How Much Does Small-Business Bookkeeping Cost?
By the I&S Accounting team
Start With the Work Your Business Needs
Bookkeeping cost depends on the records and reporting you need maintained. A consultant with one bank account and a small number of transactions needs a different scope from a multi-channel store or an MCA funder with participant reporting.
At I&S, monthly bookkeeping starts at $450/month, including LedgerHub software, migration, and CPA review of bookkeeping transactions. The figures below are our published starting prices, not a survey of market rates. Your fixed quote is confirmed after a review of the work.
Monthly Bookkeeping Starting Prices
| Plan | Starting price | Account and entity scope |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | From $450/month | 1 entity · up to 3 bank & credit-card accounts |
| Growth | From $750/month | 1 entity · up to 5 bank & credit-card accounts |
| Advanced | From $1,200/month | Accounts, entities & reporting agreed in your quote |
Starter covers up to 250 routine transactions per month. Growth covers up to 450. We use the average across your last three complete months. Advanced is scoped to the accounts, entities, transaction activity, and reporting you need; it is not an unlimited-work promise.
Both volume and account count matter. For example, 300 routine transactions and three bank or card accounts point to Growth, starting at $750/month. A lower transaction count with more accounts can also require a higher tier. Revenue provides context for complexity.
Compare the full plan details or build your quote to see the estimate update with your answers.
What Is Included With Monthly Bookkeeping?
Monthly plans include free LedgerHub accounting software and migration, reconciliations and financial reports within the selected scope, and CPA review of bookkeeping transactions. MCA reconciliation and portfolio tracking are included within the agreed monthly scope; we confirm deal volume, participants, and available source data before quoting.
CPA transaction review does not include financial-statement sign-off, audit or assurance services, or the separate monthly tax advisory subscription.
When comparing providers, ask for a written list of included accounts, entities, reporting, responsibilities, and delivery expectations. An attractive monthly number is useful only when the scope fits your business.
Monthly Plans and Hourly Projects Serve Different Needs
A monthly plan suits ongoing work: keeping transactions current, reconciling accounts, and delivering the agreed reports each period.
Hourly or project work can suit a bounded task, such as catch-up bookkeeping, investigating an unreconciled account, or preparing records for a handoff. Our standard bookkeeping rate is $65/hour, with scope and estimated work agreed up front. Current offers, if applicable, are shown on the pricing page.
Historical cleanup is separate from recurring bookkeeping. Likewise, free migration moves existing records into LedgerHub; correcting those records is a different task. Custom and hourly projects do not include the monthly plan's free software and migration benefits.
If your books are behind, the catch-up bookkeeping guide explains what a cleanup involves.
Adding Monthly CPA Tax Advisory
The CPA advisory component starts at $250/month for standard situations, $350 with Growth, and $450 with Advanced. Final pricing reflects the agreed tax scope and complexity.
When both monthly bookkeeping and CPA advisory are active, the bundle saves $100/month against the separately quoted prices:
- Starter bundle: from $600/month total.
- Growth bundle: from $1,000/month total.
- Advanced bundle: from $1,550/month total.
The saving is already included in those totals and cannot be combined with other promotions. The tax subscription includes one annual personal federal return and one state return, plus up to one planning hour per calendar month and the published support scope. Business returns and other excluded services are separately quoted.
Read monthly CPA advisory vs. annual tax preparation before choosing which services you need.
What Can Change the Quote?
- Additional entities or more accounts to reconcile.
- Ecommerce settlements that combine sales, refunds, taxes, and fees.
- MCA deal volume, participant reporting, or incomplete source data.
- Inventory, job costing, or custom reporting outside the agreed scope.
- Historical errors and unreconciled periods requiring cleanup.
The debit and credit sides of one transaction do not count as two billable transactions. Duplicate imports are excluded, and transfers between your own accounts count once under our published transaction rules.
Get a Useful Estimate Before You Commit
Have your recent transaction activity, account count, entity details, and latest reconciled period ready. Build your quote, then use the free books review to confirm a fixed fee in writing. Extra work is quoted and approved before it begins.
For a provider change, use the switching bookkeepers checklist to prepare the records and access needed for an orderly handoff.
Frequently asked questions
Starting monthly prices are Starter $450, Growth $750, Advanced $1,200. These are I&S prices, not industry averages. The final fixed fee reflects transaction volume, accounts, entities, and complexity after a books review.
Historical cleanup and catch-up work are separately scoped and approved before starting. Our standard hourly bookkeeping rate is $65/hour. Free migration with a monthly plan moves records into LedgerHub; it does not include correcting all historical records.
No. CPA review of bookkeeping transactions is included in monthly bookkeeping. The Monthly Tax Advisory Subscription is a separate service with its own planning, personal return, and support scope. Business income tax returns are separately quoted.
The quote wizard uses transaction volume and bank and card accounts to identify the starting bookkeeping tier. Revenue helps us assess complexity. The final fee also considers entities, source data, and reporting requirements, and is agreed before work starts.
