Bookkeeping and payroll in Massachusetts
Bookkeeping and payroll for Massachusetts businesses.
Visory provides bookkeeping and payroll services for growing Massachusetts businesses, from professional firms and consultancies 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 Massachusetts withholding, unemployment insurance, paid family and medical leave, and sales tax rules. One flat monthly fee covers the agreed scope.
- A dedicated team you know by name
- Massachusetts rules in every pay run and close
- One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
Who we work with in Massachusetts
Growing businesses across Massachusetts.
Health care and social assistance is the state’s largest private industry, with about 658,000 jobs, and professional, scientific, and technical services employ about 357,000 people in almost 44,000 establishments, 1.42 times the industry’s share of jobs nationally (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages). Across Massachusetts, private employers averaged 3.2 million 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.
- Professional services Professional, scientific, and technical services employ about 357,000 people in Massachusetts, at average annual pay of $192,482 (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Consulting firms Management, scientific, and technical consulting firms employ about 51,000 people in Massachusetts across more than 9,600 establishments, 1.18 times the industry’s share of jobs nationally (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Architecture and design firms Architectural and engineering firms employ about 43,000 people in Massachusetts and specialized design firms about 3,350 more (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Nonprofits Religious, grantmaking, civic, and professional organizations employ about 41,000 people in Massachusetts, 1.22 times their share of jobs nationally (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
Massachusetts rules
The Massachusetts rules your finance function runs on.
Eight rules set by Massachusetts, 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.
Withholding leaves the account soon after payday.
For a larger payroll, the $500 trigger means tax is paid over several times a month, and every payment has to agree with the quarterly return, so payroll and the books are reconciled each pay run, not each quarter.
Employers withhold Massachusetts income tax at 5.0% using the 2026 Circular M tables. The percentage method now includes the 4% surtax: annualized wages above $1,107,750, the 2026 surtax threshold, are withheld at 9%. Bonuses and other supplemental wages are withheld at 5%, or at 9% on the part that takes annual wages over the threshold. Employers with more than $25,000 of annual withholding pay it over within 3 business days once $500 is withheld by the 7th, 15th, 22nd, or last day of a month.
Massachusetts General Laws c. 62; Circular M (Rev. 12/25); withholding tables effective January 1, 2026.Sources Massachusetts DOR: Circular M, Income Tax Withholding Tables at 5.0% Effective January 1, 2026 Massachusetts DOR: Massachusetts 4% surtax on taxable income Massachusetts DOR: Withholding Tax Guide
The cost lands in the first quarter.
Contributions stop once an employee’s wages pass $15,000, so for most salaried staff the year’s unemployment cost falls between January and March, and a budget that spreads it evenly understates the first quarter.
Employers pay contributions on the first $15,000 of each employee’s wages in a calendar year. In 2026, new employers pay 2.42% (6.08% in construction), and experience-rated employers pay 0.94% to 14.37% plus a COVID-19 Recovery Assessment. Employers also pay the 0.056% Workforce Training Fund contribution, and from the fourth year, an Employer Medical Assistance Contribution of up to 0.34% applies with six or more employees. Reports are due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31.
Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance Law; 2026 contribution rates.Sources Massachusetts DUA: Employer contributions to unemployment Massachusetts DUA: 2026 UI and COVID-19 Recovery Assessment rate schedule Massachusetts DUA: The Employer’s Guide to Unemployment Insurance Massachusetts DUA: Employer medical assistance contribution (EMAC)
One rate across the state, checked shift by shift.
Massachusetts sets a single floor, but tipped staff are tested against it for each day worked, so any shortfall is topped up in the same pay run rather than at the end of the quarter.
The Massachusetts minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, in effect since January 1, 2023. Employers may pay tipped employees who receive more than $20 a month in tips a service rate of $6.75 an hour, provided their tips bring them to at least $15.00 an hour, and must first tell them in writing about the tip rules. Tips and wages combined must reach the minimum wage for every hour worked each day.
Massachusetts General Laws c. 151 (Minimum Fair Wage Law); $15.00 minimum wage in effect from January 1, 2023.Source Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards: Minimum wage and overtime information
Software sales change the answer.
A firm that sells only its services usually charges no sales tax, but software access billed alongside them is taxable at 6.25%, so invoices separate the two and the tax collected is held for the return.
Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25% of the sales price of tangible personal property and telecommunications services. Personal and professional services, such as accounting, insurance, and legal and medical services, are not taxable, but sales of standardized software are, including charges to access software on a remote server. Vendors collecting $100 or less a year file annually, $101 to $1,200 quarterly, and $1,201 or more monthly, each return due by the 30th day after the period.
Massachusetts General Laws c. 64H.Headcount decides whether it is paid.
At 11 employees, counting full-time, part-time, and temporary staff, sick time becomes paid, so the payroll file tracks accruals from day one and the cost appears in the month the business crosses the line.
Employees earn at least one hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year, from the date of hire, and can use it from their 90th calendar day of employment. Employers with 11 or more employees must pay it; smaller employers must provide it, but it can be unpaid. Overtime-exempt employees are assumed to work 40 hours a week for accrual, and employers post the notice of employee rights.
Massachusetts General Laws c. 149, § 148C; earned sick time law enforced from July 1, 2015.Sources Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards: Minimum wage and overtime information Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office: Earned Sick Time Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries: Mass. General Laws c. 149, § 148C
Dismissal pay is due the same day.
A termination needs its final payroll ready before the conversation, not on the next pay date, so wages and anything else owed are worked out in advance.
Hourly workers must be paid every week or every other week. Wages are due within 6 days of the end of the pay period for employees who worked 5 or 6 days in the week, and within 7 days otherwise. Workers who quit are paid in full on the next regular payday, or by the first Saturday after they quit if there is none. Workers who are fired or laid off are paid in full on their last day of work.
Massachusetts Wage Act, M.G.L. c. 149, § 148.Source Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office: Pay and recordkeeping
Onboarding is part of the pay run.
The new-hire report draws on the same details as the first pay, so it is filed the day someone is added to the payroll file, and contractors are reported alongside employees.
Employers report every newly hired employee who works in Massachusetts, and anyone returning after 30 or more days off the payroll, to the Department of Revenue within 14 days of the start of, or return to, employment. Retiring employees and workers’ compensation claims are reported within 14 days too, and independent contractors paid $600 or more over the year within 14 days of starting work.
Massachusetts New Hire Reporting Program; 830 CMR 62E.2.1.Source Massachusetts DOR: Learn about the New Hire Reporting Program
The split depends on headcount.
At 25 covered individuals the employer share starts, so the employee deduction and the employer cost are set up separately, both stop at the wage cap, and the 2027 change is built into the payroll file before January.
Employers with 25 or more covered individuals send the Department of Family and Medical Leave 0.88% of eligible wages in 2026: up to 0.46% may be withheld from employees, and the employer pays at least 0.42%. Smaller employers send 0.46%, all of which may be withheld. Contributions stop at the Social Security wage base, $184,500 in 2026, and the maximum weekly benefit is $1,230.39. From January 1, 2027, the employer share moves from medical to family leave.
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave law; Chapter 101 of the Acts of 2026; 2026 contribution rates, for wages earned from January 1, 2026.Sources Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave: Employer contribution rates and calculator Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave: How weekly benefit amounts are calculated US Social Security Administration: Contribution and benefit base
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 Massachusetts run a Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts 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 pay runs in your own payroll platform, and your team works inside them 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts.
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 costs accrue by March
At the 2.42% new-employer rate, each employee costs $363 in contributions on the first $15,000 of wages, plus $8.40 to the Workforce Training Fund, and for anyone paid $60,000 or more a year, all of it falls in the first quarter. Insights puts that into the cash flow forecast.
Family leave has a cost on every salary
With 25 or more covered individuals, a $100,000 salary carries $880 a year in paid family and medical leave contributions: up to $460 withheld from the employee and at least $420 paid by the business. Insights shows that cost by role, so hiring plans include it from the first offer.
A large bonus can cross the surtax line
For an executive with $1 million of annualized wages after deductions, a $200,000 bonus is withheld at 9% on the $92,250 above the $1,107,750 threshold and 5% on the rest: $13,690, against $10,000 at a flat 5%. Insights times the payment so the cash is ready.
Looking for a fractional CFO in Massachusetts? 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 understands my business deeply and it's evident with the thoughtful questions they ask and changes they propose.”
Rachelle Harper Co-founder and COO, BrandBossHQ Common questions
Questions Massachusetts businesses ask.
Straight answers about bookkeeping and payroll for a Massachusetts business, from a team that works remotely.
Does Visory have an office in Massachusetts?
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 Massachusetts as we do everywhere else. A Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts business?
Yes. What matters is that the team knows the Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?
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.
Do Massachusetts businesses charge sales tax on services?
Usually not. Personal and professional services, such as accounting, insurance, and legal and medical services, are not taxable in Massachusetts. Sales of standardized software are taxable at 6.25%, including charges to access software on a remote server, so a firm that bills software alongside its services charges tax on that part. This is general information; the Department of Revenue sets the rules.
How much is the Massachusetts paid family and medical leave contribution in 2026?
It is 0.88% of eligible wages for employers with 25 or more covered individuals, of which up to 0.46% may be withheld from employees, and 0.46% for smaller employers. Contributions stop at the Social Security wage base, $184,500 in 2026. Your Payroll Specialist sets up both shares and stops them at the cap. This is general information; the Department of Family and Medical Leave sets the rules.
When is final pay due when someone leaves a Massachusetts business?
It depends on how the job ends. An employee who is fired or laid off is paid in full on their last day of work. One who quits is paid on the next regular payday, or by the first Saturday after they quit if there is no regular payday. Your Payroll Specialist prepares the final pay run in time. This is general information; the Attorney General enforces 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 Massachusetts withholds income tax from nonresidents for the work they do in the state. Visory keeps one set of books and runs payroll with each state’s rules applied to the staff who work there, so every state’s cost shows in one monthly report.
Do you offer a fractional CFO in Massachusetts?
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.