How Much Does a Bookkeeper Cost? Hourly Rate & Monthly Services

Most small business owners don’t feel they need a bookkeeper until one day they wake up and realize their books haven’t been right for months. You probably are in the same situation and that’s okay

You probably already called up the nearest bookkeeper you could find and were blown away by the price they quoted you. Don’t worry, that’s normal too.

At FlowFi, we’re a business specialized in linking business owners up with part time bookkeepers, CFOs, HR specialists, and compliance officers. We’ve overseen thousands of business - bookkeeper relationships and know a little bit about how professionals arrive at the numbers they quote you.

That’s why we drafted up a quick article/cheat sheet to help you understand a bit about the average price of bookkeeping today. Read on to see some of the average hourly and monthly prices to expect as well as some negotiation tips for your next meeting.

💬 Psst, wondering when to hire a bookkeeper? Once closing your books each month eats into time you should spend on sales or delivery, it's time to move out of DIY. Want to know what a bookkeeper does? Read this blog.

How Much Does a Bookkeeper Cost Per Hour?

Hourly pricing is normally offered to clients that need light or irregular bookkeeping. For example, account reconciliations across a bank account plus a payment platform once a month or manual entry of receipts into a spreadsheet.

A typical bookkeeper hourly rate for a straightforward small business sits in the $30–$60 per hour range based on location and experience

• Lower-cost areas or basic work: rates from the low $20s upward.

• Coastal cities and specialist work: $40 and up.

Freelancers generally cover that same band. Many charge $25–$60 per hour. Certified or highly experienced bookkeepers sometimes charge $75–$100+ for complex tasks like AR/AP control for a large retailer.

For basic data entry or simple catch-up, a lower rate works fine. But when you need bookkeeping clean up services for messy, multi-entity books, paying more for expertise saves money long-term.

So how much do bookkeepers charge per hour when your books are more complex?

Higher rates are common for inventory-heavy e-commerce, multiple bank and credit card accounts, detailed revenue recognition, or frequent investor reporting.

How Much Does Monthly Bookkeeping Cost?

Recent benchmarks put typical outsourced bookkeeping between $300 and $2,500 per month. These prices vary depending on your transaction volume, complexity, and scope of work.

Bookkeepers pull out monthly pricing once you have consistent activity and want predictable support.

Some examples:

Low end monthly bookkeeping: $100-$500 per month for minimal activity. These tend to be simple service businesses like one to two product SaaS companies or a small law firm.

High end monthly bookkeeping: Several thousand dollars per month for multi-entity, high-volume, or regulated businesses like e-commerce, restaurants, and manufacturers.

When a Bookkeeper Should Charge Per Hour vs Per Month

When a Bookkeeper Should Charge Hourly

Hourly billing suits very small businesses with unpredictable needs or occasional cleanup. You only pay for hours used. It’s a good arrangement for testing relationships with no bookkeepers if you aren’t sure of what you want.

Trade-off: Hourly billing is less predictable. You may end up paying much more than you planned if your books are more complicated than you originally thought.

When a Bookkeeper Should Charge Per Month

Monthly fees work better with steady activity, a clear budget, and consistent month-end processes. For example if you want your bookkeeper to stay on top of month-end close or book maintenance.

Fixed fees encourage proactive relationships. Your bookkeeper plans recurring tasks instead of waiting for ad hoc requests.

Average bookkeeping rates per hour and per month for small businesses

How to Negotiate Pricing With Bookkeepers

Bookkeepers should be willing to negotiate a little on their prices if you can take complex tasks off their plates. For example, if you’re willing to wait longer for them to complete your books or if you are willing to do more manual data entry.

That said, bookkeepers are the experts on how long tasks take to complete and what its worth to them. Generally if you are dubious about output, then make your bookkeeper hourly and try to track their time rigorously, just don’t be surprised if the per-hour rate is high.

You should always enter any sort of price negotiation with a bookkeeper with a range in mind. And remember that you’re paying for this service because it’s difficult. If it was something that could be done quickly and easily you wouldn’t need a bookkeeper.

Want to Work With an Expert Bookkeeper Specialized in Your Industry Today? 

At FlowFi, we’re the top marketplace for matching business owners across industries including:

• Franchising

• Startups

• Manufacturing

• Services

• Restaurants

• Retail/Ecommerce

• And more

With professional contract-based bookkeepers in your industry who can help you with services:

• General bookkeeping

• Catch-up clean-up

• AR/AP

• Month-end close

• Cash flow

• Fractional CFO services

To start you just need to sign up for a complementary 15-minute phone call and fill out an assessment. We then use over 50+ data points to match you with an expert bookkeeper based on your problems, price, and personality.

Don’t like your expert? We’ll switch you to a new one any time free of charge and no questions asked. That’s why we have an under 1% churn rate from our clients.

Ready to get started? Hit "Book a call" at the top of the page or fill out our form and we’ll be in touch shortly.