How much does a bookkeeper cost in the UK?

The short answer

The cost of a bookkeeper comes down to two things. The first is the pricing model: paying by the hour, or paying a fixed fee each month. The second is the workload: how many transactions you have, how tidy your records are and which deadlines the books need to meet.

Two businesses with the same turnover can need very different amounts of work. A consultant with a handful of large invoices is quicker to keep up to date than a shop with hundreds of card sales and supplier bills. That is why any honest quote starts by looking at your records, not just your sales figure.

We do not quote a "typical UK rate" here. Prices vary widely and we have no reliable data source for an average, so we will not make one up. Instead, this guide shows you how to judge a quote you are given.

Paying by the hour

With hourly billing, the bookkeeper records the time they spend and invoices you for it, usually each month. Some charge in blocks, such as 15 minutes at a time.

When hourly billing can suit you

• Your work is small and irregular, such as a few hours at year end
• You need a one-off task, like sorting out one problem account
• You are not sure yet how much help you need

The downsides

• The bill changes every month. A busy month or a messy month costs more, and you only find out afterwards.
• You may hold back. Owners on hourly rates often avoid sending questions because each one adds to the bill.
• Speed is not rewarded. A slower bookkeeper earns more for the same result, so you have to trust the hours.

Paying a fixed monthly fee

With a fixed fee, you agree a price for a set scope of work and pay the same amount each month. The bookkeeper takes on the risk that a month runs long.

• You can budget. You know the cost for the year before it starts.
• You can ask questions freely. Day-to-day queries are part of the service, not extra time on an invoice.
• The scope is written down. A good fixed-fee quote lists what is included and what is not, so there are fewer arguments later.

The catch is that a fixed fee only works if it is set properly. If it is guessed from turnover alone, it can be too low for a busy business, which leads to rushed work or a sudden price rise. Ask how the fee was worked out, and what would make it change.

What drives the price

Whichever model you choose, the same things decide how much work your books take.

Transaction volume

Every bank line, card payment, sales invoice and supplier bill needs to be recorded and matched. More lines means more work. This is usually the biggest single factor.

Number of accounts and entities

Each bank account, credit card and payment platform has to be reconciled. A business with three bank accounts, two cards and an online payment provider has more to check than one with a single account. Each separate company or sole trade also needs its own set of books.

The state of your records

If receipts arrive late, invoices are missing or the books are months behind, the bookkeeper spends time chasing and rebuilding rather than recording. Getting a backlog up to date is normally priced as separate catch-up work.

VAT

Once your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, you must register for VAT. VAT-registered books need the right treatment on every sale and purchase, and valid VAT invoices kept for purchases you reclaim on. That adds checking time, even if the VAT return itself is quoted separately.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Sole traders and landlords now face more frequent reporting. GOV.UK says those with qualifying income over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year should have started using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026. The threshold falls to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028, based on earlier years' income.

Under the scheme, compatible software sends a quarterly update to HMRC every 3 months. Using the standard update periods, the first update for the tax year covers 6 April to 5 July and is due by 7 August. Records that are only tidied once a year do not fit this rhythm, so books need to be kept up to date through the year.

How often the work is done

Books that are updated daily or weekly involve small, regular pieces of work. Books updated once a quarter mean a larger pile each time, with more questions that nobody can easily answer weeks later. Frequent work often costs less in total time, because problems are caught early.

Your software and receipt tools

Bank feeds, bank rules and receipt capture apps such as Dext cut down manual typing. They do not remove the need for someone to check the coding and match each line. Software subscriptions are normally paid by you, on top of the bookkeeping fee.

What a bookkeeping fee usually does not cover

A bookkeeping fee pays for keeping your records up to date. Several related jobs are often quoted separately. Check your quote for each of these:

• Catch-up work to bring old or missing months up to date
• Tax returns, such as VAT returns, Self Assessment and Corporation Tax returns
• Payroll, including payslips and reports to HMRC
• Statutory filings, such as year-end accounts and Companies House filings
• Software subscriptions for your accounting and receipt apps

None of this is a trick. It simply means two quotes with different scopes are not directly comparable. Line them up item by item before deciding which is cheaper.

What Wenzo charges

Wenzo offers done-for-you daily bookkeeping, every UK working day, in the software you already use. That includes Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent, Dext, VT Transaction+ and others. Every plan includes bank reconciliation and receipt matching, finance inbox monitoring, missing invoices and receipts followed up, and monthly financial summaries.

The starting price is set by annual turnover:

• £295 per month for turnover up to £150,000
• £495 per month for turnover from £150,000 to £500,000
• £795 per month for turnover from £500,000 to £5 million

Turnover is only the starting point. We review your records and workload first, then agree one fixed monthly fee in your quote. There is no hourly billing. Catch-up work, tax returns, payroll, CIS returns, VAT return submission and statutory filings are quoted separately. You can see the full detail on our pricing page, and backlogs are covered on our catch-up bookkeeping page.

Questions to ask before you hire a bookkeeper

• Do you charge by the hour or a fixed monthly fee?
• How did you work out my price, and what would change it?
• Exactly what is included, and what is quoted separately?
• How often will my books be updated: daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly?
• Will you work in my current software, or do I need to switch?
• Who chases missing receipts and invoices, you or me?
• What will I receive each month to show where the business stands?

Cost compared with doing it yourself

Doing your own books costs no fee, but it does cost time. It also carries the risk of errors that surface later, when they are harder and dearer to fix. Whoever does the work, the legal duty to keep records stays with you.

GOV.UK says a limited company must keep its records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, and longer in some cases. Sole traders must keep records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year. Good bookkeeping means those records are complete and easy to find if HMRC asks.

The useful question is not just "what does a bookkeeper cost?" It is "what does it cost me to keep my books right, and who is best placed to do it?" For many owners, a fixed fee that covers the daily work is cheaper than the hours they would otherwise spend on it at night.