How Much Do Bookkeeping Services Cost for Small Businesses?

bookkeeping fees

Value pricing and bundling is an obvious strategy to boost your bottom line. The challenge though, can be persuading your clients to agree to it. With the right technology, you can automate bookkeeping processes and tasks that once took hours of your time. Price anchoring is a strategy that plays on a buyer’s tendency to inherently compare information. So, when people see your pricing options, one of the things they’ll first notice is that your top-tier option is higher than your mid- and low-tier plans, and they’ll use that as an anchor. Studies show that if given three options, consumers are 66% more likely to choose the middle tier.

Automate common bookkeeping tasks and grow your client base

  1. According to ZipRecruiter data, Palo Alto, CA, has the highest typical bookkeeper salary at $65,010 – 28.5% above the national average of $50,573.
  2. That subscription is set and based on an agreed-upon scope of work, and will not incur additional fees based on transactions or report requests.
  3. For example, a freelance bookkeeper located in India or other low-cost countries can charge less for their services compared to an independent bookkeeper in Europe or Canada.
  4. But keep in mind that these numbers are industry averages, and are subject to variables, like your location.
  5. Average monthly fees for this type of activity include from $500 to $2,500.

This ties into client size and is a good way to stay transparent while correctly charging larger clients. Generally, small to medium-sized businesses expect to pay between $500-$2,500 USD monthly for their outsourced bookkeeping—an dauntingly large range to deal with. A full charge bookkeeper works full time, as opposed to part time or as needed, and oversees all the accounts for a business or organization. They keep track of ledgers, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and invoices.

bookkeeping fees

Types of services you offer

All of this provides the business owner with up-to-date visibility into the company’s fiscal health. As great as it is to talk about potential what does it mean to be hired as a contractor bookkeeping costs and get estimates, we know that seeing an actual average for your state can yield excellent value for you as a business owner. Please see the chart below with data pulled directly from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 data to learn more about the average salary and hourly rate for bookkeeping. Bookkeeper salaries vary state by state (see our chart below), and depending on where you live, you could be paying a large difference in one place versus another. Accountants maintain a wide range of skill sets, including managing spending and budgets, taxes, and analysis of financial statements.

Payroll Management

But the hourly rate is becoming outdated with the dominance of technology. Tech makes once time-consuming work quick, and in many cases, effortless. This means that regardless of a service’s value to your different types of accounting clients, you’re capping your pricing based on how long it takes to deliver that service. Hiring an accountant costs $150 to $400 per hour on average, depending on their experience.

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A recently certified accountant may charge $50 to $150 per hour, while Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) with 10+ years of experience sometimes charge up to $1,000 per hour. Bookkeeping deals primarily with handling the financial records of a business and preparing financial statements. This is essentially a part of accounting, and an accountant or a bookkeeper can manage it, depending on the company’s needs. Some people use the terms “bookkeeping” and “accounting” interchangeably, but these professionals perform different jobs requiring different skill levels. Bookkeepers handle basic, day-to-day earnings before interest and taxes management of a business’s finances. Accountants perform more complex tasks and help the business with long-term financial planning.

Assess these alternatives and define requirements upfront to match the best solution to your priorities. For example, a 50 employee manufacturing company with multiple locations will need more work than a 5 employee professional services business. More transactions, accounts, inventory to track, etc. increase costs. Complex structures with multiple business entities or revenue streams also drive up fees. Based on the average salary of a bookkeeper, you should be paying roughly $3,516 a month for bookkeeping if you choose to hire a bookkeeper.

Fixed-fee pricing allows you to increase profit as you increase efficiency—the more efficiently you can work, the greater the profit margin. Location plays an important factor in pricing, although less-so since the pandemic and the rise of remote work and cloud accounting. So to bill correctly, it’s important to identify what you’re charging for, the way you charge, and what adjustments you can make to improve your bottom line.

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