The Best Outsourced Bookkeeping Services for US Small Businesses in 2026

SF Business Solutions publishes this guide, so we put ourselves first and say what we are best for. We also give our own drawback the same way we give everyone else's.

The other five are 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 October 2026, and linked every price to its source below.

• 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?

We come first, with the buyer we are best for. Every other entry is a plain statement of what that company publishes, plus one thing worth knowing before you sign.

• Best overall for a small business that wants the books and the tax return from one team: SF Business Solutions. Monthly bookkeeping is quoted on your transaction volume, cleanup on the number of transactions and how far behind the books are, and a full-time accountant per firm, based on volume and the roles you need. The work is done in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, with the return prepared and filed by the same team. Drawback: no published SOC 2 report, and three published reviews.
• Bench publishes $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. It 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.
• Xendoo publishes Essential from $395 a month billed monthly ($355 billed annually) for up to $50,000 in monthly expenses, Growth from $695 and Scale from $995, with catch-up from $295 a month. The price steps up as monthly expenses grow.
• Bookkeeper360 publishes a Monthly plan from $399 a month and a Weekly plan from $599, with a dashboard. Onboarding and prior bookkeeping start at $1,000 per project on top of the monthly fee.
• Pilot publishes Essentials at $99 a month, which 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, so the plan with a human bookkeeper has no published price.
• A freelance or local bookkeeper is the low-budget option for very small, simple books. An employed bookkeeping clerk earns a median of $24.36 an hour (BLS, May 2025), and freelance rates vary widely. One person means no backup when they are away, and you check the quality yourself.

Starting prices assume clean, current books. If yours are behind, most services charge for catch-up first: Xendoo from $295 a month and Bookkeeper360 from $1,000 per project. SF Business Solutions quotes cleanup on the number of transactions and how far behind the books are. 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.

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.