An accounting bookkeeping service is one provider doing two jobs: the monthly bookkeeping, and the annual accounts and returns. The two are different work at different rates done by different people, even inside one firm, and a combined quote that does not separate them is hard to judge and easy to overpay. This page explains what each half contains, how to split the quote, and what to check about the monthly work, which is where combined engagements most often disappoint. The hiring sheet on this site prices the bookkeeping half against doing it in-house.
The two halves of the service
The bookkeeping half is monthly: transactions coded, accounts reconciled, invoices and bills recorded, reports produced. The accounting half is annual: the year-end accounts, the tax return, and advice. In a combined firm the accountant usually sells the engagement and a bookkeeper does the months. Both halves are legitimate; the risk is that the monthly half is priced at the annual half's rate, or done in the spring rather than in the month.
Splitting the quote
Ask for the monthly bookkeeping fee and the annual accounting fee as two numbers, even if you will pay one invoice. The monthly half should move with your transaction counts and can be checked against the pricing calculator on this site; the annual half is a year-end price and should not move month to month. If the provider cannot split it, the fee was not built from the work.
What to check about the monthly work
Who does it, how many clients they carry, and who reviews the reconciliations. Whether you can see the monthly reconciliation and the month-end reports, or only the year-end. Whether the books are kept in a ledger you have a login to. A combined service that keeps the monthly work invisible is asking you to trust the year-end without seeing the twelve months underneath it.
For small businesses: when combined is right
Combined works well for a small business with straightforward books and a single accountant relationship, because the year-end starts from books the same firm kept and nothing is handed across in January. It works badly when the business needs a bookkeeper in the month and the firm is built for the spring. Ask how many of the firm's clients are on monthly bookkeeping, and what the monthly deliverable is; the answers tell you which kind of firm it is.
Questions people ask about accounting bookkeeping service
Is a combined service cheaper than two providers?
Slightly, sometimes, because the year-end starts from books the same firm kept. It can also be more expensive if monthly work is priced at the accountant's rate. Split the quote and you will know.
Can I keep my own accountant and outsource the bookkeeping elsewhere?
Yes, and many businesses do. The bookkeeper hands reconciled books to the accountant at year end; agree in advance that the two talk to each other directly rather than through you.
What if the bookkeeping is poor but the accounting is good?
It happens, and a combined engagement makes it awkward to fix. Agree the monthly deliverable at the start and review it; a firm that will not show you the reconciliation has not earned the trust it is asking for.
Do I own the books in a combined engagement?
Only if the engagement says so. Insist that the ledger is yours, that you have a login, and that on leaving you receive the books and working papers without a fee. This is the clause a combined engagement most needs.