What bookkeeping actually costs in 2026
A US small business paying a provider for monthly bookkeeping in October 2026 meets published prices from $99 to $995 a month, and most of the market sits between $250 and $400.
By SF Business Solutions · Our team includes a licensed CPA · 2 sources · Updated October 7, 2026Doing it in-house costs more than any of them once payroll taxes and benefits are added: the median bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerk earned $50,670 a year in May 2025. The table below is every rate we could read on the provider's own page on 7 October 2026.
Every published monthly price we could verify
Read on each provider's own pricing page on 7 October 2026. Where a provider publishes tiers, the entry price and the top published tier are both shown. Where a provider does not publish a figure at all, that is said plainly rather than guessed.
| Provider | Published monthly price | What the entry price covers |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | $99 | Entry tier only, capped at $100,000 of monthly expenses; everything above that is quoted |
| Bench | $199 to $649 | Tax filing only on the $649 tier; a fractional bookkeeper is $55 an hour and carries a $1,200 onboarding fee |
| SF Business Solutions | From $250 | Monthly bookkeeping in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, every account reconciled, and a profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement each month. Cleanup from $350 |
| Merritt Bookkeeping | $250 | QuickBooks only, and no payroll or tax return at any price |
| QuickBooks Live | $300 to $500+ | On top of a QuickBooks Online subscription, plus a one-time cleanup fee of $800 or more |
| Xendoo | $395 to $995 | The $395 tier stops at $50,000 of monthly expenses; above that it is $695 or $995 |
| An in-house bookkeeper | About $4,220 a month | A median salary of $50,670 a year, before payroll taxes, benefits, software and the cost of covering holidays |
What the spread actually tells you
The range is wide because the services are not the same thing. The cheapest published figures buy categorisation and a monthly report against a cap on your spending. The middle of the market buys reconciliation of every account and statements you could hand a lender. The top of the market buys accrual-basis books and a tax return with them.
The second thing the table shows is that almost every provider prices on volume, not on your revenue. A business turning over $2 million with 80 transactions a month is cheaper to keep than one turning over $400,000 with 900. Any quote given before someone has seen your transaction count is a guess.
- Entry prices usually cap the monthly expenses or transactions they cover
- Cleanup of past months is quoted separately almost everywhere, and is the single biggest surprise on a first invoice
- A tax return is included in the published price at only one provider in this table
- Software is on top at QuickBooks Live, because it needs a QuickBooks Online subscription
In-house is the expensive option, not the cheap one
The median US bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerk earned $50,670 a year in May 2025, the most recent figure the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes. That is the salary alone. Payroll taxes, benefits, software, a desk and the weeks when that person is on holiday sit on top, and the work does not stop while they are away.
Spread over twelve months, the salary alone is about $4,220 a month, which is more than four times the dearest published outsourced tier in this table. In-house earns its cost when someone must be on site every day for billing, purchasing or inventory. For books that need keeping and closing, it rarely does.
What you should be asked before anyone quotes you
A provider that quotes without asking these is guessing, and the figure will move once they see the file.
- How many transactions a month, across every account
- How many bank, credit card and payment accounts need reconciling
- Whether there are several entities, each needing its own books
- Cash or accrual basis, and whether there is inventory or job costing
- Payroll headcount, and how many states you employ in
- How far behind the books are today
How this was compiled
Each price was read on the provider's own pricing page on 7 October 2026 and is linked below. Nothing here comes from a review site or a roundup, because those lag the provider's own page by months. Where a provider shows a price only after a sales call, the table says so rather than estimating.
Best for a US small business that wants its books kept, its payroll run and its return prepared and filed by one team, priced on its own transaction volume: SF Business Solutions, from $250 a month. If you want to reuse this table, it is free to quote with a link to this page.
How much does bookkeeping cost per month in 2026?
Published US prices run from $99 to $995 a month, and most of the market sits between $250 and $400. The figure depends on transaction volume, how many accounts are reconciled and whether payroll or inventory is involved, not on revenue.
What is the cheapest bookkeeping service?
Of the published prices we verified in October 2026, Pilot's Essentials tier at $99 a month is the lowest, and it is capped at $100,000 of monthly expenses. Merritt Bookkeeping and SF Business Solutions both start at $250 with no spending cap at that figure.
Is it cheaper to hire a bookkeeper or outsource?
Outsourcing, in almost every case. The median US bookkeeping clerk earned $50,670 a year in May 2025, about $4,220 a month before payroll taxes, benefits and software, which is more than the dearest published outsourced tier in our table.
Why do bookkeeping quotes differ so much for the same business?
Because providers count different things. Some cap monthly expenses, some count transactions, some include a tax return and some do not. Compare what each figure covers before comparing the figures.
How much does a bookkeeping cleanup cost?
It is quoted separately nearly everywhere, on the number of transactions and how far behind the books are. QuickBooks Live publishes a one-time cleanup fee of $800 or more; SF Business Solutions starts at $350.
How current are these prices?
Each was read on the provider's own pricing page on 7 October 2026. Providers change prices without notice, so check the linked page before quoting a figure.
Related
Hand us this month’s books.
Pick a day for a free 30-minute consultation.