How Much Does a Bookkeeper Cost for a Small Business?

Bookkeeping for a small business typically runs $300 to $800 a month across the industry, or $30 to $100 an hour for hourly work. What moves your own number is how many transactions you have, how many accounts need reconciling, whether payroll is involved, and how far behind the books already are.

For comparison, monthly bookkeeping with BDE Bookkeeping Solutions starts at $119 a month. That is below the typical market range because this is an owner-led practice with no office and no staff overhead to cover. Full pricing is here, and the review that produces your actual number is free.

Any bookkeeper who quotes a price before asking about your transaction volume, your accounts and the state of your records is guessing. This article covers what genuinely drives the cost, what should be included for the money, and how to compare quotes without getting caught out.

What Actually Determines Bookkeeping Cost

Transaction volume

This is the single biggest driver. Every transaction has to be recorded, categorized and matched against a bank or card statement. A business running 80 transactions a month is a fundamentally smaller job than one running 800, and no honest quote can ignore the difference.

Number of accounts to reconcile

Each bank account, credit card, loan and payment processor is a separate reconciliation every month. A business with one checking account and one card is quick. A business with three accounts, two cards, a loan and Stripe is four times the work regardless of transaction count.

Whether payroll is involved

Payroll is its own body of work: pay runs, tax withholding, filings and deadlines that do not move. Bookkeeping quotes frequently exclude it, which is the most common reason two quotes look different when they are actually pricing different jobs. Payroll support is normally priced separately.

Current books versus catch-up

Bringing months of unrecorded activity up to date is a one-time project, separate from ongoing monthly work. If you are behind, expect two numbers: what it costs to get current, and what it costs to stay current. Cleanup and catch-up is quoted per business for exactly this reason.

Condition of the existing records

Books that were kept incorrectly can cost more to fix than books never kept at all, because the errors have to be found and unwound before anything can be trusted. Starting from nothing is sometimes cheaper than starting from wrong.

Software and setup

If your accounting software is already connected to your accounts and your chart of accounts is sensible, monthly work is faster and cheaper. If it is not, setting QuickBooks up properly once usually pays for itself inside a year.

What Bookkeeping Costs Across the Industry

These are general market rates, not BDE pricing. They are useful for working out whether a quote you have been given is reasonable.

Hourly rates

Many bookkeepers charge by the hour, typically $30 to $100 depending on the complexity of the work. Monthly bookkeeping for a small business usually takes somewhere between 5 and 15 hours.

Flat monthly fees

Most small business owners prefer a flat monthly fee because the cost is predictable and does not spike in a busy month. Across the industry, small businesses commonly land between $300 and $800 a month. Where there is real payroll to run, several accounts to reconcile, or months of catch-up to get through first, it more often runs $800 to $2,000 a month.

As a rough illustration of how scope changes the number: a retail business with moderate transaction volume and payroll sits around the middle of that range, while a service business with fewer transactions but more complex payroll can sit higher despite doing less recording. Transaction count alone does not predict price.

Per-transaction pricing

Some bookkeepers charge based on the number of transactions processed. This suits businesses with predictable, steady volume and punishes businesses with seasonal spikes.

Payroll

Payroll processing is usually priced separately, commonly $20 to $100 a month plus a fee per employee or per paycheck.

Software

Some services include the software subscription and some expect you to carry it. Worth asking, because it is a real monthly cost either way.

What a self-employed bookkeeper charges

Again, industry rates rather than BDE pricing. Entry-level bookkeepers handling simple work usually charge $25 to $40 an hour. Experienced bookkeepers who can handle complex records and payroll charge $40 to $75. Certified or industry-specialized bookkeepers charge $75 and up. Many also offer monthly packages, which normally work out cheaper than hourly for ongoing support.

What Should Be Included in the Price

Before comparing quotes, make sure you are comparing the same scope. Ask what is actually included:

• Recording and categorizing every transaction
• Monthly bank and credit card reconciliation
• Financial statements you can actually read
• A named person who answers your questions
• Year-end records handed over in a form your CPA can use
• Payroll, or a clear statement that payroll is extra

A quote that covers four of those is not cheaper than one that covers all six. It is smaller.

Why the Cheapest Quote Is Often the Most Expensive

Bookkeeping errors do not announce themselves. They surface at tax time, during a loan application, or when a number you relied on turns out to have been wrong for eight months. By then the cost is not the bookkeeping fee, it is the missed deduction, the penalty, the loan that did not happen, or the decision you made on bad information.

Cheap bookkeeping that has to be redone costs more than correct bookkeeping did. That is the actual arithmetic, and it is why the condition of your existing records matters so much to the price.

How to Compare Quotes Without Getting Burned

• Ask what happens if your transaction volume grows. A price that is fixed today can change quietly later.
• Ask whether payroll is included or extra, in writing.
• Ask who does the actual work, and whether it stays with that person.
• Ask what happens at year end, and what your accountant will receive.
• Ask how catch-up is priced if you are behind, and whether it is separate from the monthly fee.
• Ask what is not included. The answer to that question is where quotes really differ.

Why Paying for Bookkeeping Usually Pays Off

Accurate records give you a real picture of the business rather than a bank balance and a feeling. That is what lets you decide whether you can afford to hire, whether a product line is genuinely profitable once its costs are assigned to it, and whether last month was actually better or just busier.

Reliable payroll keeps employees paid correctly and on time, and keeps you out of penalty territory. Organized records turn tax season from a scramble into a handover. And the hours you get back are hours you were spending on something you did not want to do and were not being paid for.

Who I Am

I am Billy Eldridge, founder of BDE Bookkeeping Solutions LLC. I hold an MBA, and I am a QuickBooks Online Certified ProAdvisor and Gusto Payroll Certified with more than ten years of experience. I do the work myself, so the person quoting your price is the person reconciling your accounts. More about how I work is here.

The practice is based in Shelbyville, Tennessee and entirely online, which is part of why the starting price sits below the market range.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a bookkeeper cheaper than doing it myself?

It depends on what your own hours are worth and how accurate your books currently are. If you are spending six hours a month on bookkeeping you dislike, and the result still needs correcting at year end, you are already paying for it in a less obvious way.

Do I pay hourly or monthly?

Both models exist. A flat monthly fee gives you a predictable cost and works well for ongoing bookkeeping. Hourly suits one-off projects and cleanup work where the scope is not known until someone looks.

Does the price include payroll?

Not always, and this is the most common place quotes differ without it being obvious. Always confirm it in writing before comparing two numbers.

What if my books are behind?

Catch-up is normally priced as a separate one-time project, with monthly work starting afterwards from a clean position. Being behind changes how long it takes, not whether it can be fixed.

How much does BDE charge?

Monthly bookkeeping starts at $119 a month. The final number depends on your accounts, your transaction volume and whether cleanup is needed first. Pricing is set out here and the review that produces your number is free.

Is any of this tax advice?

No. Bookkeeping keeps your records accurate so your CPA can do their job properly. Talk to your tax professional about anything tax-specific.

Find Out What Yours Would Cost

The only way to get a real number rather than a range is for someone to look at your actual books. That review is free, there is no obligation attached to it, and you will leave knowing what shape your records are in whether you hire anyone or not.

Schedule your free bookkeeping review, or call (615) 438-2700.