How to Price Bookkeeping Services for Small, Medium, and Large Clients

It’s normal for startup founders to want to understand how their startup’s bookkeeping services are priced. And it’s a really good question because there are several variables that make startup accounting more or less expensive. One of the biggest disadvantages of hiring a part-time bookkeeper is that they provide only partial support in an area of business that requires a lot of attention and detail. You will need to dedicate some of your time to audit their work on an on-going basis, and you may still be required to do more of the high-level accounting work, such as projecting and reporting. This is an added burden to any company owner who is also responsible for many other key areas of the business. Part-time bookkeepers typically perform smaller tasks like inputting receipts and keeping tabs on employee timesheets. Companies will often choose to train an existing employee or office manager to take on the extra responsibilities of a part-time bookkeeper.

Clients may spend more in situations where we are replacing an entire accounting department. For small and medium-sized businesses, outsourcing bookkeeping services saves on time and money. Although freelance bookkeeping is a more affordable option for many businesses, the cost varies from one project to another. How much a bookkeeper costs also depends on the payment arrangement. You’ll usually pay for bookkeeping services in one of the three ways—hourly, salary, or a flat fee. Your services agreement should include a list of which financial statements will be provided, and how often they will be delivered.

What should bookkeeping services cost?

Part-time bookkeepers and outsourced bookkeeping firms are a sound solution for new businesses, while full-time bookkeepers tend to benefit more established companies more. It’s up to the decision makers in the company to determine the best appropriate solution to maximize their profitability and ensure their growth. Another key benefit to outsourcing bookkeeping to aprofessional CPA firmis the level of expertise received. Small businesses and even mid-size companies don’t always hire the best talent to handle their daily and monthly bookkeeping responsibilities. Without significant prior experience in bookkeeping, it is impossible for a business owner to gauge the expertise level and capabilities of an in-house bookkeeper. Just as with hiring an internal bookkeeper and defining their role, you’ll have to decide which pieces of your financial management make sense to outsource including the bookkeeping function.

• An important lesson I learned is to never project your values about price – your thoughts on whether you believe something is cheap or expensive – to your prospective client.
• Value-based pricing is when you price your services based on what your clients are willing to pay, or the value they perceive in your service.
• When calculating your prices, be sure to factor in the cost of software subscriptions for your clients and things like overhead, marketing, and employee salaries.
• We will give you an exact quote for the work before you start, and firm deadlines for getting it done.
• However, remember more accountants and bookkeepers are working remotely.

These are the most popular platforms, but you can see the full list of tech partners we work with here. It’s up to you, but our Controllers and CFOs can help you create practically any kind of report. Almost any accounting system can give you an income statement and balance sheet, but you might need to create a budget or a cash flow forecast which our team helps clients with on a regular basis. Just ask us and we’ll help build reports that better help you run your business.

Vitality of Monthly Bookkeeping:

The cost is dependent on the number of transactions and complexity of your bookkeeping. Unlike many of our competitors, our accounting team will customize your package to meet your bookkeeping and tax compliance needs.

When it comes to setting prices, you can’t rely on just one variable. Look at numerous different angles, from your competition’s prices to the value of your unique services to your overhead expenses, to discover your firm’s worth. To attract paying clients, you need to find that zone where clients are willing to pay for your services, so you can generate a strong bookkeeping services pricing customer base while maximizing your profit. It might make sense for a large business with complex bookkeeping needs year-round to have an in-house bookkeeper. However, for most small businesses, an online bookkeeping service is a better option. If there are few bookkeepers or very high demand in your area, you can command a higher price for your services.

What Do Bookkeepers Do?

Figure out which works for your business and start tackling the problems, or potential problems, with your books. The current average full charge bookkeeper’s salary fluctuates between $35,000 to $55,000 per year plus benefits and overhead, depending on your location. According to Glassdoor, current listings in high cost of living cities like New York or L.A. In addition, you’ll need to add around 20% on top of salary for benefits and overhead including office space. They focus on recording the financial transactions of a business through maintaining records, tracking transactions, and creating financial reports. Do your due diligence to make sure you’re billing your clients fairly. But, don’t minimize your worth and expertise in the pricing process.

When setting your prices, ensure you are charging enough to cover these fees. “Bench is so, so, SO much better than everything I ever did for bookkeeping. My accountants also breathe a sigh of relief when I email them a Bench spreadsheet in advance of tax prep meetings.”

I highly highly highly recommend working with Vanessa and her team. FRB, SVB, Mercury all have stable systems that make monthly accounting faster, and make https://www.bookstime.com/ bank reconciliations easier. I tried using bill.com with this particular client, but I actually didn’t really find it as helpful as I would have hoped.

I always look at the books before I take on any kind of project, whether it’s monthly work or cleanups. If you’d like to do the same, I highly recommend you use this link to get my Smart Review Checklist. No matter your speed, you will still be earning the same amount of money. When you charge by the hour, you’re really putting the client in control. Your potential for earnings is based on how fast or how slow you work. Your bookkeeper will go over your reports to help you understand your financial situation, but may not provide financial or business advice (even if they’re a credentialed CPA). As part of ongoing bookkeeping, your bookkeeper categorizes your transactions and reconciles your accounts each month.

The more certifications a provider has, the more qualified they are expected to be at what they do. As such, a provider with two certificates will charge a higher rate than one with just a single certificate. While hiring highly qualified professionals guarantees quality results, it does not come cheap.

• Try us for free—we’ll do one month of your bookkeeping and prepare a set of financial statements for you to keep.
• Once you have arrived at your price for a particular mandate, the next step is to have a mutual agreement in place that documents your understanding of the scope of work and price per month.
• Well, you can cheer up now because you can leave your bookkeeping task to our experts; it will save you a bulk of time and money.
• Canopy takes the headaches out of client management by offering a way to keep client info organized.
• These functions are essential parts of a business, and it’s vital business owners have this expertise to manage a company properly.