Bookkeeping pricing comes in three shapes: an hourly rate, a flat monthly fee, and tiers named by transaction or expense bands. All three are the same thing underneath, the hours the scope takes at the rate the provider earns, and bookkeeping services fees only become comparable once each quote is turned into that. This page explains the shapes, what a bookkeeping services price list should show, what moves the figure, and how to test pricing for bookkeeping services on your own counts with the calculator on this site rather than against an average that does not exist.
Hourly, monthly and tiered: the same fee in three shapes
Hourly pricing is honest and unpredictable: you pay for the hours, and a messy month costs more. A flat monthly fee is predictable and priced for an average month, so quiet months subsidise busy ones. Tiers are flat fees with a step at each transaction band. To compare any two, turn both into hours at a rate: the pricing calculator on this site does that from your counts, and prints what each fee implies per hour.
What a price list should show
The rate for extras, because that is the rate everything is really priced at. The scope each tier includes, line by line: coding, reconciliation, invoicing, bills, payroll journals, reports. The band boundaries, so you know when the price steps. The catch-up price, separately. A price list with a tier name and a figure and nothing else is an invitation to ask all of that, and the answers are the real price list.
What moves the fee
Transactions, first and most. Accounts, because each is reconciled on its own. Invoices and bills, because each is a record. Sales channels, because each settles in batches that have to be matched. Payroll runs, because each is a journal and a reconciliation. The state of the records, because a clean handover is cheaper than a shoebox. And the owner, because unanswered questions cost the bookkeeper hours that end up in the fee.
Testing a quote on your own counts
Put your accounts, transactions, invoices and bills into the pricing calculator at the provider's hourly rate for extras. The sheet prints the hours and the fee those hours imply. A flat fee well below that is priced to win and will be made up on extras or on hours not spent; one well above is built for a bigger business. Either way you are now reading the quote as hours, which is how the provider wrote it.
Questions people ask about bookkeeping pricing
What is a fair hourly rate for a bookkeeper?
It varies by area, experience and whether a firm or an individual is quoting, and there is no published national figure. Ask three providers and you will have the local range; the pricing calculator on this site then shows what each rate means for your scope.
Why do two quotes for the same business differ so much?
Because each provider guessed a different number of hours, or one is pricing to win. Turn both into hours at their extras rate with the calculator and the difference will be explained by one of those two.
Is a flat monthly fee better than hourly?
For an owner who wants predictability, yes, provided the scope is written down. For a business with wildly variable months, hourly can be cheaper. The calculator shows what the flat fee implies per hour, which is the number to decide on.
Should the price list include catch-up work?
As a separate line, yes. A price list that folds catch-up into the monthly fee is either overcharging the monthly or undercharging the catch-up.