The restaurant onboarding checklist items that matter most
By Dan MurphyUpdated 5 min read
What should be on a restaurant onboarding checklist?
A restaurant onboarding checklist should include the written offer with tip terms, Form I-9 with documents examined by a manager, the W-4 and Massachusetts M-4, a state new-hire report within 14 days, work permits for minors, signed handbook acknowledgements, recorded certifications, WOTC screening, individual system logins, and a payroll record set up before the first run.
A restaurant onboarding checklist is only useful if every item on it has a clear owner and a deadline. These are the items that matter most in a Massachusetts restaurant, in the order they come up, with the reason each one gets missed.
For the full working version, grouped by when each item happens, use our Massachusetts restaurant onboarding checklist.
How this list was put together
- Items that carry a legal deadline, or cause a payroll error when they are missing.
- Ordered by when they come up, from offer to first payroll.
- Each item links to the official source or to our longer guide.
1.The offer in writing, including tip terms
Role, pay rate, start date, whether the role is tipped and whether it takes part in a tip pool. For tipped staff paid the $6.75 service rate, Massachusetts requires the employer to tell them about the service-rate rule in writing.
Why it matters: when terms were only ever agreed verbally, disputes are hard to settle later.
Source: Mass.gov: Pay and recordkeeping
2.Form I-9, with documents examined by you
The employee completes Section 1 by their first day of work for pay. A manager must then physically examine their identity and work authorization documents and complete Section 2 within the federal deadline. Only the employer can do that step. It cannot be handed to a service provider.
Why it matters: missing or late I-9s are among the easiest violations for an inspector to find.
Source: USCIS: I-9 Central
3.Both withholding forms: federal W-4 and Massachusetts M-4
The federal W-4 sets federal withholding. The Massachusetts M-4 sets state withholding. The state form is the one people forget.
Why it matters: without the M-4, state withholding runs on defaults and the employee finds out at tax time.
4.New-hire report to the state within 14 days
Every new hire must be reported to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue within 14 days of their first day of work.
Why it matters: nothing inside the restaurant prompts this step, which is why it is the one most often missed.
5.A work permit for anyone under 18
Every worker under 18 needs a Massachusetts work permit before starting, and their schedule must fit the hour limits for their age.
Why it matters: summer hiring brings in minors all at once, just when the paperwork is most rushed.
6.Handbook and policy acknowledgements, signed
Signed and dated receipts for the handbook, the tip policy and any other written policies, filed in the personnel record.
Why it matters: a policy is hard to enforce if you cannot show the employee received it. See the handbook guide.
7.Certifications recorded with expiry dates
Food safety, allergen awareness and alcohol service certificates, as the role requires. Massachusetts requires the person in charge on every shift to hold allergen awareness training, and certificates last five years.
Why it matters: a certificate that lapses without anyone noticing is a problem at the next inspection.
8.WOTC screening on or before the offer
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit screening form has to be completed around the time of the job offer, and the paperwork has its own filing deadline. Check the credit's current status first: it has lapsed and been renewed before.
Why it matters: if screening waits until after the start date, the credit is usually lost for good. See WOTC for restaurants.
Source: IRS: About Form 8850
9.Own logins for POS, scheduling and the time clock
Every new hire gets their own credentials on day one. Nobody clocks in on someone else's login.
Why it matters: on shared logins, nobody can tell who actually worked the hours on a timecard.
10.The payroll record set up before the first run
The employee's record, pay rates for each role and tip settings are in the payroll system before the first pay period closes, not after.
Why it matters: if someone works before their record exists, you end up correcting pay after the fact and with an incomplete file.
Source: BOHO: Payroll approval checklist
Making the checklist stick
Give each item one owner and one deadline, and check the list at the first payroll approval after a hire. That is the point where a missing item becomes a pay problem, so it is the natural place to catch it.
If nobody at the restaurant has time to own this, that is the gap BOHO's onboarding service fills.
Where to go next
- Massachusetts onboarding checklist: the full version, by stage
- Best onboarding services for restaurants: if you would rather hand it off
- Restaurant onboarding: how BOHO runs it
Keep reading
Related resources
Restaurant onboarding administration
A practical Massachusetts restaurant onboarding checklist
What paperwork does a Massachusetts restaurant need for a new hire?
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Restaurant HR administration
What restaurant owners should know before relying on a WOTC workflow
How does WOTC work for restaurants, and can the credit be guaranteed?
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Your restaurant remains the employer of record and approves payroll and employment decisions. BOHO is not a PEO, a staffing agency, or legal counsel.