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How much does it cost to outsource accounting services? For a small US business, published starting prices in October 2026 run from a few hundred dollars a month for monthly bookkeeping to roughly $1,750 to $5,250 a month for an outsourced CFO plan, with business tax returns priced separately from about $1,000 a year. Your actual quote depends on transaction volume, how many entities and states you file in, and how clean the books are on day one.
Most "average cost" ranges quoted online have no source behind them. The figures below come from providers that publish their prices and from Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, and anything that is our own arithmetic is labeled as such.
Few accounting firms publish prices, but some online providers do. These are starting prices as listed on each provider's pricing page on October 14, 2026. They are floors for small, simple businesses, not averages.
| Service | Provider | Published starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly bookkeeping (monthly close) | Bookkeeper360 | $399 per month |
| Weekly bookkeeping | Bookkeeper360 | $599 per month |
| AI-run cash-basis bookkeeping with monthly close, "Essentials" (up to $100,000 monthly expenses; a US-based bookkeeper starts at the higher Core tier) | Pilot | $99 per month |
| Catch-up or prior-period bookkeeping | Bookkeeper360 | $1,000 per project |
| Payroll processing | Bookkeeper360 | $200 per month |
| Business tax return (single-member LLC) | Pilot | $1,000+ per year |
| Business tax return (partnership or S corporation) | Pilot | $2,000+ per year |
| Business tax return (C corporation) | Pilot | $2,450+ per year |
| Business tax return | Bookkeeper360 | $1,000 per year |
| Outsourced CFO, basic to custom tiers | Pilot | $1,750, $3,150 or $5,250 per month, billed annually |
| Fractional CFO | Bookkeeper360 | $2,000 per month |
Two cautions. Pilot's tax plans must be bought alongside Pilot bookkeeping, and both providers' CFO plans assume the books are already handled. Prices also move: check the pricing page before you quote these to a client or a board.
The useful takeaway is the spread between service lines. Bookkeeping and payroll are priced like utilities, tax is priced per return, and CFO plans start at four to thirteen times the $399 bookkeeping floor because it buys senior judgment rather than processing hours.
Fixed monthly fee, tiered by volume. The most common model for bookkeeping. Providers set tiers by monthly expenses, transaction count or number of bank and card accounts. You know the bill in advance, and the provider re-tiers you as you grow.
Hourly. Common for advisory, cleanup and tax consulting. Pilot, for example, lists tax consulting from $250 an hour for single-member LLCs and from $400 an hour for partnerships, S corporations and C corporations. Hourly billing suits irregular work but makes budgeting harder.
Per return or per project. Tax preparation, catch-up bookkeeping, budgets and forecasts. Bookkeeper360 lists a 12-month budget from $2,000 and a three-year forecast from $10,000 per project.
Dedicated staff, for CPA firms. Firms that outsource production work often pay a monthly fee for a dedicated offshore accountant or team rather than per task. Our offshore accountant cost comparison for India, the Philippines and the US covers how those engagements are priced.
Quotes on the same service can differ by several multiples. These are the variables providers price on:
Many pages online quote broad "$500 to $5,000" style ranges. No source supports them, and a range that wide does not help anyone budget.
The honest comparison is the fully loaded cost of an employee against the outsourced fee for the same scope.
The BLS puts the median annual pay for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks at $50,670 (May 2025) and the median for accountants and auditors at $83,680. Wages are only part of the cost. In the BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation release for June 2026, wages and salaries made up 70.0 percent of private industry compensation and benefits the other 30.0 percent.
Illustrative math (our calculation, not a BLS figure): dividing the median wage by 0.70 gives an approximate loaded cost.
| Role | BLS median wage | Approximate loaded cost (wage ÷ 0.70) | Monthly equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping clerk | $50,670 | about $72,400 | about $6,030 |
| Accountant | $83,680 | about $119,500 | about $9,960 |
Recruiting fees, software seats, training and management time come on top. Our true cost of in-house versus outsourced accounting goes through those line by line.
Read the comparison carefully. A $399-a-month bookkeeping plan is sized for a small business with modest volume. If you genuinely have a full-time bookkeeper's worth of work, a provider will tier you well above the published floor. Outsourcing usually wins on cost when the workload is less than one full-time person, or when you need several skill levels (bookkeeper, controller, tax preparer, CFO) that no single hire covers.
Each service has its own pricing logic, and we have separate breakdowns for each:
This is illustrative arithmetic using the Bookkeeper360 starting prices above, for a small services business that needs monthly books, payroll for a handful of staff and one business tax return. It is a floor, not a quote.
| Line | Calculation | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly bookkeeping | $399 × 12 | $4,788 |
| Payroll processing | $200 × 12 | $2,400 |
| Business tax return | flat starting fee | $1,000 |
| Starting annual total | $8,188 | |
| One-time catch-up, if books are behind | per project | $1,000+ |
Add accounting software subscriptions, which most providers require you to hold in your own name, and any extra states or entities. Compare the total with the loaded cost of the hire you would otherwise make, then check the result against our accounting outsourcing ROI calculator.
CPA firms buy outsourced accounting differently from operating businesses. A firm usually keeps the client relationship, the review and the signature, and outsources preparation: bookkeeping, workpapers, tax return drafts and reconciliations. The cost question becomes the price per unit of capacity rather than the price per client.
Three things shape that price. First, the staffing model: a dedicated accountant who works only on your clients is billed monthly, while shared-pool work is billed per return or per engagement. Second, location: offshore teams in India or the Philippines cost less per hour than onshore staff, but need a US reviewer and a clear handoff process. Third, review load: if your managers spend hours fixing drafts, the effective cost of a cheap provider rises quickly.
A simple test for a firm is to price one season. Take the number of returns or monthly closes you plan to outsource, multiply by the provider's unit price or divide into the monthly staff fee, then add your own review hours at your internal cost rate. Compare that total with what a seasonal hire or overtime would cost for the same volume.
Outsourcing is not automatically cheaper. It tends to cost more in these situations:
Many businesses end up with a hybrid: an internal office manager or controller who owns approvals and a provider who handles processing, close and tax. That split usually costs less than a full internal team and keeps decisions close to the business.
Starting prices leave out the items that most often cause invoice surprises:
Low quotes that skip review steps tend to cost more later through rework and amended returns; our piece on the hidden costs of cheap accounting outsourcing shows where those costs land.
Send each provider the same information so the quotes are comparable: last year's financial statements, the number of bank, card and loan accounts, average monthly transaction count, payroll headcount and states, entity list, accounting software, and how current the books are. Ask what is included at the quoted tier, what triggers a move to the next tier, and how out-of-scope work is billed.
Before you sign, get scope, turnaround times and data security terms in writing. Our list of questions to ask before signing an accounting outsourcing contract covers the clauses that matter, and the outsourced accounting services overview explains what each service level should include.
Often, for small workloads. A part-time employee still brings payroll taxes, onboarding and supervision, and you depend on one person's availability. Once the work fills most of a full-time role, compare loaded salary against a quote at your real volume rather than the published floor.
Many charge a one-time onboarding or catch-up fee when books are behind or need restructuring. Bookkeeper360, for example, lists catch-up and prior-period bookkeeping from $1,000 per project. Firms working from clean, reconciled books may waive it.
Usually not by default. Bookkeeping plans and tax returns are typically priced separately, and some providers require you to buy bookkeeping in order to get tax filing. Ask whether the tax fee covers state returns and owner returns.
Providers price different scopes and staffing models. A low quote may assume cash-basis books, a single state and no review layer, while a higher one includes accrual adjustments, a reviewer and a controller's sign-off. Line up the scope before comparing the price.
If you are a CPA firm or growing business weighing outsourced accounting, contact Madras Accountancy with your volume and service mix, and we will scope the work and send a written proposal.
The section 4960 excise tax is 21% of nonprofit pay over $1M. From 2026 it covers all employees. See the medical carve-outs, Form 4720 and a worked example.
The paid family and medical leave tax credit is permanent from 2026. See the 12.5% to 25% rates, the premium option, the 6-month rule and how Form 8994 works.
Opportunity zones become permanent in 2027 under the One Big Beautiful Bill. See the new deferral, rural bonus, and the 2026 handoff.
