Best online bookkeeping services for small business: 13 priced, and what each publishes (October 2026)

Online and outsourced bookkeeping services for small business, priced per month in 2026: US$99 to $750 and up, read on each firm's own page.

In October 2026, an online bookkeeping service for a small business costs from US$99 per month (Pilot Essentials, where AI does the books) to $750 per month and up (inDinero). The middle of the market, where a person does your books, sits between $199 and $469 per month, as the firms' pages show it: a bare $ that doesn't say which dollar. We read 21 firms' own pricing pages on 2026-10-19. Thirteen publish a price, and eight make you book a call to get one.

"Best" depends on what you need checked. So instead of ranking firms, this page lists what each one publishes: its starting price, whether it says what day your books will be closed, whether it puts a guarantee in writing, and what it charges to catch up if you're behind. Two firms publish a close day. One publishes a money-back guarantee with terms you can read. None publishes an error rate.

Online, outsourced and virtual bookkeeping all mean the same thing here: a firm you never visit does your books from your bank and card feeds, usually in QuickBooks or Xero.

Thirteen online bookkeeping services, priced

Only Pilot marks its prices as US dollars (US$), in its page's own data. Every other price here is a bare $, as the firm's page showed it, without saying which dollar. Most of these firms are American, so a bare $ is most likely US dollars, but don't assume it: ask. Wave's $199 was read from a Canadian address on a page that priced its software in CA$, so it is probably Canadian dollars (see below). The ranges on this page mix those labelled and unlabelled prices. A price "billed annually" is lower than the same plan paid monthly.

Eight firms that don't publish a price

Ignite Spot, Decimal, BELAY, Supporting Strategies, Paro, LedgersOnline, Online Accountant and Virtual Bookkeeping all ask you to request a quote, book a call or take a free assessment before they name a price [15]. That isn't a reason to rule them out, but it means you can't compare them before you talk to them. When you do, ask the questions at the end of this page so their answers line up with the table.

If you're in Canada

Wave's pricing page showed its software in Canadian dollars (Pro at CA$250 a year) to a visitor from Canada, so its $199 a month for Wave Advisors is probably in Canadian dollars too, though the page doesn't say [2]. Online Accountant and Virtual Bookkeeping are Canadian (.ca) firms, and neither publishes a price. Bench says it serves US-based businesses [4]. For any firm, ask whether it prepares your GST/HST and PST returns before you sign.

Two firms that went dark

On 27 December 2024, Bench shut its platform without warning, just before tax season. Employer.com bought it within days, and service resumed in January 2025 [4]. On 8 September 2026, Finally began winding down, and its bookkeeping customers went to another firm, Inkle [14]. Whichever firm you choose, keep your books in a QuickBooks or Xero file that you own. Then a firm closing costs you a handover, not your records.

What most of them don't publish

1. An error rate, at all thirteen. Three firms use the word "guarantee" for accuracy or fit (QuickBooks Live, inDinero and BELAY), and none says what share of transactions it gets wrong, or what it pays when it does. Merritt's three-month refund is the one written promise with terms, and it covers satisfaction, not accuracy.
2. A price per transaction. Pilot ties its plans to monthly expenses, and Bench to annual revenue. No firm here publishes how many transactions its starting price covers.
3. A close day, at eleven of thirteen. Only Pilot Core (10th business day) and Xendoo (as early as the 5th) say when your month will be done.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. What day of the month will my books be closed?
2. How many transactions, accounts and employees does my monthly price cover?
3. Who reviews my books each month, a person or software, and what share of errors do you catch before my accountant does?
4. What does your guarantee cover, in writing, and what do I get back if you miss?
5. Are my books in my own QuickBooks or Xero file, and what do I get if I leave?
6. What do you charge to catch up the months I'm behind?
7. If I'm in Canada: do you prepare GST/HST and PST returns?

How we collected this

On 2026-10-19 we read each firm's own pricing page, and its FAQ where the pricing page pointed there. We recorded its price, what the price covers, its close day, any accuracy figure or guarantee, its catch-up price and its support, with the URL and the date. Where a page says nothing, the record says "not published", and so does this page. We left out Botkeeper, which sells to accounting firms rather than to small businesses, and software where you close the books yourself, which is compared in AI bookkeeping vs a bookkeeper. No company paid to be listed, and nobody was contacted.

What to do next

For the cost of hiring one bookkeeper, and the first-year cost if you're behind, see what a bookkeeper costs. If you're months behind, you'll need a catch-up first, whichever firm you choose. We're setting up catch-up bookkeeping into your own QuickBooks or Xero file, at a fixed price per month behind, and we plan to publish our close day and error rate when it opens. Join the list.