The short answer is much more than an online bookkeeping service or freelancer. A skilled bookkeeper can help you avoid fines, fraud, or compliance issues. If you’re thinking of employing a bookkeeper for your business, we’ll break down everything bookkeepers can do and some factors that figure into the cost of hiring one. CostHack.com was launched with one simple goal in mind; help individuals and business owners save money. If the business is moving into a growth stage, you need to consider graduating to full accrual-based accounting, including financial and management reports. However, this comprehensive accounting solution may also inflate your monthly bookkeeping costs significantly.

At some point or another, you may have clients of all sizes—aka small, medium, and large clients. And when one client’s size is larger than another client, you’re going to want to price services accordingly. Danielle Bauter is a writer for the Accounting division of Fit Small Business. She has owned Check Yourself, a bookkeeping and payroll service that specializes in small business, for over twenty years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA and has served on the Board of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Bookkeeper Certifications

Pilot offers expert bookkeeping with unparalleled accuracy to young companies. The level of review and interaction with your bookkeeping team can also vary by provider. Make sure to ask about anything important to you, so that both you and your provider can know what to expect. Once you start talking about using services, you may start seeing dollar signs and be worried about how much this will cost you.

Bookkeeping also includes preparing year-end reports such as profit and loss statements, financial statements, and estimated taxes. Some bookkeepers prepare the payroll, maintain petty cash funds, and budgets for the company. A good bookkeeper will keep records of financial transactions, including cash receipts and expenses. With the advent of easy-to-use accounting software such as QuickBooks, how much does a bookkeeper cost many new small business owners start out doing their own bookkeeping, because they want to keep tabs on what’s happening. Microsoft.com lays out reasons to hand off at least some of your bookkeeping tasks to a professional. A bookkeeper does not necessarily need a degree in accounting, but should have formal college-level coursework, experience and a detailed-oriented attitude.

$400 – $4,500 per month

Bookkeepers will work closely with individuals outside of their organization, such as vendors or clients they do business with on a daily basis. A strong relationship with these people helps ensure that no mistakes are made involving money or overpayment of bills which would result in loss of profit for their company. Intuit lets you search for local accounting and bookkeeping professionals who are certified to work with its QuickBooks software. Accountants sometimes have on-staff bookkeepers to provide these services, usually at $30-$50 an hour.

Look at the types of services you offer and compare what you currently charge to others. You can make your bookkeeping experience even more valuable by specializing in a particular industry, especially if that industry has unique requirements. For example, trucking, nonprofits, churches, and restaurants are only a few of the industries where industry-specific knowledge will make you more valuable. To learn more about the benefits included and how to get started with the AIPB or the NACPB certification, check out our bookkeeper certification guide. Tim is a Certified QuickBooks Time Pro, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and CPA with 25 years of experience. He brings his expertise to Fit Small Business’s accounting content.