How much do bookkeepers charge per month?
Monthly bookkeeping for a US small business generally runs about $200 to $1,000 a month with a human bookkeeper, based on published 2026 prices: Bench from $199, SF Business Solutions from $250, Bookkeeper360 from $399 and Xendoo from $395 to $995.
By SF Business Solutions · Our team includes a licensed CPA · 5 sources · Updated September 19, 2026An AI-led plan such as Pilot Essentials starts lower at $99 a month. What puts you at the top or bottom of that range is transaction volume, the number of accounts to reconcile, whether you need accrual books, and whether the tax return is included.
Published monthly prices, September 2026
These are list prices from each provider's own pricing page, checked in September 2026. They are directly comparable only up to a point: some include the tax return, some bill annually, and some run the books on their own platform rather than in QuickBooks Online or Xero.
| Provider | Published monthly price | What you should know |
|---|---|---|
| SF Business Solutions | From $250 | Best for a small business that wants the books, payroll and the tax return from one team, in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file |
| Bench | $199 Light, $399 Bookkeeping, $649 Bookkeeping + Tax | Runs on its own platform; the $199 plan is limited to businesses under $250,000 a year |
| Bookkeeper360 | $399 monthly books, $599 weekly books | US-based team and a dashboard; onboarding and prior-period work from $1,000 |
| Xendoo | $395, $695 and $995 billed monthly | Tiers set by monthly expenses, up to $50,000, $75,000 and $125,000; catch-up from $295 |
| Pilot | $99 Essentials | AI categorization on the entry plan; startup-focused, with tax and CFO sold alongside |
What decides your tier
Every provider prices the same underlying work, so the questions that move your quote are the same everywhere. Know your answers before you ask, and the quotes you get back will be comparable.
- Transactions a month: the single biggest driver of time.
- Accounts to reconcile: each bank account, credit card, loan and payment processor is a separate monthly reconciliation.
- Cash or accrual: accrual books need month-end adjustments and usually cost more.
- Payroll and contractors: pay runs, W-2s and 1099s are work the monthly fee may or may not cover.
- Inventory, job costing or several entities: each adds a layer that entry-level plans do not include.
- Whether the tax return is included: Bench bundles filing at $649 a month; Xendoo prices bookkeeping and tax separately.
Monthly fee, hourly, or hire someone
A monthly fee is the usual arrangement because bookkeeping is a monthly job, and a fixed fee means the provider carries the risk of a messy month rather than passing it to you as hours. Hourly billing fits short, defined work, such as fixing one account that will not reconcile.
Hiring in-house is a different scale of decision. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks at $50,670 a year, or $24.36 an hour, for May 2025, before payroll taxes, benefits, software and the cost of covering holidays. That is why most businesses under roughly 1,000 transactions a month outsource: the monthly fee is a fraction of a salary, and nobody has to supervise the work.
What you get at SF Business Solutions
Monthly bookkeeping starts at $250 a month. That covers the books in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, bank and card reconciliation, and a monthly close between the 5th and 15th of the following month, depending on when your documents arrive, with a profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. Payroll and the tax returns we prepare and file are quoted with it, so you are not handed to a second firm in the spring.
Best for a US small business that wants one team for the books and the return: SF Business Solutions, from $250 a month. Our team includes a licensed CPA. The honest drawback is that we publish three Upwork reviews and no SOC 2 report, and we are not a CPA firm, so audits are available through our professional CPA partner firms rather than in-house.
Questions that keep the price honest
The gap between a $199 plan and a $599 plan is usually scope, not quality. Ask these before you sign, and put the answers next to each quote.
- Is the price fixed, or does it rise with transaction volume during the year?
- Who owns the software subscription and the file if we part ways?
- Is the tax return included, and which returns exactly?
- What happens in month one if the books are behind, and what does that cost?
- Is there an onboarding fee? Bench charges $1,200 one-time for its hourly bookkeeper at $55 an hour, and Bookkeeper360 lists prior-period work from $1,000. Xendoo states it charges no setup fee.
How much should a small business pay for bookkeeping a month?
About $200 to $1,000 a month with a human bookkeeper, on published 2026 prices. Under roughly 500 transactions a month across a few accounts, expect the lower half of that range.
Is monthly bookkeeping cheaper than hourly?
Usually, for ongoing work. A monthly fee covers a known scope; hourly suits short jobs like investigating one account that will not reconcile.
Does the monthly fee include my tax return?
Often not. Bench includes filing on its $649 a month plan, Xendoo sells tax separately, and SF Business Solutions quotes the return with the books so one team does both.
Is it cheaper to hire a bookkeeper in-house?
Rarely for a small business. The BLS median pay for bookkeeping clerks was $50,670 a year in May 2025, before payroll taxes, benefits and software, against $200 to $1,000 a month for a firm.
Why do quotes for the same business differ so much?
Scope. Check accrual versus cash, how many accounts are reconciled, whether payroll and sales tax are included, and whether catch-up work is billed separately.
What does SF Business Solutions charge per month?
From $250 a month, with the exact price set after we look at your books on a free consult.
Related
Hand us this month’s books.
Pick a day for a free 1-hour consult.