledger, Gusto and Rippling for pay runs, and Bill, Ramp, and Stripe for payments, along with your bank feeds. Your books stay in your own accounting file, which you own and can open at any time. Any change to your setup is agreed with you first.
Does the Hawaii general excise tax apply to services?
Yes. Hawaii has no sales tax; the general excise tax is assessed on all business activities, at 4% of gross income for most, plus a 0.5% county surcharge in Honolulu, Kauai, Hawaii, and Maui counties. The tax is on the business, which may pass it on visibly at up to 4.7120%. This is general information; the Hawaii Department of Taxation sets the rules.
Do Hawaii employers have to provide health care and disability coverage?
Yes. Employees working 20 or more hours a week and earning at least $1,387 a month in 2026 get health care coverage after four consecutive weeks, with their share capped at 1.5% of wages. Temporary disability insurance is also required, with the employee share capped at $7.50 a week. Your Payroll Specialist applies both deductions every pay run and reconciles them to the insurers’ bills.
How often do I have to pay employees in Hawaii?
At least twice each calendar month, on regular paydays set in advance, with all wages paid within seven days after each pay period ends. A discharged employee is paid in full at discharge or by the next working day, and one who quits by the next regular payday. This is general information; the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations sets the rules.
Can you look after staff in more than one state?
Yes. Each state sets its own income tax withholding, unemployment insurance, minimum wage, and leave rules, and Hawaii withholds from wages for work in the state and for work elsewhere when the employee’s regular place of employment is in Hawaii. Visory keeps one set of books and runs payroll with each state’s rules applied, so every state’s cost shows in one monthly report.
Do you offer a fractional CFO in Hawaii?
A fractional CFO advises on numbers someone else produces. Visory runs the books, payroll, and payments, then delivers the insight from the same team: Visory Insights is a plain-English monthly report and a session with a named Business Performance Partner. There is no handover between the doing and the advising, and it comes on one flat monthly fee.
See how Visory Insights worksGetting started
Start with clarity, not a contract.
Three steps, in whatever rhythm suits you. Each one is useful on its own.
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Book a discovery call
An obligation-free conversation about your goals and what you want the numbers to tell you.
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Get your free financial health check
A senior member of the Visory team analyzes your financials and shows you where your finance function can improve. It is free, and it is your own numbers.
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Receive a clear proposal
A clear commercial proposal for the scope we agree, on one flat monthly fee. No hourly billing. You decide whether to go ahead.
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Get started
The best is ahead for your business.
Start with a discovery call. We will listen first, then show you what your own numbers have been trying to tell you.