Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping in the U.S.: What It Costs and What Each Plan Covers

Quick Answer

Bookkeeping in QuickBooks at Illion Tax & accounting starts at $200 a month. The Silver plan at $200 fits a company with two accounts and up to 100 transactions a month. Gold at $350 covers four accounts, up to 250 transactions, payroll reconciliation with the W-3, and reconciliation with payment processors such as Stripe and Square. Diamond at $500 covers seven accounts, up to 400 transactions, and the full reporting set: vendor report, A/R aging summary and quarterly year-to-date statements.

Going over the transaction limit costs $1 per item, so there are no sudden jumps in your bill: you can see what was added and move up a plan when that becomes the better deal.

A separate line is QuickBooks cleanup at $35 an hour. You need it when the books were kept in-house and unreconciled transactions, duplicates and unposted payments have piled up. Without it, any ongoing work rests on balances that are simply wrong.

What the Service Includes

Bookkeeping isn’t “typing receipts into software.” It’s keeping the books in a state where you can file a return and make a decision from them. Here’s what the plans cover.

• Monthly account reconciliation: every transaction in QuickBooks is matched to the bank statement, so balances agree with reality.
• Categorizing transactions across income and expense accounts so the profit and loss statement reflects how the business actually runs.
• Bank and credit card accounts: two on Silver, four on Gold, seven on Diamond.
• Payroll reconciliation against the provider’s data and the W-3 — on Gold (up to three providers) and Diamond (up to five), with extra providers at $25.
• Reconciliation with payment processors (Stripe, Square and similar), where fees and payouts arrive as netted amounts — on Gold and Diamond.
• Vendor report, A/R aging summary and quarterly year-to-date statements — on Diamond.
• Transaction limit management: $1 per item above the limit, so one busy month doesn’t force a plan change.
• Tracking gaps between the books and reality: we flag transactions that lack supporting documents before the month is closed.
• QuickBooks cleanup and reconstruction at $35 an hour when a prior period was kept incorrectly.

Pricing

The plans differ on three things: number of accounts, transaction limit, and depth of reconciliation. Here’s the full price list.

Item	Price	Frequency
Silver plan	$200 per month	Monthly
Gold plan	$350 per month	Monthly
Diamond plan	$500 per month	Monthly
Transactions over the limit	$1 per item	As incurred
Additional payroll provider (Gold, Diamond)	$25	Monthly
QuickBooks cleanup	$35 per hour	One-time, by volume
Transaction limit, Silver / Gold / Diamond	100 / 250 / 400	Monthly
Accounts, Silver / Gold / Diamond	2 / 4 / 7	Monthly

What Drives the Final Price

• Transaction volume. This is the main price driver: an online store with hundreds of small sales costs more than a consultancy with a dozen invoices a month.
• Number of accounts and cards. Every bank and credit account is a separate reconciliation and a separate source of discrepancies.
• Payment processors. Stripe, Square, PayPal and marketplaces pay out net of fees, so fees, refunds and holds have to be unpacked.
• Payroll. If you run payroll, it has to reconcile with the provider’s data and the W-3, or wage expense won’t tie to the tax return.
• Starting condition of the books. If past months were never reconciled, cleanup at $35 an hour comes before ongoing service.
• Seasonality. Seasonal retailers process several times more transactions in peak months, so pick a plan on the average rather than the peak.
• Whether you need management reports. Vendor and receivables reporting isn’t for everyone, but it pays for itself quickly if you sell on terms.

Worked Example

Take an online store: one operating account, one company card, Stripe, about 180 transactions a month, one employee on payroll, starting from six months of neglected books.

Cost item	Calculation	Amount
QuickBooks cleanup for the past 6 months	$35 × 10 hours	$350
Gold plan (4 accounts, 250 transactions, Stripe, payroll)	$350 × 12 months	$4,200
Transactions over the limit	Within the limit	$0
Total, year one	—	$4,550

From year two only the subscription remains — $4,200. If volume grows to 300 transactions, Gold adds about $50 a month in overage, and that’s the point where Diamond at $500 becomes the better deal.

Had the same business chosen Silver, the nominal saving would be $150 a month. But 180 transactions against a 100 limit adds $80 in overage, and Silver doesn’t include Stripe reconciliation at all — which is exactly where fees and refunds tend to disappear.

By contrast, a consultancy with one account and 40 transactions a month sits comfortably on Silver: $200 a month, $2,400 a year, and that’s enough for an accurate return.

What Happens If You DIY or Skip It

The most expensive bookkeeping error isn’t a wrong number — it’s no numbers at all. When December arrives and nothing has been reconciled all year, the work gets rebuilt under time pressure and billed hourly. A full-year cleanup usually costs more than the ongoing service someone was trying to save on.

The second problem is a wrong tax base. If expenses are miscategorized or income is counted twice — the sale and the Stripe payout, for instance — the return reports the wrong profit. Overstating means money handed over; understating means assessments, interest and an accuracy penalty.

The third risk is lost deductions. Expenses that never made it into the books and aren’t documented don’t make it into the return. Over time it’s the quietest leak of all: year after year, tax gets paid on profit larger than the real one.

The fourth risk involves banks and investors. Loan, lease and partner negotiations all start with statements for recent periods. If the books weren’t kept, you can’t produce them quickly, and the deal doesn’t wait.

A note on payroll reconciliation: when wage data in the books disagrees with the W-3 and Form 941, the mismatch shows up on the company return. It’s a classic trigger for IRS questions, and fixing it afterward is harder than reconciling monthly.

How the Work Is Organized

1. We review the current state: which accounts are connected, where the discrepancies are, and whether cleanup is needed and at what scale.
2. We match you to a plan based on transaction volume and account count, and confirm what’s included versus billed separately.
3. We connect bank feeds in QuickBooks and set up the chart of accounts and categorization rules for your line of business.
4. If needed, we run the cleanup: removing duplicates, posting stranded transactions and bringing balances in line with the bank.
5. We reconcile monthly and deliver statements on an agreed schedule, answering questions about specific transactions.
6. At quarter- and year-end we hand the data to tax preparation so the books and the return never diverge.

Which Option Fits Which Business

The right plan depends on transaction volume and data sources, not on company size. Here are the benchmarks.

Client situation	What we handle	Price guide
Services, 1–2 accounts, up to 100 transactions	Silver: reconciliation and categorization	$200 per month
Trade or services with Stripe and payroll	Gold: up to 4 accounts, 250 transactions, reconciliations	$350 per month
Retail, marketplaces, several cards	Diamond: up to 7 accounts, 400 transactions, reports	$500 per month
Neglected books from prior periods	QuickBooks cleanup before ongoing work	$35 per hour

Common Client Mistakes

1. Doing the books once a year, right before the return

Consequence: A full-year rebuild billed hourly, plus error and late-filing risk.

How to avoid it: Reconcile monthly: it costs less and shows real profit during the year.

2. Paying personal expenses from the business account

Consequence: Distorted profit, lost deductions, and commingling exposure.

How to avoid it: Separate the accounts and record personal spending as distributions or documented reimbursements.

3. Recording processor payouts as a single amount

Consequence: Fees and refunds disappear, and revenue is over- or understated.

How to avoid it: Turn on Stripe or Square reconciliation — it’s included on Gold and Diamond.

4. Choosing a plan without checking transaction volume

Consequence: Monthly $1 overages make the cheaper plan cost more than the next one up.

How to avoid it: Average your transaction count over three months and choose a plan with headroom.