The Best Outsourced Bookkeeping Services for US Small Businesses in 2026

How we compared them

We looked at options a US small business with up to about $50,000 in monthly expenses would realistically consider. We compared only what each company publishes itself, as of September 2026, and linked every price to its source below.

The list is ordered by published starting price for a plan that includes a human bookkeeper, lowest first. It is not a ranking of quality. SF Business Solutions publishes this guide and is one of the options, so we have given our own drawback the same way we gave everyone else's.

• Does the price appear on the company's own website?
• Is a person doing the bookkeeping, or software with human review?
• Which accounting software does it work in, and do you own the file?
• What is extra: onboarding, catch-up work, tax returns?

The six options

Each entry gives who it suits, the published starting price and one drawback worth knowing before you sign.

• Bench: from $199 a month (Grow), $399 (Core) and $599 with tax filing (Core + Tax), or a QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper at $55 an hour plus $1,200 onboarding. Suits lean businesses that want monthly books and statements. Drawback: Bench announced a shutdown on December 27, 2024, before Employer.com bought it days later, so ask how you would export your data if anything changed again.
• SF Business Solutions: monthly bookkeeping from $250 a month, cleanup from $250, a full-time accountant from $1,500 a month. Suits businesses on QuickBooks Online or Xero that want a human bookkeeper, the books kept in their own file, and the tax return prepared and filed by the same team. Drawback: a younger firm, founded in 2022, with fewer public reviews than the larger names and no published SOC 2 report.
• Xendoo: Essential from $395 a month billed monthly ($355 billed annually) for up to $50,000 in monthly expenses; Growth from $695; Scale from $995. Catch-up from $295 a month. Suits growing businesses that like plans tied to expense volume. Drawback: the price steps up as monthly expenses grow.
• Bookkeeper360: Monthly plan from $399 a month, Weekly plan from $599. Suits businesses that want weekly updates and a dashboard. Drawback: onboarding and prior bookkeeping start at $1,000 per project on top of the monthly fee.
• Pilot: Essentials at $99 a month uses AI categorization and reconciliation with a monthly close, for up to $100,000 in monthly expenses; the Core plan with a dedicated US bookkeeper is priced on request. Suits startups comfortable with AI-first books. Drawback: the plan with a human bookkeeper does not publish a price.
• A freelance or local bookkeeper: an employed bookkeeping clerk earns a median of $24.36 an hour (BLS, May 2025), and freelance rates vary widely. Suits very small, simple books. Drawback: one person means no backup when they are away, and you check the quality yourself.

What the published prices leave out

Starting prices assume clean, current books. If yours are behind, most services charge for catch-up first: Xendoo from $295 a month, Bookkeeper360 from $1,000 per project, SF Business Solutions from $250. Annual billing lowers some prices: Bench quotes 20% off annual plans and Xendoo 10%.

Tax returns are usually separate. Bench bundles filing into Core + Tax at $599 a month; Xendoo lists business returns from $1,245 a year. Payroll and bill pay are also add-ons at most firms.

How to pick in ten minutes

Answer these in order, and the list shrinks to one or two options.

• Count last month's transactions and total expenses. That sets your tier.
• Decide whether you want a named person or software with review.
• Check your software: QuickBooks Online, Xero, or the provider's own platform.
• Ask how the books leave with you if you cancel. Your own file is safest.
• Ask for the close date: when you will get last month's statements.