Mars Business Advisors LLC

If you have ever searched for bookkeeping prices, you probably noticed something frustrating.

There is no simple answer.

One bookkeeper charges a few hundred dollars per month. Another charges $1,000 or more. Some list their prices. Others want you to book a call before they tell you anything.

So what should bookkeeping actually cost for a small business?

The answer depends less on the size of your company and more on what needs to be done each month.

Let’s break it down.

What Are You Actually Paying a Bookkeeper to Do?

At the most basic level, monthly bookkeeping keeps your financial records accurate and up to date.

That usually includes things like:

• Categorizing transactions
• Reconciling bank and credit card accounts
• Closing the books each month
• Preparing financial statements
• Identifying transactions that need clarification

That might sound simple.

But there is a big difference between keeping the books for a consultant with one bank account and keeping the books for a company with multiple credit cards, payment processors, loans, contractors, payroll, and hundreds of monthly transactions.

That is why two businesses can receive very different bookkeeping quotes.

What Determines the Cost of Bookkeeping?

1. How many transactions do you have?

This is one of the biggest factors.

A business with 50 transactions per month usually requires less work than one with 500.

More transactions mean more activity to categorize, review, reconcile, and potentially investigate.

2. How many accounts are involved?

Think about everything connected to your books:

Checking accounts.

Savings accounts.

Credit cards.

Loans.

Stripe.

PayPal.

Business lines of credit.

The more accounts involved, the more reconciliation work needs to happen every month.

3. Are your books already clean?

This one matters more than most business owners realize.

If your books are current and your accounts reconcile properly, taking over the bookkeeping can be relatively straightforward.

If you are six months behind and nothing has been reconciled, there may be cleanup work required before normal monthly bookkeeping can even begin.

That does not mean your business is a mess.

It simply means there is some catching up to do.

4. How much support do you want?

Not every business needs the same level of service.

Some owners simply want someone to keep the books accurate and send them financial statements every month.

Others want help with invoicing, accounts payable, payroll bookkeeping, or reviewing their financial results.

And some businesses eventually reach the point where they need forecasting, budgeting, cash flow planning, or deeper financial analysis.

Those are different levels of support, and they should be priced differently.

Cheap Bookkeeping Can Get Expensive

The goal should not be to find the cheapest person who can enter transactions into QuickBooks.

The goal is to get bookkeeping off your plate without losing confidence in your numbers.

Imagine saving $200 per month on bookkeeping, but you still spend several hours every month:

Fixing transactions.

Answering questions.

Trying to reconcile accounts.

Wondering whether the reports are correct.

At that point, how much did you really save?

Your time has value too.

Good bookkeeping should reduce the amount of time and mental energy you spend worrying about the books.

When Does DIY Bookkeeping Stop Making Sense?

There is no magic revenue number where every business suddenly needs a bookkeeper.

A better question is:

What are you giving up to continue doing it yourself?

If bookkeeping takes an hour per month and you enjoy doing it, there may be no reason to outsource it yet.

But if you are spending your evenings categorizing transactions, putting off reconciliations, or constantly trying to catch up, the equation changes.

Especially when that time could be spent:

Serving customers.

Selling.

Managing employees.

Improving operations.

Or simply not working at 10 p.m.

At some point, doing your own bookkeeping stops saving money and starts costing you time.

What Should You Expect From a Monthly Bookkeeping Service?

At minimum, you should expect your books to be:

Accurate.

Current.

Organized.

And most importantly, usable.

You should be able to open your financial statements and have confidence that they reflect what is actually happening in the business.

You should not have to wonder whether the bank accounts were reconciled.

You should not be several months behind.

And you should not have to rebuild the books every time your tax professional asks for information.

Bookkeeping vs. Financial Advisory

This is another area that can make pricing confusing.

Bookkeeping tells you what happened.

Financial advisory starts helping you answer questions such as:

• What is likely to happen next?
• How much cash will we have three months from now?
• Which parts of the business are most profitable?
• Can we afford to hire someone?
• What happens if revenue increases or decreases?
• Are we on track compared with our budget?

Not every small business needs that level of support.

That is why I like the idea of starting with strong bookkeeping first.

Get the foundation right.

Then add deeper financial support when the business actually needs it.

So, How Much Should Small Business Bookkeeping Cost?

There is no single price that makes sense for every business.

A simple service business with limited transactions should not pay the same amount as a growing company with multiple accounts, more activity, and additional support needs.

At Mars Business Advisors, monthly bookkeeping currently starts at $499 per month.

For businesses that need additional bookkeeping support and monthly financial review, our Growth Bookkeeping package starts at $849 per month.

The important part is matching the level of service to what your business actually needs.

You should not pay for services you are not going to use.

But you also should not choose a bookkeeping service based on price alone and then continue spending your own time fixing the books.

A Simple Way to Think About It

Ask yourself three questions:

Are my books current?

Do I trust the numbers?

Is doing this myself still the best use of my time?

If the answer to any of those questions is no, it may be worth having someone else take a look.

Not Sure What Your Business Needs?

That is exactly why we offer a free bookkeeping assessment.

We will look at your current setup, learn how your bookkeeping is being handled today, and help determine what level of support makes sense for your business.

No complicated accounting pitch.

Just a clearer picture of what you need and what it should cost.