Bookkeeping in Michigan
Bookkeeping services for Michigan businesses.
Visory provides bookkeeping services for growing Michigan businesses, from professional firms and design studios 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 to Michigan’s sales and use tax, withholding, city income tax, and unemployment insurance rules. One flat monthly fee covers the agreed scope.
- A dedicated team you know by name
- Michigan rules in every pay run and close
- One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
Who we work with in Michigan
Growing businesses across Michigan.
Health care and social assistance is Michigan’s largest private industry, with about 641,000 jobs, and manufacturing employs about 583,000 people, 1.64 times its share of jobs nationally (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages). Across the state, private employers averaged 3.8 million jobs in 2025, and professional, scientific, and technical services about 308,000 of them.
- 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 308,000 people in Michigan in almost 46,000 establishments, at average annual pay of $114,848 (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Architecture and design firms Architectural and engineering firms employ about 83,000 people in Michigan, 1.7 times the industry’s share of jobs nationally, and specialized design firms about 10,600 more (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Marketing and creative agencies Advertising, public relations, and related services employ about 12,600 people in Michigan across more than 2,200 establishments (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
- Nonprofits Religious, grantmaking, civic, and professional organizations employ about 45,000 people in Michigan, 1.12 times their share of jobs nationally (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025).
Michigan rules
The Michigan rules your finance function runs on.
Four rules set by Michigan, 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.
One return carries three taxes.
Withholding, sales tax, and use tax share a filing frequency, so payroll and the sales ledger are closed on the same calendar and the annual return has to agree with every period filed during the year.
Employers withhold Michigan income tax at 4.25% of compensation after deducting the personal and dependency exemption allowance, set at $5,900 for 2026 and claimed on Form MI-W4. Bonuses paid separately from regular payroll are withheld at a flat 4.25%. Withholding is reported with sales and use tax on one combined return, filed monthly or quarterly by the 20th, as Treasury assigns, and every filer also submits an annual return by February 28.
Michigan Income Tax Act, MCL 206.51; Form 446 (Rev. 02-26); 4.25% rate for the 2026 tax year.Sources Michigan Department of Treasury: Form 446, 2026 Michigan Income Tax Withholding Guide Michigan Department of Treasury: 4.25% income tax rate for individuals and fiduciaries in 2026 tax year Michigan Department of Treasury: Filing frequency for sales, use, and withholding taxes
Good standing lowers the bill.
A missed report or a small unpaid balance moves every employee onto the $9,500 wage base, so reports and payments are reconciled each quarter, and the cost lands early in the year because it stops at the wage base.
New contributing employers pay 2.7% in their first two years, except certain construction employers. In 2026 the rate applies to the first $9,000 of each employee’s wages for employers in good standing, meaning every quarterly report filed and no unpaid balance of $25 or more; other employers are taxed on the first $9,500. Quarterly wage and tax reports are due April 25, July 25, October 25, and January 25.
Michigan Employment Security Act; taxable wage base for 2026.Sources Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency: Tax rates and liability FAQ Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency: Michigan Employer Advisor, November 2025 (taxable wage base for 2026) Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency: Unemployment tax rate
The floor rises again in January.
The step to $15.00 lifts the cost of every hourly role paid near the minimum, so pay rates in the payroll file are reviewed before the first pay run of 2027, not after it.
Michigan’s minimum wage rose from $12.48 to $13.73 an hour on January 1, 2026, and the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity lists $15.00 from January 1, 2027. Tipped employees may be paid $5.49 an hour, 40% of the minimum wage, provided they receive at least $8.24 in tips, and minors aged 16 and 17 may be paid 85% of the minimum wage, $11.67 an hour.
Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, Public Act 337 of 2018; rates from January 1, 2026; $15.00 from January 1, 2027.Sources Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity: Minimum wage and overtime Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity: Michigan’s minimum wage set to increase on Jan. 1, 2026
One rate, wherever you sell.
With no local sales tax, a business that sells goods charges 6% across the state, and the books hold the tax collected apart until the return Treasury has assigned is due.
Michigan’s 6% sales tax applies to retail sales of tangible personal property, and the companion 6% use tax also reaches certain services, such as telecommunications and hotel accommodations. Michigan does not allow cities or other local units to impose a sales or use tax. Treasury assigns each business a monthly, quarterly, or annual filing frequency: monthly and quarterly returns are due by the 20th, and every filer submits an annual return by February 28.
General Sales Tax Act, Act 167 of 1933.Sources Michigan Department of Treasury: Filing frequency for sales, use, and withholding taxes Michigan Department of Treasury: Sales and use taxes
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 Michigan run a Michigan 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.
Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan.
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, front-loaded
At 2.7% on the first $9,000 of wages, each employee costs a new employer $243 in 2026, or $256.50 on the $9,500 base if the account falls out of good standing. For anyone paid $36,000 or more a year, all of it falls in the first quarter. Insights puts it into the cash flow forecast.
The 2027 minimum wage step
The move from $13.73 to $15.00 adds $1.27 an hour, or $2,641.60 a year for a full-time employee working 2,080 hours, before payroll taxes. Insights models the step against your current pay rates, so the budget for 2027 already carries it.
Detroit is due before the state
Detroit’s monthly withholding return is due on the 15th, five days before Michigan’s monthly return on the 20th, and it is filed even in a month with nothing owed. Insights puts both dates in the cash calendar, so neither payment surprises the account.
Looking for a fractional CFO in Michigan? 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 ensures we have a clear view of who we need to pay and how that impacts cash flow so that there are no surprises.”
Rachelle Harper Co-founder and COO, BrandBossHQ Common questions
Questions Michigan businesses ask.
Straight answers about bookkeeping for a Michigan business, from a team that works remotely.
Does Visory have an office in Michigan?
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 Michigan as we do everywhere else. A Michigan business gets a dedicated team you know by name, who work 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 Michigan business?
Yes. What matters is that the team knows Michigan’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 Michigan?
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 Michigan businesses charge sales tax on services?
Michigan’s 6% sales tax applies to retail sales of tangible personal property, and use tax reaches only certain services, such as telecommunications and hotel accommodations. Cities cannot add a sales tax of their own, so the rate is the same everywhere in the state. Returns are filed monthly, quarterly, or annually, as Treasury assigns. This is general information; the Department of Treasury sets the rules.
Which Michigan cities have an income tax?
Twenty-four cities levy one, including Detroit at 2.4% for residents and 1.2% for nonresidents, Grand Rapids and Saginaw at 1.5% and 0.75%, and Lansing and Flint at 1% and 0.5%. Employers in those cities withhold it alongside state tax, so the payroll file needs each employee’s home and work city. This is general information; the Department of Treasury and each city set the rules.
Do Michigan businesses owe use tax on their purchases?
Yes, when Michigan tax was not collected at the sale. Use tax of 6% is due on the total price of taxable items brought into Michigan or bought online, by mail, or by phone from out-of-state retailers that do not collect sales or use tax, with credit for tax paid to another state. It goes on the same combined return as sales tax and withholding, at the filing frequency Treasury sets. This is general information; the Department of Treasury sets the rules.
Can you look after staff in more than one state?
Yes. Each state sets its own withholding, unemployment insurance, minimum wage, and leave rules. Michigan has reciprocal agreements with Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, so residents of those states working in Michigan are not subject to Michigan withholding. Visory keeps one set of books and applies each state’s rules to the staff who work there.
Do you offer a fractional CFO in Michigan?
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.
Free · your own numbers -
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.
Flat monthly fee
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.
Sources (27) · rules last checked October 9, 2026
State income tax
Unemployment insurance
Minimum wage
Pay frequency
New hires
Local rules
- Michigan Department of Treasury: Which cities impose an income tax?
- Michigan Department of Treasury: Form 5469, 2026 City of Detroit Income Tax Withholding Guide
- City of Grand Rapids Income Tax Department: Income tax guide for withholders
- City of Saginaw: Income Tax
- City of Lansing: Withholding Tax Guide
- City of East Lansing: Income Tax
- City of Flint: Income Tax Forms
- Michigan Department of Treasury: City of Flint Taxes
- City of Jackson: Income Tax Division
- City of Battle Creek: 2025 income tax instructions
- City of Muskegon: Income Tax
- City of Highland Park: Income Tax