Wondering how much do bookkeepers charge for their in-house and out-house services? This blog will help you understand the same quite easily.
Bookkeepers work as the initial step toward financial management. As these bookkeepers record and organize every transaction and operation related to the business, their importance is undeniable. Small businesses may not need to hire bookkeepers as the number of transactions is comparatively smaller than those in medium-sized or large-scale businesses.
However, as a business grows, you may feel the need to hire a bookkeeper and maintain stable, reliable, and well-organized data on all the operations and financial records of the business. When the need for bookkeepers arises, one of the first questions that pop up is how much do bookkeepers charge.
The answer to this question is not definite. The cost of hiring bookkeepers depends upon the experience of personnel sought, the number of employees required, the scale of the business and its operations (transactions), etc. All these factors increase the flexibility in pricing and make it hard to get an exact number. However, you can always ascertain a ballpark figure.
Additionally, the sources or techniques of hiring bookkeepers also vary, thus impacting bookkeeper prices. Generally, there are three major techniques for hiring such personnel and asserting bookkeeping service fees accordingly. These are:
- hiring in-house bookkeepers
- engaging with a bookkeeping firm
- getting help from online personnel charging flexible bookkeeping service fees
The fees or charges for all these services vary. However, with the help of this article, we can help you understand the pricing breakup and ascertain which one of these solutions is optimal for your business. So, let’s dive in for more information.
How Much Do Bookkeepers Charge: The Price Breakup According to Source
So, with the help of the coming sections of this article, we will have a look at the cost of hiring bookkeepers from different sources. Go through the sections closely and attentively to get the answer to “How Much Do Bookkeepers Charge?”
In-House Bookkeeper Prices: State-Wise Breakup
As you may already know, if you decide to hire an in-house bookkeeper, you need to have official premises. An in-house bookkeeper becomes an employee of your organization. Hence, you need to pay the same hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly as suited. Generally, the in-house bookkeeper’s hourly rate may be quite higher, hence businesses prefer monthly payments.
However, this monthly or annual cost of the bookkeeper also varies depending upon the geographic location. To assist you in a better way and provide the closest answer to how much do bookkeepers charge, we have summed up the average charges of beekeepers from various industries and organizations. We have further divided the same into a state-wise category for a better understanding. You will also find the hourly rate for a bookkeeper offering a deeper insight. So, let’s have a look at the numbers collected after extensive research:
Price Table:
| State | Average Salary ($) | Average Hourly Salary ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 37,500 | 18.02884615 |
| Alaska | 48,700 | 23.41346154 |
| Arizona | 41,000 | 19.71153846 |
| Arkansas | 36,400 | 17.5 |
| California | 47,800 | 22.98076923 |
| Colorado | 43,000 | 20.67307692 |
| Connecticut | 47,900 | 23.02884615 |
| Delaware | 44,800 | 21.53846154 |
| Florida | 40,200 | 19.32692308 |
| Georgia | 40,300 | 19.375 |
| Hawaii | 41,700 | 20.04807692 |
| Idaho | 38,500 | 18.50961538 |
| Illinois | 42,600 | 20.48076923 |
| Indiana | 38,400 | 18.46153846 |
| Iowa | 39,000 | 18.75 |
| Kansas | 36,000 | 17.30769231 |
| Kentucky | 38,000 | 18.26923077 |
| Louisiana | 37,200 | 17.88461538 |
| Maine | 39,200 | 18.84615385 |
| Maryland | 45,500 | 21.875 |
| Massachusetts | 47,100 | 22.64423077 |
| Michigan | 39,200 | 18.84615385 |
| Minnesota | 44,300 | 21.29807692 |
| Mississippi | 38,200 | 18.36538462 |
| Missouri | 38,400 | 18.46153846 |
| Montana | 36,400 | 17.5 |
| Nebraska | 37,900 | 18.22115385 |
| Nevada | 40,200 | 19.32692308 |
| New Hampshire | 42,200 | 20.28846154 |
| New Jersey | 46,900 | 22.54807692 |
| New Mexico | 37,700 | 18.125 |
| New York | 45,700 | 21.97115385 |
| North Carolina | 39,700 | 19.08653846 |
| North Dakota | 38,300 | 18.41346154 |
| Ohio | 39,900 | 19.18269231 |
| Oklahoma | 39,100 | 18.79807692 |
| Oregon | 41,900 | 20.14423077 |
| Pennsylvania | 40,700 | 19.56730769 |
| Rhode Island | 44,200 | 21.25 |
| South Carolina | 36,900 | 17.74038462 |
| South Dakota | 34,000 | 16.34615385 |
| Tennessee | 40,400 | 19.42307692 |
| Texas | 41,400 | 19.90384615 |
| Utah | 39,200 | 18.84615385 |
| Vermont | 42,400 | 20.38461538 |
| Virginia | 43,200 | 20.76923077 |
| Washington | 45,700 | 21.97115385 |
| West Virginia | 34,600 | 16.63461538 |
| Wisconsin | 38,000 | 18.26923077 |
| Wyoming | 38,900 | 18.70192308 |
The data provided above only shows the salary and bookkeeper hourly rate. However, when you hire an employee, you also need to offer other perks to the personnel like insurance, provident fund amounts, rent allowances, and more as per-defined by the center/state government. Additionally, the cost of other things like filling an office seat, system cost, accessories, etc. are also there.
Should You Hire an In-House Bookkeeper: Conclusion
As compared to any other sources to hire bookkeepers, the in-house bookkeeper prices are quite higher. You should only hire in-house personnel if you think that you need active personnel at all times working on your accounts. Additionally, your business should also be able to earn back the cost of an in-house bookkeeper.
Generally, the in-house bookkeepers are hired by large-scale businesses that need someone to manage financial records regularly. Now, let’s have a look at the bookkeeping service fees as charged by a bookkeeping firm.
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Bookkeeper Prices: Charged By a Bookkeeping Firm
The question of how much do bookkeepers charge in a bookkeeping firm, remains unaddressed.
Bookkeeping services date back to ages. There are certain bookkeeping firms or a group of bookkeepers that form a firm and provide bookkeeping services to their clients. The US is loaded with such firms. However, these firms generally operate in a limited geographical area. Hence, you may face some trouble getting the job done for you if your location is distant from the ones catered by such firms.
Generally, these firms charge a bookkeeper hourly rate to you. You can hire such bookkeepers or bookkeeping firms monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually, or for other periods. These bookkeepers will take care of your bookkeeping needs for this particular tenure only. As the tenure is varied, so is the cost. Hence, you may not be able to determine the bookkeeping service fees unless you connect and communicate with one or more bookkeeping firm(s). Upon communication, they will intimate you of the exact amount charged for the services.
Just like the in-house bookkeeping cost, the charges of such bookkeeping firms depend upon the business, its location, scale of operation, and other factors.
Should You Hire a Bookkeeping Firm: Conclusion
If you are a medium-scale or small-scale business that requires bookkeeping services regularly, then you can consider hiring a bookkeeping firm. The bookkeeping or bookkeeper prices of such firms may vary; hence, you should connect with the firm directly for accurate information.
Bookkeeper Service Fees: Charged By an Online Service Provider
The third and last source to hire a bookkeeper for your business is to take the help of an online bookkeeping service provider. These service providers generally hire several bookkeepers in the organization. These bookkeepers work for multiple clients at a time (if not hired for dedicated work) and are not limited to a geographical area.
How much do bookkeepers charge? The answer to this question, when working with an online service provider, depends upon your requirements. Generally, the service provider will charge the bookkeeping service fees for a definite period, say monthly, yearly, quarterly, etc. The pattern is quite similar to that followed by a bookkeeping firm but without geographical restrictions.
The bookkeeper prices of these providers start at as low as $399 a month. Hence, these services will not burn a hole in the pocket.
Should You Hire an Online Bookkeeping Service Provide: Conclusion
It has been proven that the hourly rate for a bookkeeper with online providers is quite cheaper as compared to any other source. These online bookkeepers are an expert in the domain and work with multiple industries. Hence, these bookkeepers have a much broader professional experience than the in-house ones. Additionally, with online service providers, you also enjoy the ease of hiring or firing the services at your convenience.
How Much Do Bookkeepers Charge: The Conclusion
After looking at the previous sections, you must have got the answer to how much bookkeepers charge. As the sections suggest, you should hire a bookkeeper from a particular source, only if it’s beneficial to your business.
The in-house bookkeeper is the best suited if your requirements and scale of business are huge. The cost of an in-house bookkeeper is more expensive than those hired from any other source. You can consider hiring a bookkeeping firm if you want an alternative to an in-house bookkeeper. You can easily supervise the performance of the firm as with an in-house bookkeeper.
However, for more flexible and better bookkeeping, you should go for online bookkeeping service providers. These bookkeepers are experts in various industries and the entire domain as a whole. Hence, you don’t need to supervise them regularly. The flexibility to hire or let go of the bookkeepers is an added advantage. Additionally, the cost of such service and bookkeeping prices is the cheapest with online providers as compared to that with any other source.
If you still have any questions related to how much do bookkeepers charge, you can connect and communicate with the bookkeeping experts at The Ledger Labs. They will assist you with everything.
