Every successful business starts with the right launchpad, and this guide is here to fuel yours.
If you’re wondering how to start a bookkeeping company, this blog will walk you through the steps to building a stable and scalable business that’s ready to soar. From choosing your business model to targeting prospective clients, we’re not just here to help you boost momentum but also to keep your bookkeeping business profitable for many years to come!
So, are you ready to skyrocket to success? Let’s jump into it.
Key Takeaways
- There is a strong demand for bookkeeping services in the US.
- Small business owners often require assistance with bookkeeping tasks, such as processing payments, recording financial transactions, generating financial statements, and making accurate financial projections.
- The estimated cost of starting a bookkeeping business ranges from $2,500 to $5,000, depending on your specific business needs.
- Choosing your business structure can cost anywhere from $50 to $500, while a license can range from $50 to $300.
- Using accounting software like QuickBooks Online or Xero to track business expenses, handle timing and billing, and automate day-to-day processes can cost anywhere from $200 to $1,000.
- Your business plan includes a company description, a marketing strategy targeting both existing and prospective clients, a research-backed competitive analysis, an operations plan, and financial projections, among other key elements.
- Starting a virtual bookkeeping business is an ideal business model because it allows you to operate from anywhere, reduce overhead costs, and provide a work-life balance for your employees.
Table of Contents
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Bookkeeping Business?
The cost to start a bookkeeping business typically ranges from a few hundred dollars to upwards of $5,000, depending on the chosen approach and level of investment. Setting up a computer and your preferred basic business accounting software can cost as little as $2,500, while a more comprehensive setup with additional tools and office space could reach $9,000 or more.
Why Start a Bookkeeping Business in the First Place?
One of the main reasons to start a bookkeeping business is that there will always be a market for it: the US payroll and bookkeeping industry is in demand, valued at $82.1 billion in 2025, with bookkeeping services projected at $17.4 billion.
This demand is robust among small business owners, especially when it comes to managing their business finances. Bookkeepers play a crucial role in helping firms manage their day-to-day financial transactions, process payments, prepare financial statements, and make informed financial projections.
Some benefits of starting a bookkeeping business include low startup and overhead costs, high and uncapped income potential, scalability, and high client retention rates.
Launch Checklist: Essential Steps to Start a Bookkeeping Business
Setting up your own bookkeeping business for success can be tricky if you don’t have a solid navigation system. So, whether you’re a brand-new firm owner or a seasoned accounting industry veteran, our 7-step launch checklist is the only thing you’ll need to provide remarkable, top-quality bookkeeping services, aim for the stars (i.e., your target clients), and make sure your business grows alongside your vision!
Ground Support: Establish a Credible Business Name
A good business name is state-regulated, SEO-driven, and authoritative. As a firm owner, it’s your duty (or that of your trusted team members) to ensure your business name isn’t already in use to avoid potential legal issues down the line.
Consider the accounting giants—Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG—all named after their founders. While that’s a classic route, you’re not limited to tradition. You can also explore business names inspired by your location, your firm’s origin story, or a unique brand vision.
If you’re taking a more creative route, using portmanteaux like FORVIS, which means “forward vision”, also proves effective, as well as bicapitalization, joining two or more last names like RubinBrown LLP or BerryDunn, and utilizing bookkeeping jargon, like “BooksPros” or “CountWise”.
Trajectory: Set the Right Pricing Structure
In general, there are four primary pricing models in business: Fixed fees, hourly billing, value-based pricing, and hybrid models. Each structure has its own strengths and blind spots, so it’s up to you to do enough research and find what fits the unique dynamics of their business operations perfectly.
For bookkeeping businesses, the following are some commonly used pricing setups for firms offering bookkeeping services.
Set to prevent any increases or decreases, fixed fees are typically on a monthly or yearly basis for bookkeeping services. The predictability of fixed pricing makes your bookkeeping business more attractive to clients.
Remember to be mindful of scope creep when it comes to the client’s needs, which can be prevented by having a definite service scope via a bookkeeping contract agreement. This prevents unintentional underpricing and overworking on the bookkeeper’s part. As a business owner, ensure that the price list of your bookkeeping business is fair, up to date, and adjusted accordingly.
Typically tracked by accounting billing software, the hourly billing structure is also a good setup, especially for a beginner bookkeeping business. In this pricing setup, the amount that’s charged to clients depends on the hours of work that their bookkeepers put in to complete their tasks and projects.
If you decide to incorporate the hourly pricing setup into your business plan, consider the unpredictability of the cost per hour, which may make your clients somewhat reluctant to work with you. Additionally, hourly pay for your bookkeeping firm may defeat the purpose of process improvement tools like accounting workflow software.
To avoid scope creep, clearly defining the scope of services is crucial. As was discussed regarding fixed fees, the service scope for hourly billing prevents bookkeeping startup owners from paying beyond their capabilities.
Value-based pricing is based on the amount your client is willing to pay. This setup can put you and your client on the same page while also setting the benchmark for how your bookkeeping business is perceived in the accounting industry.
Valuing your own bookkeeping business will require you to understand and analyze the industry from the inside out. Some quick ways to boost your value include partnering with larger industry names, such as established bookkeeping firms, or collaborating with authority figures like accounting influencers or reputable pages.
If you’re wondering whether you can combine these pricing setups, the answer is yes. A flexible pricing setup appeals to clients because it provides clarity and customization to fit the unique needs of each client, removes the pressure of overcommitting too soon, and supports long-term partnerships as well.
Guidance System: Create Your Marketing Strategy
In rocketry, the guidance system determines the rocket’s direction, stability, and ultimate destination. The same applies to branding and marketing—think of these as the guidance system of your business, keeping you on course and aimed at your ideal audience.
Start by establishing your brand assets and ensuring consistency in your colors, fonts, logo, and content across all platforms. Make sure that your bookkeeping business has a unique value proposition that’s visible, consistent, and distinct from its competitors.
You can highlight this in your mission and vision statements, conduct social media campaigns to spread the word, or adjust your plans in response to market shifts or client needs.
Satellite View: Map Out a Bookkeeping Business Plan
What do earth observation and businesses have in common? A need for a comprehensive perspective.
Just like how we need a satellite view for observing changes and tracking patterns, you need a solid business plan—a summary of your needs, goals, and strategies for success and growth, as well as structure to the company’s roles and operations.
Ensure that you incorporate key sections into your business plan, including your company description, a marketing strategy targeting both existing and prospective clients, a research-backed competitive analysis, an operations plan, and financial projections.
While there’s no one uniform or exact formula for your business plan, you need at least a specific structure to base your final plan on, which is crucial for your workflow, daily operations, partnerships, and overall stability as a bookkeeping business.
Launch Clearance: Get Your Business License in Order
Your rocket won’t take off if there’s no launch clearance—in other words, you need the authorities’ stamp of approval for your bookkeeping business.
Obtaining a license makes your business-related processes simpler, easier, and, most importantly, legal, while also communicating your firm’s credibility and reliability to both your target market and the broader public.
Here are some essentials when acquiring a license for your own bookkeeping business:
- Complete Form SS-4 with your business details, like its legal structure, reason for filing, and ownership information, via the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website
- Submit the form either online or by mail
- Wait to receive your EIN within a few weeks
Rocket Architecture: Find the Right Business Structure
Like any bookkeeping firm, you need a solid business structure tailored to your company’s type, size, and scale. While there are many structures, the two types listed below are among the most common.
Sole Proprietorship
When you operate under this business structure, you, as the business owner, have no legal separation from your business. When it comes to taxation, you’re:
- Registered as an individual
- Your filed taxes will all fall under the personal tax category
- And all your profits are taxed on an individual level
In short, you’re responsible for your whole business entity, including debts and legal claims, among other aspects.
Limited Liability Company
An LLC, or limited liability company, is similar to a sole proprietorship in terms of taxation. Still, there can be additional partners (which are called members) aside from the business owner.
However, unlike sole proprietorships, you have some degree of legal separation from your entity. This protects you from the debts that your bookkeeping firm could incur and certain legal claims that your business has. An LLC also has a separate business bank account where profits can be kept.
Mission-ready Bookkeeping Software
Accounting software, especially those designed for bookkeeping, is not just a bonus but a necessity to boost efficiency and productivity, help streamline and automate complex financial processes, and enhance accuracy in your financial transactions, records, and forecasts.
This is because bookkeeping software can detect and eliminate errors from manual entry, allow collaboration between team members, and even provide insights into a company’s financial performance. These insights enable bookkeepers to analyze trends, identify areas for improvement, and advise clients on future strategies as well.
BONUS! Offshore Teams: Your New Power Reserves?
We’ve all heard of misconceptions about offshore bookkeepers—security compromises, cultural misalignments, language barriers, and timezone differences, among others.
However, what most people aren’t aware of is that when done correctly, offshoring increases your capacity, allows for scalability, enables you to focus on high-margin tasks, and offers savings that bookkeeping clients of all types will find hard to refuse.
While we can’t address all existing offshoring myths in one go, let these client testimonials give you a different perspective on offshoring:
“By creating capacity in our organization, I’ve freed up our account manager, our tax team…We have a 24-hour return on any request or email. ”
Jonathan and Shannon Badger | Founders, Badger CPA
“Offshoring is definitely a positive for me because…TOA handles [the necessary lower-tier tasks] for us.”
Dena Oberst | President, Gable Tax Group
Fuel Your Takeoff with Offshore Bookkeepers
Offshore bookkeepers aren’t just your power reserves—they’re your secret weapon to skyrocket to success. TOA Global goes beyond bookkeeping services and provides long-term talent solutions to help you focus on your payload, scale at warp speed, and reach your moonshot goals.
Ready for takeoff? Talk to us for a no-charge, no-obligation consultation.
