Without fail, we get asked “How much do accounting services cost?” by about ten percent of our initial inquiries. The question comes in various forms, from “What is your hourly rate for a bookkeeper?” to “Can I get a ballpark of what it would cost for a daily bookkeeping service?” but the questions all boil down to one main concern: Cost.
Of course, we understand that cost is and will always be a factor in decision-making. After all, budgets must allow for the cost and an appropriate return on the expense must be present. But we worry sometimes that this question, when taken out of context, fails to address the greater issues at hand. As such, we do not have a pricing matrix per se but rather we create custom fixed fee monthly quotes for each prospective business based on the scope and complexity of the work required. However, we can address cost considerations in different ways to help answer your pricing concerns.
What About An Hourly Rate for Bookkeeping Services?
This may come as a surprise (unless you’re a big fan of accounting yourself) but virtually any business can boil down their expenses and costs to some form of an hourly rate. After all, the number of employee hours spent on a given project and the employees’ salaries can easily provide a rough hourly estimate through basic arithmetic. As a responsible business, we have to know what the cost of our services is to appropriately budget and set pricing. However, actually billing at an hourly rate doesn’t make sense for us due to a variety of reasons.
Scope and Complexity of Work Isn’t Always A Straight Equation
This may go without saying but not all bookkeeping tasks are as simple or as complex as others. Some of our clients require incredibly complex reporting and financial management, which requires oversight by highly trained professionals. These same highly trained professionals may also be the ones monitoring and managing more common bookkeeping tasks—but charging clients a single “rate” for services would potentially put them at risk for paying hourly rates that are not always in line with the level of knowledge required to deliver a service. Instead, evaluating an approximate amount of time required to perform each account task in a period and establishing monthly, fixed fee rates for the complexity of work required is more likely to create a fair price.
Price Fluctuations In Monthly Fixed Fees For Accounting Services
At the same time, we recognize that our clients like to have options when it comes to their accounting services. From adjustments in frequency that increase or reduce the number of times work is performed to service add-ons that increase or reduce the complexity of reporting and analysis, we provide up to three “service tiers” for accounting services quotes. Some examples of typical variations include the frequency of review with a controller, managed employee expense reporting, payroll management and sales tax reporting. Sometimes simple adjustments in frequency, such as from monthly to quarterly, can have notable effects on pricing.
Interested in finding out how much accounting services would cost for your business? Contact us for a free consultation.