How much does bookkeeping cost a small business?
Most small businesses spend somewhere between a few hundred and a couple of thousand dollars a month on bookkeeping, depending on who does it. As typical ranges: DIY costs mostly time, a freelance bookkeeper often bills $20–50 per hour, and outsourced monthly services commonly start around $200–500.
Bookkeeping is one of those costs every owner pays but few ever price out. This guide lays out what small businesses typically spend — doing it themselves, hiring a freelancer, or outsourcing to a firm — and where a per-task AI assistant changes the math.
What do small businesses actually pay for bookkeeping?
There is no single price tag, because «bookkeeping» covers everything from typing invoices into a spreadsheet to a full monthly close. Doing it yourself costs nothing in cash and everything in evenings — at 100 supplier invoices a month, the typing alone eats hours every week.
Hiring help has one well-documented anchor: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median hourly wage for bookkeeping clerks at roughly $22 (May 2023 data). Freelancers charge more than an employee’s wage — typical quotes run $20–50 per hour, depending on region and experience.
Outsourced monthly services price by volume and complexity. As an example range, simple books with one bank account often start around $200–500 a month; payroll, inventory or several accounts commonly push it to $500–1,000 or more. Treat these as typical market ranges, not survey data.
What drives the price up?
Document volume is the biggest lever. Every supplier invoice, receipt and bank line is a unit of work someone has to read, type and file — 300 documents a month simply buys more hours than 30. VAT or sales-tax registration adds recurring filings on top, each with a deadline and a penalty attached.
Payroll is the next step change: employ one person and someone must run pay, withholdings and reports every month. And some industries are just messier — cash-heavy trade, delivery notes to match against invoices, dozens of small suppliers. A restaurant or an e-shop makes far more paper per dollar of revenue, and the bookkeeping bill follows the paper.
What does each option cost side by side?
The honest way to compare is to separate two layers: the intake layer (getting each document out of the inbox, typed up and filed) and the judgment layer (reconciliation, filings, advice). The table below uses example figures — your quotes will differ.
The AI row covers the intake layer only. Nika reads every incoming supplier invoice, enters supplier, date, number, amount and VAT, and files it the same day — $0.40 per processed invoice, no subscription, prepaid balance from $5 (see pricing). She is not a bookkeeper; she removes the typing so your books stop absorbing professional rates for data entry.
| Option | Typical monthly cost (example) | What’s included | Hidden cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself | $0 in cash; e.g. 5–10 hours of your time | Whatever you find time to do | Owner hours, plus errors surfacing at tax time |
| Freelance bookkeeper | e.g. $150–500 (a few hours a week at $20–50/hr) | Data entry, reconciliation, tidy records | Handovers and availability — you still chase the documents |
| Accounting firm | e.g. $300–1,000+ | Books, filings, advice | You pay for the bundle even when most of the work is typing |
| Accounting software + DIY | e.g. $20–70 subscription | Tools, bank feeds, reports | The software waits for data — you still type in every invoice |
| Per-task AI intake (Nika) | e.g. 100 invoices × $0.40 = $40 | Intake and data entry only — every invoice filed the same day | Not full bookkeeping — you still need a human for books and taxes |
What is the hidden cost of doing it yourself?
Your own hours are the line item nobody writes down. As an example: if your time is worth $50 an hour and an invoice takes five minutes to open, type up and file, then 100 invoices a month is over eight hours — roughly $400 of owner time spent on pure data entry.
Run your own numbers in the free invoice cost calculator — your volume, your minutes per invoice, your hourly value. The quieter cost: entries typed at midnight carry mistakes, and mistakes found months later take accountant hours to unwind, at the accountant’s rate.
How do you cut the cost without cutting the accountant?
Keep the human for the work that needs a human: reconciliation, filings, tax planning, the conversation about what the numbers mean. Hand the typing to a per-task assistant. With records complete and current every day, your bookkeeper spends billable hours on judgment instead of data entry — which is where the savings live.
Control stays with you: anything Nika is unsure about waits in an approval queue for your yes — nothing enters the books on a guess. A daily plain-language report shows what was done and what it cost, mistakes reported within 14 days are credited back, and you can fire her anytime with the paid balance refunded. For volume-heavy businesses like an online store, intake is usually the biggest — and easiest — chunk of the bill to cut.
FAQ
Is it cheaper to do my own bookkeeping?
In cash, yes — in total cost, often not. Your hours have a value, and late-night entries produce errors that later cost accountant hours to fix. Past a few dozen documents a month, the hidden hours usually outweigh the savings.
How much should a startup budget for bookkeeping?
As a rough planning figure, many young businesses set aside something like $100–300 a month — software plus a few hours of professional help — and revisit as volume grows. An example range, not a benchmark.
What does an accountant cost per month in the US?
Typical market ranges, not survey data: outsourced bookkeeping often runs $200–500 a month for simple books, more with payroll or inventory; CPA tax work is usually billed separately, per return or per hour.
Does AI replace the bookkeeper?
No. Nika handles invoice intake and data entry only — she is not an accountant, does not file taxes and does not close the books. Your bookkeeper keeps the books, now from clean, same-day records.
What happens if the AI misfiles an invoice?
Report it within 14 days of the daily report that listed the work. A human compares the entry against the original document; if Nika got it wrong, you get the unit price back as credit and the record is corrected free.