Updated October 22, 2026
This bookkeeping pricing calculator sets a fixed monthly fee from the work a client actually generates: transactions to categorize, bank and card accounts to reconcile, payroll runs and employees, sales tax filings, the month-end close and the back-and-forth with the client, adjusted for how messy the books are. It prices that time from your staff cost, software and margin, then shows your effective hourly rate, how many clients one bookkeeper can carry and a one-time cleanup quote.
Quick answer: Monthly hours = (transactions × minutes each + accounts × reconcile minutes + payroll runs × (minutes per run + employees × minutes each) + sales tax + close + client time) ÷ 60 × complexity. Monthly fee = (hours × staff cost per hour + software per client) ÷ (1 − margin).
An estimate from the numbers you entered, not a market price. Put in your own costs for a number you can stand behind.
Owners spend about 11 to 16 hours/week on admin, and a lead reached within an hour is nearly 7 times more likely to turn into a real conversation (HBR). The math is the easy part; the money leaks out in the calls you can't take, the follow-ups nobody sends and the invoices that sit unpaid. Unmanually is a 24/7 AI Office Manager for bookkeepers and accountants that you run by voice from your phone:
Sources: admin hours, Time etc / Censuswide 2023 and Amex SME Barometer 2026; speed to lead, HBR audit of 2,241 US companies (2011).
We send these exact numbers to your inbox in a few seconds, with a link that reopens the calculator with them filled in.
Email only. We use it to send your breakdown and follow up about Unmanually. Unsubscribe any time.
Unmanually is an AI Office Manager that works 24/7 and that you run by voice from your phone. Leave your mobile number and the AI Office Manager calls you right away, the same way it would call back a contractor whose books are six months behind. That call is the demo: it answers, books you a 15-minute time with the founder and follows up.
We use your details only to call you and follow up about Unmanually. Unsubscribe any time.
minutes = transactions × min each + accounts × reconcile min + payroll runs × (min per run + employees × min each) + sales tax + close + client timehours/month = minutes ÷ 60 × complexitymonthly break-even = hours × staff cost per hour + software and overhead per clientmonthly fee = break-even ÷ (1 − margin)clients per bookkeeper = billable hours per month ÷ hours per clientcleanup quote = cleanup hours × staff cost ÷ (1 − margin)
These are assumptions for illustration, not market figures. Swap in your own.
A small service business with 250 transactions a month, 4 bank and card accounts, semi-monthly payroll for 8 employees and monthly sales tax, clean books. Your time: 0.75 minutes per transaction, 20 per reconciliation, 20 per payroll run plus 3 per employee, 45 for sales tax, 60 for the close and 30 for client questions. Staff cost $35 an hour, $40 of software and overhead per client, 35% margin, 120 billable hours per bookkeeper a month.
Transactions take 187.5 minutes, reconciliations 80, payroll 2 × (20 + 24) = 88, sales tax 45, close and client time 90: 490.5 minutes, or 8.18 hours a month. Staff time costs $286.13, plus $40 software, so break-even is $326.13. At 35% margin the fee is $326.13 ÷ 0.65 = $501.73/month ($6,021/year), an effective $61.37 an hour, about $2.01 per transaction. One bookkeeper can carry about 14.7 clients like this.
If the same client is messy (×1.25), the hours rise to 10.22 and the fee to $611.78. A 20-hour catch-up project at $35 ÷ 0.65 = $53.85 an hour is quoted at $1,076.92.
Most small business owners want a fixed monthly fee so there are no surprises. Build that fee from the time each client creates, not from what a competitor posts. Transactions, accounts, payroll and filings drive the hours; complexity multiplies them. A fee set this way can be explained, adjusted and defended when a client's volume grows.
Write down what the fee covers: the number of accounts, payroll runs, filings and reports, and how many transactions are included before the fee changes. Year-end work, tax preparation, 1099s, audits and advisory meetings are usually priced separately. A clear scope makes the conversation about a price increase short.
New clients often arrive months or years behind. Price catch-up as a one-time project at your hourly cost plus margin, get it paid up front or in stages, and start the monthly fee only once the books are current. Cleanup is where unpaid hours pile up if it is folded into the monthly fee.
Clients grow, add employees and open new accounts, and the fee set two years ago no longer covers the work. Run each client through the same numbers once a year. If the effective hourly rate has fallen well below the rest of your book, raise the fee or change the scope.
Tax season squeezes every firm. Knowing how many clients one bookkeeper can carry tells you when to hire before the busy months, and which small clients cost more time than they pay for. Set a minimum monthly fee so the smallest clients still cover their share of software, onboarding and the time it takes to answer their questions.
Connecting feeds, setting up bank rules, mapping the chart of accounts and learning how the owner works takes hours in the first month. Many firms charge a setup fee for it instead of hiding it in the first invoice.
Business owners looking for a bookkeeper call a few firms and go with the one that answers and sounds organized. Unmanually is an AI Office Manager that works 24/7 and that you run by voice: the AI Office Manager answers, asks the business type, transactions, accounts, payroll and how far behind they are, gives your fee range, books the consultation and texts the confirmation, then chases missing documents and unpaid invoices. See what Unmanually does for bookkeepers and accountants, or get a free website that calls every new lead back in about a minute.
What the AI Office Manager does for accounting firms, from calls to document chasing.
Pricing models for bookkeeping in more depth.
Getting statements and receipts in without nagging.
Pricing calculators and templates for every trade.
Work it out from the hours each client creates, your staff cost, software and margin. With the worked example's assumptions (250 transactions, 4 accounts, 8 employees on semi-monthly payroll, sales tax, $35 an hour, 35% margin) the fee is about $502/month.
Many clients prefer a fixed monthly fee. Build it from estimated hours so it stays profitable, and bill cleanup and one-off projects separately.
Multiply transactions by your average minutes each, add reconciliations, payroll and filings, then price the hours. The calculator also shows the fee per transaction.
Estimate the hours to bring the books current and price them at your hourly cost divided by one minus your margin. Enter the hours in the cleanup field.
Divide their billable hours per month by the hours each client takes. At 120 billable hours and about 8 hours per client, that is around 15 clients like the one in the example.
Pick the one that fits where your business is right now.
$99/month
Your AI Office Manager calls back every lead, books the job and runs your office 24/7, so hours of admin become minutes of talking.
Start Growth$0, no credit card
A website for your business that makes your phone ring, built in 60 seconds. Add the Growth plan whenever you are ready.
Get my free website