The answer ranges from a few hundred a month to a full salary, which is unhelpful until you separate what is actually being bought.
Quotes at very different prices frequently describe different services. One covers categorisation; another covers reconciliations, monthly statements and somebody answering the phone. The gap shows up at the year end.
This covers each arrangement and what it costs, from part-time through to employed and offshore, what a bookkeeper returns for the money, and the factors that move the price.
Bookkeeper costs range from a few hundred dollars per month to over $65,000 per year for a full-time hire. The right answer depends on your transaction volume, complexity, and how much of your own time you want to spend. Here's a complete breakdown.
Part-Time Bookkeeper (Freelance or Fractional)
| Engagement Type | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| 1-5 hrs/month (micro-business) | $200-$500/month |
| 5-10 hrs/month (small business) | $500-$1,200/month |
| 10-20 hrs/month (growing business) | $1,200-$2,500/month |
A part-time freelance bookkeeper is the most common solution for small businesses with $100K-$1M in revenue. They handle bookkeeping on your schedule and invoice monthly.
- Find via referrals, Bench, QuickBooks ProAdvisor directory, or Upwork
- Always check credentials (QBO/Xero certification, references)
- Expect an onboarding period of 1-2 months to learn your business
Compare what is actually included before comparing prices. One quote covering reconciliations and monthly statements and another covering categorisation alone are different services, and the gap between them surfaces at the year end.
Ankit Sagatani, MBA, B.Com · LinkedInFull-Time In-House Bookkeeper
| Factor | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Annual salary | $40,000-$65,000 |
| Payroll taxes (7.65%) | $3,060-$4,973 |
| Benefits (health, retirement) | $8,000-$15,000 |
| Total employer cost | $51,000-$85,000/year |
A full-time hire makes sense when you have enough work to justify 40 hours/week, typically $2M+ in revenue with complex transactions, payroll, invoicing, and reporting needs.
- Advantages: dedicated, available, deep knowledge of your business
- Disadvantages: high fixed cost, sick/vacation coverage gaps, hard to downscale
- Best paired with CPA oversight for tax and compliance
Freelance Hourly Rate
| Experience Level | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|
| Entry-level (0-2 years) | $18-$28/hr |
| Certified (QBO/Xero, 3-5 years) | $28-$50/hr |
| Senior / specialist | $50-$75/hr |
Hourly billing is common for catch-up work, one-off projects, or businesses with very low and unpredictable transaction volumes.
Virtual Bookkeeping Services
Firms like Bench, Pilot, Bookkeeper360, and Profitjets provide dedicated remote bookkeepers with management oversight.
| Service Level | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Starter (under 100 transactions) | $299-$499/month |
| Standard (100-300 transactions) | $499-$1,000/month |
| Premium (300+ transactions, payroll, AR) | $1,000-$2,500/month |
- Includes management oversight and quality control
- Backup coverage when your bookkeeper is unavailable
- Often integrates with tax prep services
- Month-to-month or annual contracts available
Offshore Bookkeeping
US-supervised bookkeepers based in India, the Philippines, or other countries provide the same core services at significantly lower cost.
| Service | Monthly Cost Range |
|---|---|
| Basic bookkeeping (QBO/Xero) | $200-$500/month |
| Bookkeeping + payroll support | $400-$800/month |
| Full-service (AR, AP, reporting) | $600-$1,200/month |
- 60-75% cheaper than US-based equivalent
- Works best with cloud accounting software and documented processes
- Quality varies widely, choose firms with US CPA oversight
- Profitjets uses this model: offshore efficiency, US oversight
The ROI of a Bookkeeper
The real question isn't what a bookkeeper costs, it's what they're worth.
- Your time freed up: if you spend 10 hours/month on bookkeeping at $200/hour of your value, that's $2,000/month, worth more than a $500/month bookkeeper
- Deductions found: an experienced bookkeeper typically catches $2,000-$10,000/year in missed deductions
- Errors avoided: late payroll tax deposits, missed invoices, and miscategorized expenses have real dollar costs
- Investor/lender readiness: clean monthly books are required for any financing
Pro Tip: Calculate your own hourly value before deciding between DIY and outsourcing. If bookkeeping costs less than your time is worth, it always pays to outsource.
What Factors Drive Bookkeeper Cost?
- Transaction volume: the primary driver, more transactions = more hours
- Payroll: adds $100-$400/month per payroll run
- Accounts receivable management: invoicing and collections follow-up adds hours
- Accounts payable: entering and scheduling bills adds hours
- Inventory: COGS tracking significantly increases complexity
- Multi-entity or multi-state: multiplies the scope
- Catch-up work: prior-period cleanup priced separately, often at a premium
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does bookkeeping cost per month for a small business?
For a typical small business with $250K-$1M in annual revenue and 100-300 transactions per month, expect to pay $300-$1,000/month for outsourced bookkeeping. This covers reconciliation, categorization, and monthly financial statements.
Is it cheaper to do bookkeeping in-house or outsource?
Outsourcing is almost always cheaper for businesses under $2M in revenue. A full-time in-house bookkeeper costs $50,000-$85,000/year including benefits. An outsourced virtual bookkeeper costs $3,600-$18,000/year. The savings are significant.
What's included in a typical bookkeeping package?
Monthly bank and credit card reconciliation, transaction categorization, and financial statements (P&L, balance sheet). Payroll, tax prep, AR/AP management, and CFO-level reporting are usually priced separately.
When should I hire a full-time bookkeeper?
When your transaction volume requires 30+ hours/month of bookkeeping, or when your business complexity (multi-entity, complex payroll, daily reporting needs) requires someone embedded in the business full-time. For most SMBs, this happens around $2M-$5M in revenue.
What does employing somebody cost beyond the salary?
Enough to change the comparison, which is why the two options are often priced against each other unfairly. Employment adds payroll taxes, any benefits you offer, insurance, a workstation and software licences, plus recruitment to fill the role and cover when the person is away. Against that, a bought service carries its own overheads inside its fee. Compare the fully loaded cost of each rather than a salary against an invoice.
Written by
Ankit Sagatani, MBA, B.Com
Ankit works with business owners across the US on industry-specific bookkeeping, from real estate to construction and retail. He writes about what each trade's books actually need. Connect on LinkedIn Connect on LinkedIn
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