Guides · the head question

How much does a bookkeeper cost? Depends which of three things you're buying.

Hourly time, an app subscription, or a fixed-fee operator relationship — three genuinely different products that all answer to "bookkeeper." Here's each model with real figures, what's included, and the cleanup math that makes cheap expensive.

Figures: our published pricing + provider figures verified mid-2026 ("confirm with provider"). Hourly framed qualitatively — rates vary too much to quote responsibly.

Real numbers, dated Three honest verdicts

In brief

The cost answer in four parts.

How much does a bookkeeper cost?

By model: hourly (varies with market, seniority, and your volume — unbudgetable by design), app subscriptions (lower hundreds monthly; QB Live Full-Service from ~$300/mo + fees, Pilot ~$349–$499/mo annual — mid-2026, confirm with providers), fixed-fee operator from $450/mo at our published rates.

Why do prices differ so much?

Because the products differ: a named senior person reconciling to source is a different purchase than automation with pooled exception-handling. Compare included-lists, not stickers.

What's the hidden cost to watch?

The cleanup: bookkeeping that's quietly wrong for a year needs a $1,500–$5,000 repair before a CPA can file from it. Saving $150/month and then buying a $3,000 cleanup is a net loss.

Which model should I buy?

Simple books + tight budget + you'll review monthly → app is rational. Real volume, payroll/inventory, CPA or lender relying on the numbers → fixed-fee operator. The framework below makes it concrete.

The three models

Same word, three different products.

1 · Hourly

A person billing time. Rates vary widely by market and seniority — too widely to quote responsibly, which is itself the point: your monthly cost depends on your volume and their speed, and you learn the total when the clock stops. Rational for tiny, steady books with a trusted person who genuinely reconciles to source. Structurally unbudgetable past that.

2 · App-based subscription

Automation first, pooled humans behind it, a genuinely lower flat price. Verified mid-2026 figures: QuickBooks Live Full-Service from ~$300/mo plus a cleanup fee and the required QBO subscription (with published scope exclusions); startup-focused Pilot from ~$349–$499/mo billed annually. Honest value for very simple books — read the scope before buying.

3 · Fixed-fee operator

One named senior person on your file, every account reconciled to source, a monthly close to a fixed standard, senior review before delivery — at one written number scoped to your actual volume. Westgate's published range: from $450/mo, typically $450–$1,500. The model the rest of this site describes; monthly bookkeeping is its home page.

The cleanup mechanism, plainly: the cheapest bookkeeping fails quietly — miscategorization compounds, reconciliation drifts, and the books look fine until a CPA or lender needs them to be right. Skipped work doesn't disappear; it accrues as Historical Accounting Debt, with interest paid in corrective labor. Repairing a year of it costs $1,500–$5,000 at our published cleanup rates (the general guide · the QuickBooks-file version). Price the service and the probability of that repair — that's the real total cost of a bookkeeper. The deeper model comparison lives at operator-led vs software-only.

Want the fixed-fee number for your books, not a range? The free assessment scopes it from your actual volume — in writing.

Free books assessment

Bookkeeper cost FAQ

The head query, answered from every angle.

How much does a bookkeeper cost?

It depends on which of the three models you're buying. Hourly bookkeepers bill by time — rates vary widely by market and seniority, and the monthly total depends entirely on your volume. App-based services publish flat subscriptions, typically in the lower hundreds per month (QuickBooks Live Full-Service from ~$300/mo plus fees and the required QBO subscription; startup-focused Pilot from ~$349–$499/mo billed annually — mid-2026 figures, confirm with each provider). Fixed-fee operator service like Westgate runs from $450/month, typically $450–$1,500, scoped in writing to your actual volume and complexity. The models differ more in what's included than in sticker price.

What does a bookkeeper's fee actually include?

The question that sorts the market. At minimum it should include transaction categorization, reconciliation of every account to source, and a monthly close with statements. Things that vary: whether reconciliation actually happens (some cheap services categorize without reconciling), whether the same person stays on your file, AP/AR support, payroll support, and whether a senior person reviews before delivery. Two $450 quotes can be entirely different products — ask for the included list in writing.

Is an hourly bookkeeper cheaper than a fixed fee?

Sometimes, for genuinely tiny books — a couple of hours a month at a modest rate can beat any flat fee. The structural trouble with hourly is the unknown: your cost scales with your busy months, you can't budget it, and the incentive runs backward (slower work earns more). Fixed-fee flips all three: known number, scoped to facts, efficiency rewarded. That's why our entire practice is fixed-fee — and why we publish the ranges.

Why are app-based services cheaper?

Genuinely because automation does the first pass and pooled teams handle exceptions — that's a real cost structure, honestly cheaper, and for very simple books it can be a fair buy. What the price doesn't include is a named person who knows your file, full operational scope (QuickBooks Live's published exclusions are extensive — no AP/AR, payroll, invoicing, or advisory), and judgment on the transactions automation gets confidently wrong. The model question has its own page.

What's the real cost of cheap bookkeeping?

The cleanup. Bookkeeping that miscategorizes quietly for a year produces books that must be repaired before a CPA can file from them — and a one-time cleanup runs $1,500–$5,000 at our published rates. The arithmetic is brutal: saving $150/month for a year ($1,800) and then needing a $3,000 cleanup is a net loss, before counting the year of decisions made on wrong numbers. Cheap bookkeeping that needs cleanup is the most expensive kind sold.

How much does Westgate charge for bookkeeping?

From $450/month, typically $450–$1,500 depending on transaction volume, account count, and which services you need — one fixed fee, set in writing after a free books review, no hourly billing ever. One-time cleanup or catch-up, if your books need it first, is $1,500–$5,000 fixed. Every number is on our pricing page — published, current, and the same ones we quote from.

How do I choose between the three models?

By complexity and consequence, honestly: very simple books plus a tight budget plus willingness to review monthly yourself → an app-based service is a rational buy. Tiny books with a trusted local hourly bookkeeper who reconciles to source → also rational. Real volume, payroll or inventory, a CPA or lender relying on the numbers, or just the desire for one accountable person → the fixed-fee operator model is what that profile needs. We'd rather tell you which you are on a free call than sell past it.

Provider figures are published terms as of mid-2026 — confirm current rates with each provider. QuickBooks Live and Pilot are trademarks of their owners; no affiliation. Our own numbers: pricing · all guides.

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Your number, not a range

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A senior operator reviews your actual volume and complexity and gives you one fixed number in writing — and an honest read on whether a cheaper model would genuinely serve you. Both answers are free.

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From $450/mo, published Honest model advice Fixed, in writing