Bookkeeping is an essential part of managing any business, regardless of size. It involves recording, classifying, and organizing financial transactions and is important for making informed decisions. However, it can be complicated and time-consuming, so many businesses outsource it to a virtual bookkeeping assistant.

If you have special certifications, you may be able to make some price adjustments—and clients may be more than willing to pay for said adjustments if they know it means a higher level of trust and competency. It doesn’t matter where your company is located, virtual bookkeeping staff can give you all the advantages you need to stay open and profitable for many years to come. Simplify your financial record-keeping, track your expenses, and easily make informed decisions.

Hourly Bookkeeping Rates Frequently Asked Questions

There are steps you can take to reduce the complexity and save money and we’ll get to those a little later on. There are many superb cloud accounting software tools available right now. You should include bookkeeping/accounting software in your packaged services. Professional services and accounting tasks will be included in each of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold tiers.

• You’ll usually pay for bookkeeping services in one of the three ways—hourly, salary, or a flat fee.
• The hourly rate ranges from $26.91 in Louisiana to $43.57 in Massachusetts.
• There are several certifications you can get as a bookkeeper, but they are not necessarily required.
• Now, this is also where it gets kind of fun, because if you’re using good systems you can actually save a lot of money.
• Many businesses hire a virtual bookkeeping assistant to remotely manage all their bookkeeping tasks.
• Keep in mind that you should always get a signed engagement letter or service agreement from your client before you start any work.

You can expect to pay an average amount ranging between $500 to $2,500 per month. Below is a general breakdown of billing rates for various staff members at professional accounting and bookkeeping firms. Nevertheless, keep in mind that large national firms tend to have higher https://www.bookstime.com/ rates than smaller regional or local firms. It is extremely difficult to estimate the cost of a professional accounting and bookkeeping service because it depends on so many variables. This includes the size of your business and the complexity of the bookkeeping.

What are the Benefits of Outsourcing Bookkeeping?

Your business probably already uses tools and software to help keep your records and operations organized— adding in more applications to your tech stack can often cause more stress than it needs to. Whether you’re hiring in-house or outsourcing your bookkeeping, finding someone that has the right software tools to make finance management easy is important. Some accounting firms only provide basic reconciliation services. However, businesses need services that can also handle payroll and taxes. See if they can integrate with your current bookkeeping software. Another key benefit to outsourcing bookkeeping to a professional CPA firm is the level of expertise received.

But bookkeeping done well is an important part of running a successful business, and it can save you from costly record-keeping and tax-filing mistakes in the long run. You can research the rates charged by other bookkeepers https://www.bookstime.com/pricing in your area. Look at your services and compare them to what other bookkeepers are charging. Deciding what to charge for your services is one of the primary challenges that bookkeeping professionals face.

What Do Bookkeepers Do?

The services provided by a virtual bookkeeper are comparable to those of an in-person bookkeeper but are conducted entirely online, using cloud-based software and online communication tools. Other services are billed either on an hourly basis or on a negotiated fixed fee basis. Call our office today for a quote on how much your tax return is likely to cost when we do the work.

Your potential for earnings is based on how fast or how slow you work. And finally, keep in mind that 25% of people want a premium experience. Focus on working with clients who will pay you what you’re worth, and don’t worry about the clients who won’t. 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. You might think that they’ll never pay you $1,000 dollars a month to do their books (and that’s exactly what I used to think), but the right client will.

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I also teach the full process in my online course called the QBO Paid Diagnostic Review System, also found in the 5MB Academy. But, with growth comes an increased responsibility for your back office, and your bookkeeper might need help keeping up. Payments come in electronically, and when they come in, I apply it to the patient’s balance. I’m never in their physical office, so if someone pays in cash, the office has a system to make a cash deposit to their bank and then record it within the system so I know that it was taken care of.

Now, this is also where it gets kind of fun, because if you’re using good systems you can actually save a lot of money. Our customizable Foundations Package for accounting starts at $250 per month and offers a range of functions, including bookkeeping services, bank/credit card reconciliations, and payroll. You can also outsource invoice processing services with Milestone so we manage all your accounting transactions. The lower end of the range typically includes basic bookkeeping for a small business that only requires five or so hours of work per month. If you can get away with that, part-time bookkeeping services can be much more affordable than a full-time bookkeeper working in house. Firms offering outsourced bookkeeping services tend to also be flexible to make sure their solutions fit your specific needs.

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After a few months of working at an hourly rate, you can send your client a proposal or contract, spelling out the tasks you will be doing and what the fixed monthly pricing will be moving forward. One way you can determine how much to charge is to tie each task to a dollar amount. When you’re first starting out, it’s hard to get a grasp on that, though, which is why I like to put it based on terms of approximate hours worked.

• Because we only work with early-stage, funded companies, we’ve developed deep expertise and detailed, battle-tested processes specific to the needs of our clients.
• They may also need specialized additional services and reporting.
• In this initial stage of establishing your business, you will be primarily concerned with smaller responsibilities like recording transactions and paying bills.
• Many small businesses in the early stages are primarily concerned with compliance – paying bills, getting paid, recording transactions, ensuring payroll accuracy, and following state and federal regulations.

They may be willing to pay a higher rate for bookkeepers with specialized training or certification in auditing and accounting. There are several certifications you can get as a bookkeeper, but they are not necessarily required. Intuit's 2021 rate survey found that average hourly rates did not differ between bookkeepers and certified bookkeepers, suggesting that a bookkeeping certification has no significant impact on pricing. How to charge for bookkeeping services usually comes down to either hourly or fixed pricing.

Need help with accounting? Easy peasy.

If you are just starting out, you may need someone to record your transactions and handle your minimal accounts receivable and payable, adding up to only a few hours of bookkeeping each month. After digging through the pricing tiers of a number of different bookkeeping service providers, we’ve found that the average range for small to medium businesses is $250 - $1,500 per month. Perhaps the most cost-efficient option for bookkeeping for a small business is hiring a third-party firm that specializes in outsourced bookkeeping solutions. There is a number of key advantages to outsourcing your bookkeeping, including lesser costs, greater value for every dollar spent, and other tangible business-related factors.

• One way you can determine how much to charge is to tie each task to a dollar amount.
• Bookkeepers are in charge of maintaining your books closely day in and day out.
• NEWITY knows how helpful this consistency can be for small businesses, which is why we partnered with Xendoo to bring flat fee bookkeeping services to our small business members.
• And let’s not even get into how they’re more qualified, dedicated to handling bookkeeping and nothing else and – GASP!
• Remember, more specialized services can demand a higher rate of pay.
• If you can prove your worth and expertise in working with that specific industry and the nuances that come along with it, it will allow you to increase your prices.

Proper bookkeeping gives a company or business trustworthy information regarding their progress. Therefore, even before having a big team and many employees, it is essential to invest in keeping records of everything. I’m an entrepreneurial CPA that founded Xen Accounting, a 100% cloud-based accounting firm, in 2013.