Doing more does not always get you ahead; more hours in the books often mean mistakes and burnout.
Outsourcing can cut your labor costs up to 70%, giving you expert oversight and timely financial reporting. It clears your workload, reveals exactly where your money goes and frees you to focus on your revenue, strategy and growth.
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Key Takeaways
Get expert financial oversight. Outsourced accounting puts skilled professionals on your team to keep your books accurate and your reporting clear.
Avoid hidden costs. Skip recruitment, benefits, training and the extra overhead that comes with in-house teams.
Make confident decisions. The right partner provides timely insights and clear reports so you can focus on growing your business.
Understanding the Accounting Services Cost with Outsourced Accounting`
You don’t need a full in-house accounting team to get accurate financial reporting.
Outsourced accounting services offer the same accounting functions with greater efficiency, expertise and scalability, often at a lower cost.
Industry Average Costs
|
Service Type |
Typical Rate |
What You Get |
|
Monthly Retainer |
$500–5,000/month |
Bookkeeping, payroll, tax filings and monthly financials; median cost for small U.S. businesses (Alpine Mar, 2024) |
|
Hourly/Project-Based |
$200–500/hour |
Short-term advisory, reconciliations, tax projects (Alpine Mar, 2024) |
|
Remote/Offshore Support |
$11–25/hour (CPA‑supervised analysts) |
Bookkeeping, reporting and payroll while maintaining high-quality standards |
Outsourcing can reduce overall labor costs by up to 70%, allowing you to scale your accounting function without adding multiple full-time employees.
Why Outsourcing Pays
Outsourcing is an investment of expertise and efficiency. With the right outsourced accounting team, you gain:
- Expertise you might not have in-house
- Timely monthly financials and better cash flow management
- Freedom from hidden costs like recruitment, training, benefits and turnover
- A full-charge bookkeeper who manages payroll, tax filings and financial reporting
Comparing Accounting Cost: In-House Team vs. Outsourced Accounting
Hiring in-house means committing to an employee’s annual salary, benefits and overhead. Outsourced accounting delivers the same financial function with expert oversight and built-in scalability at a much affordable rate.
Note: Some ranges are estimates and may vary based on company size, location and scope of work.
|
Accounting Function |
In-House Team (Annual) |
Outsourced Team (Annual) |
Estimated Savings |
|
Bookkeeping + Payroll |
$60,000–75,000 Average U.S. bookkeeper is ~$47,440 + 20–40% in benefits and overhead |
$22,000–50,000 Equivalent offshore support (CPA-supervised) at $11–25/hr, full-time equivalent (2,000 hrs/year) |
≈50–70% savings |
|
Tax & Compliance |
$90,000–120,000 Salary estimate for in-house tax/compliance staff plus benefits/overhead |
$30,000–50,000 Retainer or project-based outsourced tax filing/compliance services |
≈60–70% savings |
|
CFO & Strategy |
$278,000–433,000 Average U.S. CFO salary, including benefits/overhead Upper end is for mid-market companies; smaller companies may pay significantly less. |
$60,000–240,000 Fractional/outsourced CFO services ($5,000–20,000/month) Exact costs vary with service scope; public data is limited. |
≈50–80% savings |
Cost Snapshot
- In-house total cost (bookkeeping + tax + CFO): ~$300,000+ per year
- Outsourced total cost (same functions): ~$30,000to $60,000+ per year
- Estimated savings: 70% to 90%
Hidden costs that you should keep in mind:
- Recruitment fees (often ~20% of salary)
Hiring an in-house accountant or CFO often involves agency or placement fees, around 20% of the employee’s salary. For senior roles, this can easily add thousands to your upfront costs.
- Training and onboarding time
New hires need time to learn your processes, systems and reporting requirements. During this period, productivity can dip and errors can happen, adding to your hidden operational costs.
- Employee benefits
Health care, retirement plans, paid time off and other perks can add 20% to 40% to base salary. These ongoing costs increase the total spend well beyond what is advertised in the salary alone.
- Office space
In-house staff require desks, equipment and workstations. Even if your team is small, allocating physical space and resources for accounting staff adds up quickly.
- Technology and software licenses
Licensing, updates and cybersecurity measures are recurring costs that can strain your budget.
- Turnover and retraining
When staff leave, you lose institutional knowledge and must spend time hiring and retraining replacements. Repeated turnover cycles create gaps and inefficiencies in your financial processes.
- Scaling friction
As your business grows, adding staff can slow down your operations and drive up operational costs.
Key Factors That Influence Outsourced Accounting Cost
Outsourcing accounting is a major decision; get it wrong and your business pays for mistakes and inefficiency.
Costs depend on how you run your business, the services you need and how often you need them.
Business Size and Transaction Volume
More transactions mean more hands-on accounting and a higher monthly fee.
What to do:
- Keep a clear record of your bank accounts and monthly transactions before onboarding an accounting partner.
- Bundle multiple locations or departments under a single system to reduce duplication.
What to avoid:
- Ignoring seasonal spikes. If you suddenly double sales volume during peak periods, your outsourced team will charge more.
- Sending disorganized or incomplete data. More cleanup = higher cost.
Scope of Accounting Services Needed
The broader your financial needs, the more your accounting partner handles, from bookkeeping and payroll to tax filings and CFO strategy.
What to do:
- Define exactly which services you need: payroll, tax filings, financial reporting, cash flow, CFO advisory.
- Match your provider to your business model; don’t pay for CFO strategy if your budget only covers bookkeeping.
What to avoid:
- Buying “all-in-one” packages blindly. You might pay for services you won’t need.
- Expecting custom reports on every whim, complexity adds up fast.
Complexity and Reporting Frequency
The frequency of your report runs and the complexity of your operations determine your pricing.
What to do:
- Decide on a reporting cadence that matches your decision-making, e.g., weekly dashboards versus monthly financials.
- Align outsourced services with compliance needs: industry regulations, multi-state payroll or international taxes.
What to avoid:
- Treat accounting as an ongoing priority. Frequent ad hoc requests increase costs, and underestimating regulatory complexity is costly.
Beyond Cost Savings: Choosing the Right Outsourced Accounting Team
How to choose the right partner:
- Pick between a full-charge bookkeeper or an outsourced solution.
Begin by determining your actual accounting needs. Do you just need someone to manage balance sheets and daily bookkeeping, or do you need a team that can handle full financial reporting, budgeting and analysis?
For example, many small businesses initially hire a full-charge bookkeeper, but as their transactions grow, outsourcing becomes a more efficient choice. Always look for experience, reliability and their ability to scale your company’s accounting department.
- Align your finance team with a scalable solution. The right partner should adapt as your business expands, handling increased transaction volume, multiple locations and complex reporting without extra hiring costs. Outsourced accounting services typically range from basic bookkeeping to full CFO-level support, giving you flexibility to match your budget while maintaining financial control.
- Track key metrics and monthly financial reporting.
A strong outsourced team gives you timely balance sheets and clear reports that show where your money’s going: what’s earning, what’s overspending and where you can do better.
Remember: The right outsourced team gives you control, clarity and confidence in every decision. When your numbers work for you, you can spot opportunities, cut costs and grow your business with certainty.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Outsourced accounting services typically cost between $500 and $5,000 per month for comprehensive monthly services, including bookkeeping, payroll, tax filings and financial reporting.
- Hourly or project-based rates range from $200 to $500 per hour for short-term advisory or reconciliation work. Remote or offshore support can cost as low as $11 to $25 per hour under CPA supervision.
- Compared to hiring an in-house team, outsourcing can reduce labor costs by up to 70%, giving small business owners the same expertise without multiple full-time salaries, benefits and overhead.
- Timely balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow reports
- Day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll management, tax filing, accounts payable and compliance support
- CFO-level strategy, budgeting and financial insights for informed decision-making (depending on the service package)
- Freedom from hidden costs such as recruitment, onboarding, benefits and turnover
- Yes. Hiring in-house requires annual salary, benefits, office space, software and training, often two to three times an employee’s base pay.
- Outsourcing delivers the same financial function with expert oversight and built-in scalability, making it a cost-effective solution.
- Businesses find that outsourcing to an accounting firm saves money and provides greater flexibility, especially as transaction volume or reporting needs increase.
- Business size and transaction volume: The workload increases with more transactions, multiple locations or seasonal spikes.
- Scope of services: Basic bookkeeping is cheaper than full-service packages that include payroll, taxes or a CFO strategy.
Complexity and reporting frequency: Frequent reports, multi-state payroll or industry-specific compliance requirements raise costs. - Data organization and preparedness: Clean, structured financial records reduce setup and ongoing work; disorganized or incomplete data adds time and cost.
