Per month? Per hour? For a small business? Should I pay hourly or flat rate?
The answer: how long is a piece of string?
There is no straightforward answer because each business need is so nuanced.
You can pay anywhere between $30-$90 an hour for freelance bookkeepers, which is far cheaper than paying a CPA’s hourly fees which usually start at $125.
Some bookkeepers offer flat monthly packages so that there are no surprises for owners each month and they can plan.
Some key factors come down to:
business size and complexity
scope of services required
the frequency of services
location
bookkeeper experience
state of the current books
Any size business with 1000’s of transactions a month will be more work than a business that has only a few transactions a month, therefore your cost will be higher. If your business pays a lot of vendors, gets paid by a lot of clients, has multiple loans, bank accounts and credit cards, sends invoices that need to be matched to payments, then the increased complexity will result in a larger costs. If you need monthly bookkeeping so you can have updated profit and loss reports and provide those reports to owners/investors/banks you will be charged more than a quarterly client. Perhaps the scope of your business books is more involved, and payroll entries need to be made after payroll is run biweekly, or you want your bookkeeper to assist with payroll, receiving money from clients and sending invoices, then you will be paying more than someone who does not need any of those services. Lastly, if your books are a mess, you have not yet filed business taxes or you do not have bookeeping set up then will have to pay for those services.
It will take a conversation - a bookkeeper needs to understand what is going on in your business books, what they currently look like, what needs to happen, upcoming deadlines et cetera. Bookkeepers should be asking to see your books before giving a quote.
Ultimately, you get what you pay for. Bookkeeping is an investment in your business. Quality bookkeepers keep up with training, usually are certified, and should be ready to answer your questions. You should be provided reports monthly or quarterly, you should have access to your books, and you should be provided transparent services and have questions answered.
So, while I cannot give you a concrete answer because needs are different for each company, I can tell you that can and should shop around!
I have set my rates at $65 an hour but you can request a monthly subscription plan. If you are interested in getting a quote email me at hannah@sprengerbookkeeping.com or invite me to your bookkeeping software. You can also call me at 907-414-6540 if you like to speak to a real person first!