Murphy Accounting: Services, Fees and How It Works

What is Murphy Accounting?

Murphy Accounting is a local accounting practice in North Easton, Massachusetts. Its home page sums up the offer as "Bookkeeping, tax & advisory for owner-led businesses," and describes the work as "monthly bookkeeping, payroll support, business and personal tax coordination, and year-round guidance for sole proprietors, LLCs, S corporations, and growing small businesses."

The idea the whole site is built around is that a small business usually ends up with three separate people (a bookkeeper, a tax preparer and a payroll provider) who never talk to each other. In the practice's words, "Everyone does their part correctly. The problems appear at the joins." Murphy Accounting's pitch is to hold the books, the tax return and the conversation in between in one place, so the return is built from books that were kept by the same practice.

The practice says it is "small on purpose." Its promise is narrow and specific: "the person who works on your books is the person who answers when you call," with no account managers and no handoffs to a team you haven't met. The home page also calls it "a local practice, not a call center." The site is just as direct about the trade-off: a small practice "is not right for every business," and where a business needs specialist depth the practice does not have, it says it will say so rather than take the work.

Its FAQ says it works with self-employed people and owner-led businesses (sole proprietors, single-member LLCs, S corporations and growing small businesses), plus individuals, families and nonprofits.

Who runs Murphy Accounting?

The site names its founder only by first name, Dan, shown with the title "Founder" on the home and About pages. The contact email is dmurphy@murphyaccounting.com. The site does not publish a biography, a photo, years of experience or a professional credential (such as CPA or enrolled agent) for the founder, so if a credential matters to you for the work you need, ask directly and check it in the relevant public registry.

Outside the office, the site says "Founder Dan and his family are actively involved in the Pan-Mass Challenge," and the home page adds that they "ride every year." The About page is careful about what that means: "Community involvement is not a professional qualification and it is not offered here as one."

Is Murphy Accounting legit?

Here is what a prospective client can check from the practice's published information:

• A real street address and phone line. The office address, 187 Washington Street, North Easton, MA 02356, and the phone number (508) 205-7333 appear in the footer of every page, along with a direct email address.
• A written scope before any work. Every service page says you get "a specific number in writing before work starts," and the Terms page says a client relationship begins only with "a signed engagement letter setting out the scope and the fee."
• Clear limits. The site lists what it will not do: legal advice, audit and attestation work, savings figures quoted before it has looked at your situation, and "any work that requires an authority we have not confirmed we hold."
• Careful data handling. Every form tells you not to send Social Security numbers, tax returns or bank details, and says a secure route for documents is set up once you are working together. The privacy policy says the practice does not sell your information or run advertising cookies or retargeting pixels.
• A published editorial policy. Its guides link the IRS, Massachusetts or other primary source behind each rule and state the date a figure was last checked. The policy also says "No page on this site claims a review it has not had."

What the site does not publish: a founding year, the founder's full name or credentials, client reviews or ratings (its Client Stories page has no stories on it when we checked), or office hours. None of those are red flags on their own, but they are good questions for a first call. For a credential, ask which one is held and look it up yourself: the Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy for a CPA license, or the IRS for an enrolled agent.

What services does Murphy Accounting offer?

The services page lists eight services. The home page groups four of them as the core: bookkeeping, business tax, payroll support and advisory.

Monthly bookkeeping and catch-up work

Monthly bookkeeping. The bookkeeping page is aimed at "Sole proprietors, single-member LLCs and S-corp owners who are still doing their own books," or who have a bookkeeper but nobody connecting those books to the tax return. The practice puts a lot of weight on one distinction: "Categorized is not the same as closed." In its description, a month is closed when every account has been reconciled to statements, the balance sheet accounts have been reviewed, and anything unexplained has been asked about rather than guessed at.

The monthly work, as listed:

• Monthly categorization and reconciliation
• A month-end close, "so each period is actually finished"
• Financial statements "you can read without a translator"
• Books kept so the tax return is built from them directly

From you, the practice asks for access to bank and card accounts (or statements), prior-year returns, a way to ask about transactions it can't identify, and a heads-up when something unusual happens, such as a loan, a new account or an asset purchase. Its FAQ says you keep access to your own books throughout, and that it does not require a particular accounting software: "several platforms support that perfectly well." It will explain if it thinks a change is worth making, including what a migration would cost you in time.

The page says bookkeeping is not audit or attestation work and not payroll processing.

Catch-up bookkeeping and cleanup. For books that are months or years behind, the practice treats the backlog as a separate, one-off project with its own price. Asked how far behind is too far, its FAQ answers: "We haven't found that point yet. Years is common." The work runs in four stages: find out how far back it goes, scope and price it, rebuild the periods working forward, then (if you want) move to a monthly rhythm so it doesn't happen again. You bring whatever records exist (bank statements at minimum), access to any accounting file, and prior-year returns, filed or not.

The FAQ adds that a cleanup can be standalone, with no obligation to continue monthly, and that you should not tidy up first, because reorganizing records before anyone has looked "often creates more to undo."

Business and personal tax preparation and planning

Business tax. The business tax page draws a line between two kinds of work. Preparation "reports what already happened." Planning looks at a year still in progress, while choices are still open. The page's own example: "A decision made in November may still be a decision; the same decision discussed in March is a report."

The page lists three parts of the service: preparation of annual business tax returns, tax planning during the year, and coordination between the business return and the owner's personal return. The year runs in four steps: review the prior year and entity setup, plan while it still matters, prepare and file, then look ahead to next year's estimates and decisions. You supply current books (or agree to bring them current first), prior-year business and personal returns, notice of structural changes such as a new owner, a new state or a large purchase, and prompt answers in filing season.

The practice will not quote savings in advance. Asked "Can you tell me what I'll save?", it answers "Not before seeing your facts, and not as a promise," and adds that some years the honest answer after a review "is that nothing material should change." Its view on timing is that planning works best in the second half of the year, not the final weeks.

Individual tax. Personal returns are prepared for individuals and families in and around North Easton, and especially for business owners whose personal return needs to match the business one. The steps: the practice sends a document list specific to you, prepares the return and asks what changed since last year (a house, a business, a move, a marriage), reviews it with you before filing, then looks at next year. It says it will explain the return before you sign it, and that extensions are routine, with the reminder that "an extension moves the filing deadline, not the payment deadline."

If you only want a standalone personal return and have no business connection, the FAQ says the practice is built around owner-led businesses and that the answer "depends on the situation rather than being a fixed policy," so ask.

Payroll support: what it is and isn't

This is the service most worth understanding before you sign. Murphy Accounting offers payroll support, not payroll processing. The page lists payroll processing itself as outside the service, describing what it offers as filing, setup and compliance support. Elsewhere the site says "Payroll is coordinated with an external provider."

What the page says the service covers:

• Payroll tax reporting and compliance guidance
• Help setting payroll up correctly from the start
• Coordination with your payroll system so filings and books agree
• Payroll treated as part of the tax picture

The practice deliberately does not say on its website which payroll tasks it performs. It lists the tasks that have to belong to someone (employee and owner setup, running each pay period, tax deposits, federal and state filings, year-end forms, new-hire reporting, corrections, responding to notices) and marks every one "Agreed in writing." The page explains why: task ownership is agreed in writing before any payroll work begins, and that document, not the website, governs the engagement.

It suits S-corp owners who need to pay themselves through payroll, small businesses hiring for the first time, and businesses whose payroll filings and books no longer match. It is not for HR, benefits administration or employment-law advice. Payroll does not have to be part of the package if the practice does your books: "Plenty of clients keep payroll with a provider they're happy with."

Small business advisory (formerly Virtual CFO)

Advisory is for owners whose books are in good shape but whose questions have outgrown them: hiring, pricing, distributions, whether the entity still fits. The page notes that the practice's former Virtual CFO service now sits here, covering everything from periodic review through to recurring forecasting and reporting for businesses that need it.

How it works, per the page: reviews start from books the practice can rely on (if they aren't there yet, that comes first), meetings follow a cadence agreed at the start, each meeting works the question in front of you with the numbers open, and what was decided is written down. The FAQ says quarterly suits many owner-led businesses, some want monthly, and occasional work is "a legitimate arrangement" too. Forecasting and budgets are available but are "a specific piece of work with its own scope," so ask for them if that's what you need.

Advisory does not include investment, securities or insurance advice, or legal advice; entity and employment questions may need a referral.

Help with IRS and Massachusetts tax letters

The tax resolution page is for "Anyone holding a letter from the IRS or the Massachusetts Department of Revenue who does not know what it means, what it can do, or how long they have to answer it." It is the largest section of the site: a hub of 54 explainer pages, grouped by stage, covering common IRS notices (such as CP14, CP501, CP503, CP504, CP2000 and the final notice of intent to levy), liens and levies, payment options, unfiled returns, payroll tax debt, and the Massachusetts DOR's separate notices and collection steps.

The practice frames every case around two questions, in this order: "What clock is running, and is the number right." Its listed work is mostly record work:

• Account and wage transcript review for every open period
• Preparing unfiled returns, including where the IRS has already filed a substitute return
• Rebuilding records from bank, card and third-party data where originals are gone
• Working out the collection statute expiration date for each assessment
• Separating the trust fund part of an employment tax balance
• Preparing the Collection Information Statement with documents assembled
• A written explanation of which options your numbers support, and which they don't

Three things are worth knowing before you call:

• No promised settlements. The page says it will not promise a settlement figure before your numbers have been run, and is openly skeptical of heavily advertised "settle for less" offers. It does not promise any particular outcome.
• Who can speak to the IRS for you. Asked "Can you speak to the IRS for me?", the practice explains there are two kinds of authorization: one lets someone see your file, the other lets someone act for you, and "only certain categories of professional may hold it." It says it will tell you "who should be doing which part." The site does not state that the practice holds the authority to act for you, and it lists "any work that requires an authority we have not confirmed we hold" as outside its scope. Ask directly if you need representation.
• Not for criminal or bankruptcy matters. The page says a criminal tax matter "needs a lawyer from the first conversation," and bankruptcy advice is a separate profession.

Nonprofit tax and accounting

The nonprofit page is aimed at "Executive directors and treasurers of Massachusetts nonprofits." It lists nonprofit tax filings, accounting for nonprofit reporting requirements, and reporting prepared for your board's review cycle. The page spends most of its length on why nonprofit records differ from business records, mainly restricted funds, which it says need to be recorded with their restrictions at the time money arrives.

Two things are specific to this page. First, it does not list which forms the practice files: "The specific forms and the scope boundary are being confirmed before they are published." Ask about your organization directly. Second, it does not do audits: "Audit and attestation work is a distinct engagement performed under separate professional standards." If your funders or the state require an audit, you need a different provider for that part.

How much does Murphy Accounting cost?

Murphy Accounting does not publish prices. Its pricing page explains why: "A figure quoted before anyone has looked at your records is a guess." Instead, you get "a specific figure in writing before any work starts," and the practice says that means "Not a range, not a starting-at, and not a package chosen from a page."

The pricing page lists five things that drive a fee:

Every written scope, the page says, covers what is included (listed as tasks), what is explicitly not included, what the practice needs from you and by when, what you receive and how often, the fee and what would change it, and who does the work. If the scope has to change later (usually because a backlog turns out deeper than it looked), the practice says that is "a conversation and a revised document, not a surprise on an invoice."

Insurance, financing and payment methods. The site does not mention payment methods, payment plans or retainers. Ask when you get your scope. The practice is not an insurer, and the site does not mention any insurance billing.

How working together starts, step by step

1. Get in touch. Use the Get Started form (it asks what you need and what's going on, and takes "five minutes, no documents needed"), call, or email. The practice says a person reads every message: "there is no triage queue and no auto-response pretending to be a person."
2. A first conversation. The practice calls it "a conversation, not a pitch": how the business runs, what's on fire, and whether it's a fit. The About page says it "costs an hour" and that you don't need to prepare or tidy anything. The site does not say whether there is a charge for it, so confirm when you book.
3. A look at what you actually have. Current books, prior returns, entity setup and payroll. The practice says access to the accounting file is more useful than exported reports.
4. A written scope and price. What's included, what isn't, the fee and the start date, all before work begins. The Terms page says the relationship starts only with a signed engagement letter.
5. Get current. If there's a backlog, that is done first as its own project.
6. Then a rhythm. Monthly close, a planning conversation in the second half of the year if planning is in scope, and the return prepared after year end.

The practice says that if it isn't the right fit, "you will hear that in the first conversation rather than three months in," and that where it can it will point you to someone better suited. To start, it typically needs prior-year returns, access to the current books and details of any payroll setup. It sends a specific list and a secure way to send documents once you agree to work together.

Where is Murphy Accounting, and do you have to visit?

The office is at 187 Washington Street, North Easton, MA 02356, which the site places "in the town of Easton, Bristol County, Massachusetts."

• Hours: not published. The contact page says "Office hours aren't published yet" and asks you to call or email before coming by, because in a practice this size "there is not always somebody at the desk."
• Remote work: you don't have to come in. The FAQ says "the work runs fine remotely too," and the contact page calls being local "an option here, not a requirement."
• Clients outside Easton: the site does not publish a service-area map. Its answer to "Do you work with businesses outside Easton?" is "Ask," and it says fit depends "on your business rather than the distance."
• Fastest route: for anything with a deadline, the site says the phone is quickest.

What Murphy Accounting does not do

The practice publishes its limits on several pages. Collected in one place:

• No legal advice, including entity formation and liability questions. Criminal tax matters go to a lawyer.
• No audit or attestation work.
• No payroll processing. Payroll is support, with tasks assigned in writing.
• No investment, securities or insurance advice, and no product recommendations.
• No bankruptcy advice.
• No savings, refund or settlement figures promised before your facts have been reviewed.
• No work requiring an authority it has not confirmed it holds.
• No sensitive documents through the website. The forms are deliberately not built to receive them.

Free guides on the site

The Resources section holds plain-language guides the practice says it wrote for owner-led businesses. When we checked, it included guide hubs for individual tax returns (23 guides), sole proprietors and S corporations (31), Massachusetts booster club and PTO treasurers (23) and the IRS Fresh Start program (31), plus shorter guides on choosing help, record keeping, tax planning and bookkeeping. There is also a year-end checklist with federal dates checked against IRS.gov (for example, Q4 2026 federal estimated tax due 15 January 2027, and Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC due 1 February 2027 because 31 January 2027 is a Sunday).

The editorial policy says each guide links its primary source and the date its figures were last checked, and that pages with dated figures are rechecked every January. It also flags that the older Learning Center articles came from the practice's "previous website platform's content library" and may describe earlier tax years, so "treat its figures and deadlines as historical" until each has been reviewed. The guides are general information, not advice about your return.

How it compares with other options

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Questions to ask before you hire

1. What professional credential do you hold, and can I look it up?
2. If I get an IRS or state letter, can you act for me with the agency, or only review my file?
3. For payroll, which tasks will you do and which stay with me or my payroll provider?
4. For nonprofits, which federal and Massachusetts filings are in scope?
5. Is the first conversation free, and how are fees billed (monthly, per project, retainer)?
6. Which accounting software do you work in, and do I need to switch?
7. Who will work on my file day to day?
8. What would make the quoted fee change?

How to get started

1. Read the services page and the pricing page to see what drives a fee.
2. Gather what you have (prior returns, access to your books, any IRS or state letters with their dates). Don't tidy up first.
3. Fill in the Get Started form, or call (508) 205-7333. Don't include Social Security numbers or tax documents.
4. Have the first conversation, then review the written scope and fee before you sign an engagement letter.

Visit Murphy Accounting

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All pages checked on 19 October 2026.

1. Murphy Accounting, home page: murphyaccounting.com
2. About: murphyaccounting.com/about
3. Services: murphyaccounting.com/services
4. Service pages: Bookkeeping, Catch-Up Bookkeeping, Business Tax Preparation & Planning, Payroll Support, Small Business Advisory, Individual Tax Preparation, Tax Resolution, Nonprofit Tax & Accounting
5. Pricing: murphyaccounting.com/pricing
6. How It Works: murphyaccounting.com/how-it-works
7. FAQ: murphyaccounting.com/faq
8. Contact: murphyaccounting.com/contact
9. Get Started: murphyaccounting.com/get-started
10. Who We Help, self-employed and owner-led businesses: murphyaccounting.com/who-we-help/self-employed-and-owner-led-businesses
11. Resources: murphyaccounting.com/resources
12. Year-end checklist: murphyaccounting.com/year-end-accounting
13. Editorial policy: murphyaccounting.com/editorial-policy
14. Terms of service: murphyaccounting.com/terms
15. Privacy policy: murphyaccounting.com/privacy-policy
16. Client Stories: murphyaccounting.com/client-stories
17. Tax resolution explainers used: Authorizing someone to act, Getting organized first