Straight figures on what UK bookkeeping actually costs — hourly rates, monthly packages, and what employing someone really comes to once National Insurance and pension are counted.
Work out what yours costs →| Arrangement | Typical price | Usually suits |
|---|---|---|
| Freelance, hourly | £15–£35 an hour | Very small businesses, a few hours a month, owner still involved |
| Fixed monthly package | £100–£400 a month | Small limited companies with predictable volume |
| Practice-led, supervised | From about £200 a month | Companies wanting a qualified accountant accountable for the numbers |
| Employed bookkeeper | £28,000–£35,000 salary, roughly £32,000–£40,000 true cost | Larger businesses with daily transaction volume |
Those ranges are wide for a reason. Two quotes at the same monthly figure can cover very different amounts of work, which is why the sections below matter more than the headline number.
This is where most owners underestimate. Salary is not the cost.
On a £28,000 salary, employer National Insurance at 15% on earnings above £5,000 adds about £3,450. The minimum 3% employer pension on qualifying earnings adds about £653. True cost: roughly £32,100 a year — before recruitment, holiday and sickness cover, equipment, software licences, training, or the time you spend managing someone.
The employer NI rate rose to 15% and the threshold dropped to £5,000 in April 2025, which widened that gap considerably. Employment Allowance can offset up to £10,500, but you can't claim it if the only employee paid above the secondary threshold is a director.
Our bookkeeping cost calculator does this arithmetic for your own figures, including the option where the person only spends part of their time on the books.
Fixed monthly fees generally favour the client. The cost is known in advance and the provider carries the risk of a month taking longer than expected. Hourly billing does the opposite: a messy month costs you more, precisely when you can least predict it.
The risk with fixed fees is scope. Get what's included written down, and check what happens if volume grows.
Bookkeeping means keeping the records accurate month to month, and normally covers VAT returns. It does not normally include statutory year-end accounts or the Corporation Tax return — those carry a separate fee, whether from the same firm or a different one.
That distinction matters when comparing quotes. A £150 package that excludes VAT filing and a £250 package that includes it are not the same product, and neither of them includes the year end unless it says so.
The person you speak to is often not the person coding your transactions. Ask directly, and ask what qualification they hold.
Ask whether they'll flag it, and whether they can point to the accounting standard or HMRC rule behind the answer.
Filing a return and reviewing it before filing are different levels of service at similar prices.
The most useful question on the list, and the one most quotes leave vague. Year-end accounts and Corporation Tax are the usual gap.
Your accounting data should be yours. Check the notice period and that nothing is locked in.
Seven questions you can answer from memory — no logins, no exports. An honest verdict on whether your figures can be relied on, before we ask you for anything.
Run the free Books Check → Or see all our published fees