"How much does outsourced bookkeeping cost?" is one of the first questions every business owner asks, and the honest answer is: it depends on a handful of specific factors. It's also a question a lot of business owners ask reluctantly — a SCORE study found that 40% of small business owners say bookkeeping and taxes are the worst part of owning a business. This guide breaks down what actually drives the price, so you can evaluate a quote (from us or anyone else) with real context instead of guessing.
What Business Owners Are Actually Paying
Industry pricing data (including analysis of small business owner discussions online) generally points to outsourced bookkeeping starting around $300+ per month for straightforward small businesses, scaling up with transaction volume and complexity. For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median in-house bookkeeper's pay at roughly $49,000 per year before benefits and overhead — a useful anchor when you're comparing options.
The Two Common Pricing Models
Most outsourced bookkeeping providers price one of two ways:
- Flat monthly retainer — a fixed fee based on your transaction volume, number of accounts, and complexity. This is the most common model for ongoing bookkeeping and gives you predictable costs.
- Hourly billing — more common for project-based work (like catching up on a backlog of unreconciled months) than ongoing monthly support.
What Actually Drives the Price
Within either model, a few factors move the price the most:
Quick Cost Estimator
A planning-purpose estimate, not a guaranteed quote. We'll give you exact pricing after a quick assessment of your actual books.
- Transaction volume — the number of bank and credit card transactions per month is usually the single biggest driver.
- Number of accounts and entities — multiple bank accounts, credit cards, or legal entities each add reconciliation work.
- Industry complexity — inventory-based e-commerce, multi-property real estate, or multi-channel sales businesses need more specialized handling than a simple service business.
- Software and integrations — a clean QuickBooks Online or Xero setup with connected bank feeds is cheaper to maintain than a messy setup with manual data entry or disconnected systems.
- Catch-up work — if your books are behind, expect a one-time catch-up cost separate from your ongoing monthly rate.
Outsourced vs. In-House: The Real Cost Comparison
A common mistake is comparing an outsourced monthly fee directly against a bookkeeper's salary. That's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The real cost of an in-house bookkeeper includes:
- Base salary
- Payroll taxes and benefits (commonly adding 20-30% on top of salary)
- Recruiting and onboarding time when you need to hire or replace someone
- Management time spent overseeing the role
- Risk of a single point of failure if that person is out or leaves
Once you add those up, outsourced bookkeeping is often — though not always — the lower total cost, especially for businesses that don't have enough volume to justify a full-time hire but still need consistent, accurate books.
Questions Worth Asking Any Provider
- What exactly is included in the monthly fee — reconciliation only, or full-service reporting too?
- Is there a separate charge for catch-up work if my books are behind?
- Who actually does the work — will I have a consistent point of contact?
- What happens during my busiest month if my transaction volume spikes?
How Our Pricing Works
We price based on your actual transaction volume, number of accounts, and service scope — not a one-size-fits-all package. If you want a real number instead of a range, the fastest way is to tell us roughly how many transactions and accounts you're working with.
See our full bookkeeping services or get in touch for a quote based on your specific setup.