Restaurant payroll coordination
Best restaurant payroll support services in Boston (2026)
Disclosure: BOHO publishes this list and ranks its own service first.
By Dan MurphyUpdated 5 min read
What are the options for restaurant payroll support in Boston?
Boston restaurants can run payroll in POS-linked software such as Toast Payroll, hand it to a payroll bureau such as Checkwriters, Atlas Payroll or PayPlus, use a restaurant accountant that runs payroll such as FORCS, or use a coordination service such as BOHO that prepares each cycle's inputs for the owner's approval. The right one depends on who should do the prep work.
About this list: BOHO wrote it and put its own service first, so read entry 1 with that in mind. Every other entry is a real company we checked on its own website on . None of them paid to be here or knows it is listed, and nothing on this page is a rating.
Payroll support for a Boston restaurant comes in three forms: software you run yourself, a payroll bureau that runs it for you, and a service that prepares the inputs so whichever of those you use gets clean numbers. Most payroll problems in restaurants start before the run. Timecards are left open, tips don't reconcile, and new hires never get set up properly.
This list covers all three, including Boston's own restaurant payroll platform and local bureaus.
How we chose
- Real providers serving Boston restaurants, checked on their own websites.
- Evidence of restaurant work: tip handling, restaurant clients or a restaurant-specific offer.
- A clear description of what you hand over and what stays with you.
- No pricing or ratings. Get current quotes.
The list at a glance
| # | Name | Type | Based in / serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Back of House Ops (BOHO) | Restaurant HR administration and payroll coordination | Massachusetts |
| 2 | Toast Payroll & Team Management | POS-integrated payroll software | Boston-based company; used nationwide |
| 3 | Checkwriters | Payroll and HR provider | Massachusetts headquarters |
| 4 | FORCS | Restaurant accounting and payroll | New York, NY; serves Boston |
| 5 | Atlas Payroll | Local payroll bureau | Chelmsford, MA |
| 6 | PayPlus | Regional payroll bureau | Offices in NH, MA and ME |
| 7 | Paychex | National payroll and HR provider | National |
1.Back of House Ops (BOHO)
Restaurant HR administration and payroll coordination · Massachusetts
Payroll coordination for Massachusetts restaurants. BOHO collects timecards, declared tips, new hires, terminations and rate changes each cycle, flags the exceptions, and prepares the run for a named approver at your restaurant to sign off before anything is submitted. It works alongside HR administration, so onboarding and payroll are handled together.
Best for: Boston restaurants whose payroll software works fine, but where the prep work before each run keeps slipping.
Not the right fit if: you want someone else to become the employer (that is a PEO), you want benefits bundled in, or you operate outside Massachusetts. BOHO is not a PEO, not the employer of record and not a law firm, and it serves Massachusetts restaurants only for now. The scope page lists what it does and does not do.
2.Toast Payroll & Team Management
POS-integrated payroll software · Boston-based company; used nationwide
Payroll built into the Toast restaurant platform. Toast's help documentation describes tips taken through the Toast POS flowing into Toast Payroll based on how shift review is set up.
Best for: restaurants already running on Toast POS.
Worth knowing: it is software: it processes what it is given, and someone still has to review timecards, tips and new-hire paperwork before each run.
3.Checkwriters
Payroll and HR provider · Massachusetts headquarters
A Massachusetts-headquartered payroll company offering payroll, HR, time and attendance, and onboarding. It publishes restaurant payroll material that covers tip calculations, variable schedules and compliance.
Best for: Massachusetts restaurants that want a regional payroll company with local support rather than a national call center.
Worth knowing: it is a payroll and HR platform: someone at the restaurant still has to prepare and approve what goes into it.
4.FORCS
Restaurant accounting and payroll · New York, NY; serves Boston
A restaurant-only accounting firm that also runs tip-compliant payroll and payroll tax. Its Boston page covers Massachusetts-specific points such as the state meals tax.
Best for: restaurants that want bookkeeping and payroll from the same restaurant-focused firm.
Worth knowing: it is an accounting and payroll firm, so HR work such as onboarding files and handbooks is not its focus.
5.Atlas Payroll
Local payroll bureau · Chelmsford, MA
A local payroll bureau handling payroll processing, tax filings and year-end W-2 and 1099 forms, and it lists restaurants among the businesses it works with.
Best for: small independents that want a local person running the payroll itself.
Worth knowing: its site does not describe HR support or POS tip integration, so check both if you need them.
6.PayPlus
Regional payroll bureau · Offices in NH, MA and ME
A New England payroll bureau offering payroll, time and attendance, HR tools, onboarding and ACA compliance.
Best for: businesses north and west of Boston, or across the NH and MA line, that want a regional bureau.
Worth knowing: its site does not mention restaurants specifically.
7.Paychex
National payroll and HR provider · National
A national payroll provider with a restaurant and hospitality offering covering payroll, time tracking, benefits and HR. It also offers a PEO option.
Best for: groups that want one large provider for payroll, benefits and HR under one contract.
Worth knowing: check which product you are buying: its PEO option is a co-employment arrangement, which is a different thing from payroll software.
How to choose
If your POS is Toast, look at Toast's own payroll first, because tip data flows in directly. If you want a person to run payroll, a local bureau such as Atlas or a regional one such as Checkwriters fits better. If the problem is that inputs arrive late or wrong, changing software will not fix it. You need someone to own the preparation.
Whatever you choose, keep an approval step on your side. Our payroll approval checklist is the list to run before signing off any cycle.
Where to go next
- Restaurant payroll coordination: how BOHO prepares each cycle
- Boston restaurant HR & payroll: why Boston rooms are harder to administer
- Best restaurant payroll software: the software side, compared
Keep reading
Related resources
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Want this running without you chasing it?
Your restaurant remains the employer of record and approves payroll and employment decisions. BOHO is not a PEO, a staffing agency, or legal counsel.