9 Best Online Bookkeeping Services

Bench offers two plans, which depend on whether you want tax advice and filings included with your bookkeeping. Discounts are available if you elect to pay annually.

• Essential: $299 per month for monthly bookkeeping ($249 a month if paid annually)
• Premium: $499 a month for monthly bookkeeping, annual tax filing, and tax advisory services ($399 per month if paid annually)

If you are behind on your bookkeeping, you can use Bench’s Catch Up and Retro bookkeeping services to bring your books up to date. Fees start at $199 per month.

Our overall best online bookkeeping service is Bench because it provides bookkeeping support at a lower cost than many similar platforms while also offering tax assistance and payroll integration. It has catch-up bookkeeping services—ideal if you have fallen more than two years behind in your bookkeeping. While the service alone doesn’t let you create invoices and manage bill pay and payroll, it’ll work closely with accounting software, like FreshBooks, so you can perform such essential tasks.

Freelancers and startups that work remotely will appreciate the iOS mobile app that provides financial reporting functionality and real-time cash flow updates. Upon enrollment, you’ll have access to a team of in-house bookkeepers, and you can book a monthly check-in or tax season review call with them at no additional charge.

Bench nearly aced our evaluation of pricing. It took a slight hit in the personal bookkeeper category because it doesn’t offer video meetings or provide a phone number to call for support, although you can schedule a telephone meeting through the Bench platform. If access to video meetings and a phone number to call for support is important to you, we suggest Bookkeeper360.

Bench also lacks a couple of important bookkeeping features, including full-service payroll and paying bills. Although it will assist with tracking accounts receivable, that excludes invoicing customers. It also doesn’t let you customize services to create your own plan. Once again, Bookkeeper360 is an excellent solution for this, as it earned a perfect mark in bookkeeping services.

In the area of tax and consulting, Bench’s Premium plan will file your annual tax return and provide tax advisory services. However, it doesn’t offer chief financial officer (CFO) advice. If that is important to you, consider choosing Pilot as your online bookkeeper.

Merritt Bookkeeping costs a flat rate of $250 a month, with no restriction on the number of monthly transactions or the frequency of the service. The price is the same regardless of your business size and the number of employees.

The provider also offers catch-up bookkeeping services, which are $200 for each month you’re behind. The rate goes down to $100 per month for months with 10 or fewer transactions to enter.

We selected Merritt Bookkeeping as one of the best online bookkeeping services because it ranked high among users, with the best user review scores of all providers listed here. What’s more, it is praised for its ease of use and accessible customer service.

Its low flat-rate fee and 100% money-back guarantee are also attractive features. You can use its monthly financial reports to assist with filing taxes, and it provides a simplified issuance and electronic filing of 1099s for your contractors at an additional fee.

Merritt Bookkeeping works with businesses using QuickBooks. While it doesn’t offer many of the advanced tools that other online bookkeeping services provide, it is easy to use and has a quick setup process. If you’re behind on your books, catch-up bookkeeping is available.

With a flat fee, Merritt Bookkeeping aced our pricing criterion. It also received the highest user review score of all the providers on our list. It did, however, suffer in the personal bookkeeper category because while it offers a dedicated bookkeeper, it doesn’t provide video meetings, a phone number to call, or a mobile app. Bookkeeper360 offers all three, so it’s a good solution if that is what you’re looking for.

Merritt Bookkeeping also lacks tax or consulting services but will work directly with your tax accountant to provide them with the necessary information to file your return. We recommend Bench if you want a combined bookkeeping and tax service.

• Self-Serve: $39 per month for DIY bookkeeping with income and expense management, easy receipt capture, and standard reporting
• Full-Service: Starting at $175 per month; includes a dedicated accountant, chart of accounts (COA) setup, review of books year-to-date (YTD), and custom financial statements
• Premium: Starting at $299 per month; includes everything in Full-Service, plus inventory, mileage, and expense tracking tools, custom chart of accounts, accrual-based accounting, sales and use tax filing, and multiple currency options

Tax filing starts at $115 for DIY and $203 for full-service assistance.

Block Advisors is a branch of H&R Block that provides tax, bookkeeping, and payroll support. It’s a great option if you’re looking for reliable and efficient support year-round. We selected it as the best online bookkeeping firm that includes low-priced tax preparation because you can either work one-on-one with a tax professional or opt for its DIY option, with assistance available via live chat, phone, and videoconference.

Its bookkeeping services include a free, 30-minute consultation with an account manager, a review of your books year-to-date, and an action plan created each quarter with specific recommendations. Its plans are affordable and can be customized based on your needs.

Block Advisors only provides a starting price for its bookkeeping plans and doesn’t offer guidance on how the price increases for larger companies, so we scored it poorly in pricing. It also lacks a mobile app and unlimited meetings, so Bench is the better option in this case. However, with Block Advisors, you’ll be assigned a dedicated bookkeeper who will provide access to video meetings, and there is also a phone number to call if you need support.

The platform received higher-than-average marks in the other criteria and provides basic bookkeeping services, like account reconciliation and financial statements, but not invoicing or bill pay. Customized services are also unavailable. In terms of tax and consulting, it will file your income tax return but doesn’t offer CFO advisory services. Bookkeeper360 is a good solution if invoicing, bill pay, customized services, and CFO advisory services are what you’re seeking.

We were unable to find any user reviews for Block Advisors, so the overall score was calculated without user reviews.

There are three subscription plans available, depending on the services you need and the frequency. These are the starting prices as they increase based on the number of monthly expenses. There is no contract required, and you can cancel anytime.

• Pay-As-You-Go: $49 per month plus $125 per hour for support for up to $20,000 in monthly expenses
• Monthly: Cash basis accounting ranges from $399 monthly for up to $20,000 in monthly expenses to $899 per month for up to $100,000 in expenses
• Weekly: Cash basis accounting ranges from $549 a month for up to $20,000 in monthly expenses to $1,049 each month for up to $100,000 in expenses

Accrual bookkeeping plans are also available starting at $549 a month for monthly bookkeeping and $749 per month for weekly bookkeeping.

Add-ons:

• Invoicing & Bill Pay: Starts at $150 monthly
• Payroll & HR: Starts at $46 per month
• CFO Advisory: Starts at $1,000 a month
• Tax filing: $800 per business filing and $300 per individual filing

Bookkeeper360 offers both accounting and cloud-based bookkeeping services and business advisory services. We recommend it as the best virtual accounting firm because it provides a large variety of services and—like a local accountant—will tailor its services to meet your needs.

Its mobile app integrates with your Xero account to provide business insights, and there are also payroll, human resources (HR), taxes, back office, and CFO advisory services available. While Bookkeeper360 is our best recommendation for Xero users, it also works well for QuickBooks Online users dissatisfied with the limited services of QuickBooks Live.

Bookkeeper360 aced our personal bookkeeper and bookkeeping services categories. Its main flaw is the cost of its services, which starts at $399 monthly for cash-based accounting and $549 a month for accrual-based accounting and increases quickly for firms with over $20,000 in monthly expenses. If you’re seeking more affordable pricing, then Bench is a good option, although it has its own proprietary accounting software.

For tax and consulting, Bookkeeper360 also scored high, although it doesn’t offer the ability to file sales tax returns. The user review score of Bookkeeper360 is high as well, at almost a perfect mark.

Brainy Advisors bases its fees on your company’s expenses, complexity, number of transactions, and needs. There are no onboarding or signup fees, and you can cancel your subscription anytime.

• Startups & Small Businesses: $229 per month (monthly contract) or $195 a month (annual contract) for businesses with less than $30,000 in COGS and expenses
• Medium-sized Businesses: $379 a month (monthly contract) or $325 per month (annual contract) for businesses with $30,000 to $80,000 in COGS and expenses
• Large-sized Businesses: $699 per month (monthly contract) or $595 a month (annual contract) for businesses with $80,000 to $150,000 in COGS and expenses
• Enterprise Solutions: Custom quote for businesses with over $150,000 in COGS and expenses

Catch-up bookkeeping is offered at 20% off the standard monthly rate but is only available to new clients who sign a one-year bookkeeping services contract. Brainy Advisors also has add-on services like A/R and A/P management at $49 per hour.

Brainy Advisors uses CPAs from the Philippines to deliver outstanding bookkeeping services, which are affordable considering the work is all done by CPAs. They are expert accountants, although they don’t offer any US tax services or payroll. They can help customers with extremely complicated scenarios, such as consolidating parent and subsidiary corporations.

In addition, Brainy Advisors gives you the ability to create a customized plan for only the services you need—whether that’s A/R and A/P management or inventory and COGS tracking—at a rate of $49 per hour. While it mainly works with QuickBooks and Xero, it is a small company, but its CPAs are knowledgeable enough to tailor their services to whatever bookkeeping software you prefer.

Brainy Advisors provides dedicated bookkeepers, which explains its high mark in our personal bookkeeper criterion. It could’ve aced our evaluation of bookkeeping services if it offered invoicing and bill pay as part of its regular services. However, customized services that offer A/R and A/P management are available.

The provider doesn’t offer tax preparation and filing, so it took a hit in our tax category. It scored fair for pricing, as it starts out with a low price for small businesses but gets a little expensive for larger companies. However, the hourly rate of $49 for add-on services is very affordable. For affordable tax preparation and filing, our top recommendation is Bench.

As a new company, we were unable to find any user reviews for Brainy Advisors, so those were not factored into its score.

A free live bookkeeping consultation is required before signing up, and services are billed annually. You also have the option of customizing a package that is more specifically tailored to your business needs.

Bookkeeping services and financial reports are available only with an Enterprise Business subscription, while business and personal tax preparation services are available with the Core Accounting and Enterprise Business plans.

• Tax Advisory: $179 per month for year-round tax advice and proactive tax planning
• Core Accounting: $239 per month for year-round tax advice, proactive tax planning, and tax preparation
• Enterprise Business: $399 per month for year-round tax advice, proactive tax planning, bookkeeping, business and personal tax preparation, and personal financial planning

1-800Accountant is a nationwide virtual accounting firm that will handle all of your accounting needs, from bookkeeping to tax preparation and filing. It focuses on the needs of not only the business, but also the business owner. The Enterprise Business tier includes both personal tax preparation and personal financial planning for the owner.

With the provider’s powerful mobile app, 1-800Accountant is also useful for businesses working remotely, e.g., communicating with your bookkeeper, tracking mileage, and accessing your account from anywhere. Additionally, you’ll have access to bookkeepers, tax and financial advisors, payroll specialists, and a dedicated accountant who is an expert in your state and industry.

In our evaluation of 1-800Accountant’s Enterprise Business plan, it took a hit in pricing because it charges $399 a month, which is more expensive than many of its competitors for very small companies. However, for larger operations, it is a fair price, especially considering it includes tax planning and preparation.

Although 1-800Accountant offers a dedicated bookkeeper and a number to call, it doesn’t offer video meetings or unlimited meetings, which is why it scored lower in the personal bookkeeper category. A good alternative is QuickBooks Live, which provides video meetings and unlimited meetings in general.

Additionally, 1-800Accountant does not provide invoicing or bill pay services or the ability to customize your plan like Brainy does, so it couldn’t get higher marks in these areas. While it does offer income tax return filing and tax advice, it lacks CFO advice, something Pilot has.

Wave Advisors offers bookkeeping support, accounting and payroll coaching, and tax coaching. Not a lot of information is offered in terms of the type of support offered, and Wave only provides pricing for prepaid annual plans—although month-to-month plans are available.

For bookkeeping support, fees are calculated for a calendar month of transactions and depend on the size of your business:

• Bookkeeping Support: Starts at $149 per month, includes collaboration with your accountant and monthly review calls
• Accounting & Payroll Coaching: One-time fee of $379, although other packages are available; includes two hours of live coaching and unlimited 30-day email access to your coach
• Tax Coaching: Custom quote; includes one video call of up to 60 minutes and unlimited 30-day email access to your coach

In addition, you’ll need a subscription to Wave Accounting, which is free for one user and $16 a month for unlimited users. To learn more, read our review of Wave Accounting, which is linked above.

We love Wave because it offers great accounting software that is free for one user and has a very affordable paid plan at just $16 monthly for unlimited users. Working with a Wave Advisor is the easiest way to get help with your Wave software because it offers a team of dedicated bookkeeping professionals to help businesses manage finances.

Not only does Wave Advisor offer very affordable bookkeeping plans, it works with a completely free accounting software, which keeps your total cost even lower, which is why we selected Wave as one of the best online bookkeeping services. In addition to bookkeeping, it provides accounting and payroll coaching as well as tax coaching, with access to both live coaching and email support.

Although Wave Advisors has many useful features, it doesn’t provide invoicing or bill pay services. If that’s important to you, then we recommend looking into other providers like Bookkeeper360. However, we’re fine with the low scores because it serves only Wave users, which are businesses with very basic needs.

One benefit of using Wave’s software is the ease of using products and services that integrate seamlessly. This includes payroll, invoicing, the ability to accept online payments, and a Wave Money account for qualified users.

Wave Advisors didn’t score well in terms of customer service, as it took a hit for not providing a phone number to call and not offering unlimited meetings. It also lacks a mobile app, and its bookkeeping services are limited, with the inability to pay bills or invoice customers. While Wave Advisors provides payroll coaching, it doesn’t offer any customized services. Brainy Advisors and Bookkeeper360 are both good options if customized services are important to your business.

For tax and consulting, Wave Advisors took a hit because it only offers tax advice but not income or sales tax return filing. While you can sign up for one-time accounting, payroll, or tax coaching, CFO advice is unavailable. We recommend checking Pilot out if you’re seeking CFO advice.

Note that Wave Advisors didn’t receive any user reviews, so this wasn’t factored into our overall score.

There are three pricing tiers for QuickBooks Live, which are based on your business’s monthly expenses. In addition to the cost of QuickBooks Live, you will pay a monthly subscription fee for QuickBooks Online, which ranges from $35 to $235.

Your first month of service with QuickBooks Live is dedicated to onboarding and cleaning up your books at an undisclosed cost that will be customized for each customer. After that, you will pay the fee for the applicable pricing tier:

• Low volume: $300 per month for up to $10,000 in monthly expenses
• Medium volume: $500 per month for $10,000 to $50,000 in monthly expenses
• High volume: $700 per month for more than $50,000 in monthly expenses

Although a free trial is unavailable for QuickBooks Live, there is no contract, and you can cancel anytime.

QuickBooks Live is an online bookkeeping service offered by QuickBooks Online, which we ranked as the best small business accounting software. We selected QuickBooks Live as the best for assistance with QuickBooks Online because its professionals excel at helping QuickBooks users with the fundamentals of managing bank feeds, classifying transactions, reconciling accounts, and printing financial statements.

After you’re matched with a dedicated bookkeeper, you can opt to be trained on day-to-day bookkeeping tasks, which is ideal for novice QuickBooks users. Your bookkeeper will assist you with setting up your chart of accounts, connecting your banks, and creating a plan to clean up any existing data.

However, while your financial statements are sent to you monthly, your bookkeeper won’t pay bills, send invoices, manage inventory, and provide financial advice. If this is important to your business, we suggest Bookkeeper360, which aced our bookkeeping services category.

QuickBooks Live no longer publishes prices for its bookkeeping service, so you’ll need to get a custom quote. The most recently disclosed starting price before this change was $300 monthly plus an extra setup fee for your first month. We penalized QuickBooks Live heavily in the pricing criterion for its failure to disclose even a starting price.

The provider also took a hit in our personal bookkeeper category because it doesn’t provide a phone number to call, although you can request a callback. It also lacks a mobile app that you can use for communicating with your bookkeeper, so we deducted points there as well.

Additionally, it is limited in the bookkeeping services it offers, so we couldn’t award a higher mark as it lacks invoicing and bill pay services. You also don’t have access to full-service payroll or the ability to customize a service plan. Tax and consulting services also aren’t offered, so points were deducted there as well. If you want all of these features—specifically bill pay, invoicing, full-service payroll, customized services, and tax and consulting services—Bookkeeper360 is an excellent solution.

Pilot offers three bookkeeping plans, based on an annual subscription model, that scale with your monthly expenses and your business needs:

• Starter: Starts at $349 per month for less than $30,000 in monthly expenses; includes features like a dedicated finance expert, financial statements, and support
• Core: Starts at $499 per month for less than $30,000 in monthly expenses; includes everything in Core plus priority support and expedited books delivery, among others
• Plus: Custom pricing; best for large businesses with complex needs

Add-ons:

• Pilot CFO: Starts at $1,750 per month, billed annually; includes budgeting and forecasting
• Pilot Tax: Starts at $2,450 per year for tax services, which include federal corporate income tax and 1099 filing

Pilot is a financial services firm that provides bookkeeping, tax, and CFO advisory services for startups and small businesses. Its services are built around the needs of startup companies backed by venture capitalists. While any of the bookkeeping services in this guide will help new businesses, Pilot focuses on new businesses with aspirations of becoming medium to large companies.

As your business grows and potentially takes on funding, the accrual-based and advanced bookkeeping services that it offers will be especially useful. You’ll be matched with a dedicated bookkeeper when you enroll in the service, and they’ll walk you through how to integrate your existing processes and software with QuickBooks.

Pilot’s pricing scored very low because it provides only one starting price for all companies and doesn’t share any information on how that price might increase based on the size of the business. It is also lacking in customer support, as you can only contact your dedicated bookkeeper via email or the QuickBooks portal. If you’re seeking a low-cost service that also offers strong customer support, QuickBooks Live is an excellent option.

Pilot did receive strong user reviews, and it nearly aced our evaluation of bookkeeping and tax services. It can integrate with ADP for payroll, invoice your customers, pay bills, and generate financial statements. It even offers customized services and can file your income tax return and provide both tax and CFO advice, but sales tax return filing is unavailable.

While Bookkeeper.com didn’t make our list of the best online bookkeeper services, it’s one of the few providers that will file a sales tax return for you. Read our review of Bookkeeper.com if sales tax return filing is important to your business.