Updated · Angel Wallace, Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor
National online bookkeeping providers published monthly prices of $150 to $399 a month in October 2026. The nearest New Hampshire firm that publishes a price, FreeLance Bookkeeping in Laconia, lists $350 a month for up to 75 transactions, one bank and one card account. Most bookkeepers in southern New Hampshire publish no price at all, so here is what moves a quote.
Those are other providers' prices, not mine. I quote after a free look at your statements, so the number fits your actual business.
Why don't local bookkeepers publish their prices?
When I checked in October 2026, none of the bookkeeping firms around Salem, Plaistow, Hampstead and Kingston listed a monthly price on their websites. That is not secrecy. Two businesses with the same revenue can need very different amounts of work, and a flat number would be wrong for most of them.
Published national prices are still useful as a frame. They tell you what a small, steady, low-volume business pays for monthly upkeep with a remote provider. Your own number depends on the things below.
What moves a bookkeeping price up or down?
Four things do most of the work, and you can estimate all four before you talk to anyone.
- Transactions each month. Every sale, payout and purchase is a line to record and match. A few dozen a month is a different job from several hundred.
- Accounts to reconcile. Each bank account, credit card and payment app is reconciled on its own, so more accounts mean more work.
- Months behind. Current books need upkeep. Books that are months behind need a one-time catch-up first.
- Helpers you pay. Paying helpers or subcontractors adds tracking by person, and possibly 1099 forms at year end.
Payment apps add a fifth factor for service businesses. Payouts from Square, Venmo for business or Rover arrive in batches with fees taken out first, and each one has to be split back into the payments inside it.
How is a cleanup priced compared with monthly bookkeeping?
A cleanup or catch-up is a one-time project, and it is priced separately from monthly work everywhere it is published. National providers list starting prices from $175 for a minor cleanup at RemoteBooksOnline, and from $1,000 per project at Bookkeeper360, and one charges $145 to $180 for each month of backlog. After the cleanup, monthly bookkeeping is priced on your usual monthly volume. Those are other providers' prices, not mine. I quote after a free look at your statements, so the number fits your actual business.
Is hiring an in-house bookkeeper cheaper?
For most small service businesses, no. The median pay for a bookkeeping clerk in New Hampshire is $25.22 an hour (median, before payroll tax and overhead), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Payroll tax, software and your time managing the role come on top. An outside bookkeeper makes sense until the books need someone most of the week.
What about doing it myself?
In dollars, doing your own books is cheapest. In hours, it is usually the most expensive option you have, because those hours come out of evenings or billable work. Some owners split the difference: they keep entering their own transactions and get help setting up faster workflows in QuickBooks Online.
How do I get a real number for my business?
Ask for a free look at your statements. I quote after a free look at your statements, because a quote built on your actual accounts beats any published range. Bring these to the conversation:
- Which bank and credit card accounts the business uses
- Which payment apps clients pay through
- Roughly how many transactions a month
- How current the books are today
- Whether you pay helpers or subcontractors
I don't charge for consultations. You leave knowing what your books need, whether or not you hire me.
