Fractional CFO Services in Boston
Fractional CFO and controller services for Boston construction, contractors, distribution, manufacturing, and service businesses.
Massachusetts and Greater New England
Fractional CFO and Controller services for Boston-area businesses.
Vessel Advisors supports businesses across Greater Boston, the Route 128 belt, and the broader New England market — life sciences and medical device manufacturers, PE-backed platforms, B2B technology and SaaS firms, professional and engineering services, and North Shore and MetroWest industrial operators . Our team includes CFOs and Controllers local to Boston, backed by a vetted national bench of senior finance leaders who support businesses that need expert help.
Boston runs on a different operating rhythm than most US metros. Life sciences and medical devices, one of the country's densest PE ecosystems, a mature B2B technology base, and the world's largest higher-ed cluster all sit inside a hundred-mile radius. Finance-function work here has to speak all four languages.
How can we help?
What’s going on in your business and where would you like help?
An Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Company for two consecutive years.
The Market
Boston's mid-market is a life sciences and PE ecosystem stacked on top of a deep industrial and technology base — and each layer expects a different kind of finance function.
The Boston business base is unusually specialized. Kendall Square and the Route 128 belt anchor one of the world's densest life sciences and medical device concentrations — contract research organizations, biotech tools companies, device manufacturers, and clinical services operators. Around them, one of the country's largest per-capita PE communities is constantly consolidating services, life sciences suppliers, and specialty industrial platforms. B2B technology and SaaS is more mature and enterprise-oriented here than in Bay Area or NYC. And the region's higher-education gravity spins off ed-tech, education services, publishing operators, and university-adjacent consulting firms at scale.
The finance-function work in Boston reflects that mix. Life sciences operators need complex revenue recognition, deferred revenue and milestone accounting, and grant-flow tracking that most generalist CFOs never touch. PE-backed platforms need institutional-grade reporting on day one. And the industrial and precision manufacturing base along Route 128, up the North Shore, and out toward MetroWest still runs on the same margin, inventory, and cost discipline every mfg mid-market needs — with talent costs that leave no room for slack.
What we see most:
- Life sciences tools, contract research, and medical device manufacturers preparing for milestone revenue events, licensing deals, or strategic sales.
- PE-backed platforms rolling up services, life sciences suppliers, and specialty industrials across New England.
- B2B technology and SaaS operators moving from founder-owned to sponsor-backed structures, with the reporting maturity to match.
- Route 128, North Shore, and MetroWest industrial manufacturers with real inventory and cost accounting requirements.
- Consulting, engineering, and professional services firms scaling utilization-driven economics.
- Family businesses in industrial, distribution, and specialty consumer navigating generational transitions or a sponsor conversation.
Industries
Where we work most in New England.
Life sciences and medical devices
Biotech tools, contract research organizations, medical device manufacturers, and clinical services operators. Complex revenue recognition, milestone and deferred revenue, grant and non-dilutive funding flows, and the reporting rigor strategic buyers and sponsors expect.
PE-backed platforms and portfolio companies
Sponsor-backed rollups across services, life sciences suppliers, and specialty industrials. EBITDA quality, 100-day integration work, add-on absorption, and the quarterly sponsor reporting cadence institutional owners expect.
Technology, SaaS, and enterprise software
B2B technology, enterprise SaaS, and infrastructure software operators. Bookings-to-revenue reporting, deferred revenue, unit economics discipline, and the metrics maturity institutional investors and strategic acquirers work from.
Industrial manufacturing and professional services
Route 128, North Shore, and MetroWest precision and industrial manufacturers; engineering and technical services firms; consulting and specialty professional services. Inventory accuracy, standard cost discipline, utilization economics, and margin visibility. Our manufacturing case study shows the pattern.
Massachusetts Taxes and Compliance
Massachusetts taxes income above $1,107,750 at 9%. A new 2026 excise lets pass-through entities pay the top 4% at the entity level.
A law approved June 12, 2026 created that excise, rewrote how Massachusetts follows the federal code and moves the employer's paid-leave share from medical to family leave in 2027. Boston companies also face mandatory treble damages for late wages, and across the New Hampshire line, neither wages nor general sales are taxed.
Taxes
Income tax
5% flat, 9% above $1,107,750
The 4% surtax threshold is indexed each year and was $1,083,150 for 2025. Short-term capital gains are taxed at 8.5%. Boston and Cambridge levy no income or payroll tax of their own.
Pass-through entity excise
5% on owners' income, plus a new 4% above the surtax line
Partnerships, S corporations and LLCs taxed as either can elect the 5% chapter 63D excise and, from 2026, a 4% chapter 63E excise on owners' income above $1,107,750. Owners get a credit for 90% of either, and both last as long as the federal SALT cap does. The election is made each year on Form 63-ELT by the return due date, extensions included, and can't be made on an amended return.
Corporate excise
8% of net income, $456 at minimum
Corporations add $2.60 per $1,000 of taxable tangible property or net worth to the 8% income measure. S corporations pay an entity-level excise of 2% once total receipts reach $6 million and 3% at $9 million, with receipts counted before cost of goods sold.
Federal conformity
Research costs decoupled through 2025, partly followed from 2026
Under the June 2026 law, Massachusetts keeps 2022–2025 domestic research costs on five-year amortization and disallows the federal catch-up elections. Bonus depreciation stays decoupled. The larger §179 limits, the §168(n) write-off for production property and the EBITDA-based §163(j) interest limit wait until 2027.
Sales tax
6.25% in Boston, 7.0% on meals
Massachusetts has no local general sales tax, so the rate is 6.25% in Boston and Cambridge, and both cities add 0.75% on restaurant meals. Prewritten software is taxable however it is delivered, and so is access to software on a remote server.
Property tax
$26.96 per $1,000 on Boston commercial property in FY2026
Cambridge's FY2026 commercial rate is $14.07, up 22% in a year. Sole proprietors, partnerships and LLCs not taxed as corporations also pay property tax on business equipment at that commercial rate, while business corporations are largely exempt. The Form of List is due to local assessors by March 1.
Employers
Minimum wage and sick time
$15.00 an hour and 40 hours of sick time
The state rate has been $15.00 since 2023, with no indexing and no scheduled increase, and the tipped cash wage is $6.75. Employees earn one hour of sick time per 30 worked, up to 40 a year. It is paid at employers with 11 or more employees and unpaid but job-protected below that.
Paid family and medical leave
0.88% of wages, with a split that changes in 2027
Employers with 25 or more covered workers pay at least 0.42% and may withhold the rest from employees. Smaller employers remit 0.46%, all of which may be withheld. On January 1, 2027, the employer's share moves from the medical contribution to the family contribution under the June 2026 law.
Pay transparency
Pay ranges in job postings at 25 employees
Since October 29, 2025, employers with 25 or more Massachusetts employees put a good-faith pay range in each posting and give it to applicants, and to employees on promotion, transfer or request. Employers may not ask for an applicant's pay history, from the applicant or from a former employer.
Final pay and the Wage Act
Paid in full on the day of discharge
An employee who resigns is paid by the next regular payday. A successful Wage Act claim for late or unpaid wages carries mandatory treble damages plus costs and attorneys' fees, so a termination needs payroll ready the same day.
Unemployment insurance
2.42% for new employers, 6.08% for new construction employers
The rate applies to the first $15,000 of each employee's wages and holds for a new employer's first three years. New employers are exempt from the COVID-19 Recovery Assessment, which experienced employers pay on top of rates from 0.94% to 14.37%.
Crossing the state line
New Hampshire business taxes
7.5% on profits, 0.55% on the enterprise base
The Business Profits Tax uses single-sales-factor apportionment and combined reporting for unitary groups. The Business Enterprise Tax applies 0.55% to wages, interest and dividends paid, with filing required once gross receipts or that base exceeds $298,000, and BET paid is credited against the profits tax.
Commuters and remote staff
Days worked from home in New Hampshire aren't Massachusetts income
Massachusetts taxes a New Hampshire resident's wages only for the days worked in Massachusetts, apportioned by days, and it has no convenience-of-the-employer rule. New Hampshire taxes no wages, and its tax on interest and dividends is repealed for periods beginning after December 31, 2024.
Sales tax
No general sales tax, 8.5% on meals and rooms
New Hampshire has no general sales or use tax, and its meals and rooms tax of 8.5% covers meals, lodging and car rentals. Massachusetts residents who buy goods there and use them in Massachusetts still owe the 6.25% use tax.
Questions Boston owners ask
Will Massachusetts follow the next federal tax change right away?
Not when the revenue effect is large. From 2026, a federal change that alters Massachusetts gross income or deductions doesn't apply to tax years beginning in the year it is enacted or earlier, unless the Department of Revenue finds within 90 days that the revenue impact is under $20 million. The corporate excise still follows the current federal code, now with that delay, while the personal income tax follows the code as of January 1, 2024, apart from trade or business deductions.
Can I end up owing the seller's sales tax when I buy a Massachusetts business?
Yes, unless the buyer withholds enough of the price until the seller produces a Department of Revenue certificate showing the sales and use tax is paid or not due. A buyer who skips that step is personally liable up to the purchase price. The department has 90 days from the buyer's written request to issue the certificate or name the amount due, and the certificate doesn't cover the seller's unemployment-insurance obligations. More on newly acquired businesses.
What does a Massachusetts non-compete need to hold up?
It has to be in writing, signed by both sides, tell the employee of the right to consult counsel, and come with garden leave of at least 50% of the employee's highest annualized base salary over the prior two years or other consideration both sides agree to. The restricted period can't exceed 12 months, or two years when the employee breached a fiduciary duty or took the employer's property. Non-competes are unenforceable against non-exempt employees, students, employees laid off or terminated without cause and workers 18 or younger. Non-solicits, NDAs and sale-of-business covenants fall outside the law.
What health-care charges and filings apply to Massachusetts employers?
The Employer Medical Assistance Contribution applies to the first $15,000 of each employee's wages from a company's fourth year: 0.12% in year four, 0.24% in year five and 0.34% after that, with employers of fewer than six employees exempt. Every employer with 6 or more Massachusetts employees in the past 12 months also files a Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure between November 15 and December 15 each year.
When does a Massachusetts company report unclaimed property?
By November 1, covering property presumed abandoned as of June 30 or the fiscal year end. The general dormancy period is three years. Credit balances owed to vendors or commercial customers in the ordinary course are exempt.
How fast does a private owner have to pay a Massachusetts contractor?
On private contracts of $3,000,000 or more, other than projects with one to four dwelling units, the owner approves or rejects a payment application within 15 days and pays within 45 days after approval, and an application not rejected in time is deemed approved. Pay-if-paid clauses are void except in narrow cases. Below $3 million, payment terms are whatever the contract says, and no statute caps private retainage at any size; the 5% caps apply to public contracts.
When does a Massachusetts contractor have to record a notice of contract?
By the earliest of three dates: 60 days after the owner records a notice of substantial completion, 90 days after a notice of termination, or 90 days after the contractor last furnishes labor or materials. A statement of account follows, and the lien dissolves unless suit is filed within 90 days after the statement. A lower-tier subcontractor or supplier also sends the general contractor a notice of identification within 30 days of starting work, or its lien is limited to what the general contractor owes its subcontractor at the time of filing. See how we work with construction companies.
Figures verified October 2026 against the Massachusetts General Laws, St. 2026, c. 101 and TIR 26-4, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the Department of Unemployment Assistance, the Department of Family and Medical Leave, the Attorney General's Office, the City of Boston, the City of Cambridge and the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.
Boston Finance Talent
Boston's median financial manager earns $209,780, more than a quarter above the national figure.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 21,650 financial managers, the category that covers controllers and finance directors, in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro. Their median pay of $209,780 runs 25.9% above the national median of $166,570, and the 90th percentile reaches $335,150. Accountants and auditors earn a median $100,150, against $83,680 nationally.
The metro, which reaches into southern New Hampshire, has 8,259 business locations with 50 to 499 employees, according to Census, and a search for a controller or finance director at any of them is priced in that market. A company that needs CFO judgment doesn't need to win a full-time hire there to have it.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA. U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 and Vintage 2025 population estimates.
How we engage.
When It's Broken
Put out the fire.
Interim CFO & Controller. At the loss of a key employee. When things crash or break. We deploy interim professionals — repairing what's broken and keeping the system running while you decide what's next.
When You're Building & Exiting
Advise and serve.
CFO, Controller & Accounting Team. Right-sized financial leadership — and the team to execute. Embedded for the long run. The CFO Power Team: right roles, right cost.
When You Don't Know What You Don't Know
Assessment services.
Financial Discovery Assessment. A structured deep-dive that reveals where your finance function stands today — and what it needs to support where you're going.
Transaction Readiness Assessment. Will the books and reporting tell the right story to a buyer or investor — and do the systems and processes support merger or acquisition activities?
Coverage
We cover Boston and New England.
Our team includes CFOs and Controllers based in the region. We staff engagements with local presence and pull in the vetted national bench when scope requires additional depth.
Coverage area: Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Newton, and the Route 128 belt including Waltham, Burlington, and Woburn; MetroWest including Framingham, Natick, and Marlborough; North Shore including Beverly, Danvers, and Peabody; South Shore including Quincy, Braintree, and Plymouth; and Southern New Hampshire including Nashua and Portsmouth.
Nearby coverage: New York City and the Tri-State to the south along the Northeast Corridor.
Call the team
866-324-4473Our Proprietary Diagnostic
The Financial Discovery Assessment shows you what’s working, what’s missing, and the plan to get where the business needs to go.
Every Assessment applies the same structured examination — accounting systems and technology, processes and procedures, team members and team structure, and team-member will-skill — refined across hundreds of engagements in businesses that look like yours.
The output is the Financial Heat Map System: dollarized findings, hidden inefficiencies, and a sequenced plan. It’s presented at the Executive Action Meeting, where your stakeholders review findings and recommendations in non-clinical, non-technical language they can act on.
We’ve walked into hundreds of businesses at the stage yours is in now. We know where to look. We know how to fix what we find.
Prefer to call? 866-324-4473