How to Find the Best Virtual Bookkeeping Service for Your Business

Brainy Advisors also has add-on services like A/R and A/P management at $49 per hour. Once you’re matched with a dedicated bookkeeper, you can also get hands-on virtual accountant training in daily bookkeeping tasks — a great option if you’re new to QuickBooks. Your bookkeeper helps set up your chart of accounts, bank connections, and a cleanup plan for any existing data issues, making the transition smoother. Since QuickBooks Online is my best small business accounting software, having direct access to trained professionals who specialize in it is a huge advantage. Outsourced, virtual bookkeeping can cost as little as $150 per month and as much as $900 (or more) per month.

Best Online Bookkeeping Services for Small Businesses

• You’ve heard of «spend money to make money,» but what about «spend money to save money?» That’s the case with tax deductions and you won’t want to leave any on the table.
• Virtual assistants handle essential functions that enable accountants continuing education while maintaining smooth practice operations.
• If you’re looking for something very cheap and simple and your business is in its very early stages, the affordability of Merritt Bookkeeping makes it a good choice.
• Take the bookkeeping stress off your plate with a full-service plan, which will get you a dedicated accountant even at the starter-level Business plan, which costs $209 per month, billed annually.
• Block Advisors, a branch of H&R Block, offers tax, bookkeeping, and payroll support, making it a solid choice for year-round financial management.
• I also like that its plans are customizable and affordable, letting you scale services based on your business’s specific needs.

As a result, a suite of features from one service will appeal more to very small businesses, while an entirely other set of features from another service might appeal to larger small businesses. Accounting Clerks, adept financial professionals, wield their data-entry expertise to seamlessly support accounts payable, accounts receivable, and other vital transactional processes integral to the bookkeeping cycle. Diligently organizing documents, they expertly apply incoming and outgoing payments with precision to ensure accurate account management. Bench helps small business owners like you save time and money doing your bookkeeping and cash flow income taxes by providing dedicated experts and easy-to-use financial software—so you can focus on growing your business. Online bookkeeping allows small business owners to manage their venture’s finances through third-party software.

Professional Services

• A service such as QuickBooks Live starts at a relatively low monthly price of $17.50 (for the first three months, then $35), and it comes with great features.
• How often are you looking at your total current income and total current expenses?
• During peak tax seasons virtual assistants provide crucial support to maintain efficiency and meet deadlines.
• It means that your virtual bookkeeping service has missed the biggest boat of all when it comes to being a “cloud-based” bookkeeping service.
• If they are using different software and tools, you should figure out why and use that to determine if you really want to work with them.

On the other hand, most online bookkeeping services start at the $200-$400 per month range, with more advanced solutions in the $600-$800 range still being significantly cheaper than hiring a bookkeeping employee. An online bookkeeping service can provide a range of essential services to help you manage your business finances efficiently. The most common services are classifying your account transactions, reconciling your bank and credit card accounts, and providing financial reports monthly. It performed well in bookkeeping services, covering account reconciliation and financial statements, but lost points for not including invoicing, bill pay, or customized service plans. For tax and consulting, I like that it files income tax returns, but it doesn’t offer CFO advisory services. If you need invoicing, bill pay, customized services, or CFO support, Bookkeeper360 is a better choice.

What to expect from an online bookkeeping service

I like that it provides a dedicated bookkeeper, unlimited meetings, and video calls, making it easy to get one-on-one assistance when I need it. It also ensures my bank and Insurance Accounting credit card transactions are reconciled every month, and I receive financial statements to stay on top of my business finances. The inclusion of tax return filing and tax advice is another plus for those who want basic tax support. Bookkeeper360 checks all the boxes in both the personal bookkeeper and bookkeeping services categories, offering a dedicated bookkeeper, payroll support, and customized services.

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• The Decimal service comes with automated, up-to-date categorization of your transactions, bank reconciliation and bookkeeping journal entries.
• And the Executive plan, which is built for larger companies that need CFO services, has custom pricing.
• In addition to being one of the best online bookkeeping services around, FreshBooks offers 100% compliant tax preparation, taking the stress out of this important but time-consuming process.
• Pilot’s pricing scored very low because it provides only one starting price for all companies and doesn’t disclose how pricing increases as a business grows.
• Regular automated backups ensure data protection and maintain business continuity in line with professional standards.
• It also starts at $190 a month, which is less than nearly every other provider on our list.

Sometimes, this may involve contacting the bank, vendor, or client to clarify information or request corrected statements. I have several years of experience in accounting software evaluation and providing small businesses with reliable, expert insights. They can also send PDF copies of key financial reports including your profit and loss statement and balance sheet. In the cleanup/setup phase, your bookkeeper helps you set up your chart of accounts, connects your banks, and teaches you the basics of QuickBooks.

One-on-one expert support

Block Advisors, a branch of H&R Block, offers tax, bookkeeping, and payroll support, making it a solid choice for year-round financial management. I like that it provides flexible tax prep options, allowing you to work one-on-one with a tax professional or choose the DIY route with expert assistance available through live chat, phone, and video calls. The provider doesn’t offer tax preparation and filing, so it took a hit in our tax category. It scored fair for pricing, as it starts out with a low price for small businesses but gets a little expensive for larger companies. For affordable tax preparation and filing, our top recommendation is Bench. Instead of forcing you into a predefined package, they let you pick only the services you need, whether that’s A/R and A/P management or inventory and COGS tracking, at $49 per hour.