How Much Should I Charge for Bookkeeping Services? Averages & More

If you would like a tax expert to clarify it for you, feel free to sign up for Keeper. Too many self-employed workers, startups, and business owners miss out on write-offs that can save them a lot of money. If you fail to keep accurate monthly records throughout the year, a CPA won’t always provide them retroactively. And as we mentioned, without these records, you won’t know where your finances stand. Without up-to-date books, you won’t have an accurate understanding of your business expenses, profits, and overall cash flow. On the other hand, larger companies with a higher volume of complex transactions will need more hours.

In general, accountants usually need a bachelor’s degree in accounting and pass a CPA exam in their state. Although bookkeeping may not be the most exciting https://www.bookstime.com/ part of running a business, it’s arguably one of the most important. Accurate and timely bookkeeping allows you to make sound financial decisions.

Best accounting software for small businesses, now with Live Bookkeepers!1

One common mistake firms make as they’re thinking about pricing is failing to account for all of their costs. When calculating your prices, be sure to factor in the cost of software subscriptions for your clients and things like overhead, marketing, and employee salaries. Otherwise, you may barely break even – or worse, lose money on each engagement.

There are several certifications you can get as a bookkeeper, but they are not necessarily required. Intuit’s 2021 rate survey found that average hourly rates did not differ between bookkeepers and certified bookkeepers, suggesting that a bookkeeping certification has no significant impact on pricing. After digging through the pricing tiers of a number of different bookkeeping service providers, we’ve found that the average range for small to medium businesses is $250 – $1,500 per month. You can bill incrementally by creating invoices each month for the services rendered during the prior month. You can also calculate the average monthly cost for the year and bill your clients a flat fee each month (which is calculated in the template). The right type of billing will depend on whether you want to closely track your own time and your clients’ expectations.

Business stage

Or will you be responsible for tax preparation services and payroll services? How about offering additional services such as handling the accounts receivable or accounts payable for the business owner? The bookkeeping services pricing amount of work involved will significantly affect how much you can charge for your services. Bookkeepers who productize their offers usually have different pricing plans that include various services.

The risk with project-based pricing is that projects may take longer than you estimate, or the scope of the project grows beyond the initial proposal. Hourly pricing is typically seen as a better option for bookkeepers who are just starting out or don’t have much experience. On the other hand, if you’re working with a small company, they may have simpler needs and require less work. Remember, even small businesses can be complex and may need additional support because they have fewer resources. If you’re working with a large company, they may have more complex needs and require more work from you. They may also need specialized additional services and reporting.

How To Choose an Online Bookkeeping Service

If you’re looking at an online bookkeeping service, verify their ratings. Ask how long they’ve been in business, and whether they have accountants on staff to help with the bigger questions. At Kruze, we’ve built our own, in-house automation called Kruze Keeper, which automatically recognizes the text from the bank feed for most transactions, about 75% of the transactions. Kruze Keeper can automatically get those transactions into QuickBooks without an accountant having to touch it. This helps us keep the cost of delivering bookkeeping services down.

• They know how to hire the best talent to handle the workload efficiently and have a system of internal checks and balances to make sure clients receive the best possible service.
• If you’re having trouble determining how much to charge a client, it’s perfectly fine to start out working with them at an hourly rate and moving to a fixed rate later on.
• If they do agree to provide retroactive records, you could end up with a pretty hefty bill.
• So let’s dig into two financial services – accounting clerks and bookkeepers – your organization could use and how to decide which one is, like Goldilocks, just right for you.

For payroll, we are a LOT lower than some of the big name firms like ADP and Paychex and we can do everything they can do. Our payroll starts at $49/month, for the first 1-3  employees inclusive, and then $10 a month for each additional employee from the fourth one up. Kathy Haan, MBA is a former financial advisor-turned-writer and business coach. For over a decade, she’s helped small business owners make money online. When she’s not trying out the latest tech or travel blogging with her family, you can find her curling up with a good novel. QuickBooks Live is best for business owners who want to get their bookkeeping in order but don’t have the time or resources to do it.

Bookkeeping services pricing structure

If needed, make adjustments to your pricing to reflect costs in your locality or state. Try us for free—we’ll do one month of historical bookkeeping and prepare a set of financial statements for you to keep. Bookkeeping has numerous advantages, it helps keep your financial transactions organized, but it is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is a hectic job to find a suitable bookkeeper first so that the manager or the owner could focus on the other business-boosting tasks. Through the categorization, reconciliation, and books close process, your Live Bookkeeper ensures your books are accurate.

• When considering the question of how much a bookkeeper costs, think about what matters most to you.
• You can research the rates charged by other bookkeepers in your area.
• Ignite Spot Accounting is best for businesses that want bookkeepers who are certified in popular bookkeeping programs.
• Before looking to hire a full-time employee to maintain your books, you should first figure out what kind of responsibilities you need to have handled.
• According to Salary.com, the average bookkeeper salary in the United States is $45,816.
• You must also look at what makes you different or your competitive advantage because you may be able to charge more if you can show your prospective clients that you provide more value than your competitors.
• Just about every small business requires a basic form of bookkeeping in the beginning.

Many clients may be willing to pay a little more in exchange for trustworthy knowledge and training. If you have special certifications, you may be able to make some price adjustments—and clients may be more than willing to pay for said adjustments if they know it means a higher level of trust and competency. Unlimited referrals Refer a fellow entrepreneur and receive $150 and a free month of bookkeeping for every referral who becomes a Bench client. If getting your books caught up is your priority, our Catch Up and Retro bookkeeping teams will work with you to get your books in order, fast. They helped me catch up on over a year of lackadaisical sloppy data entry. Terms, conditions, pricing, special features, and service and support options subject to change without notice.