Bookkeeping for Small Business

Prices checked

What contractor bookkeeping costs per month (2026): three firms' published prices, and what sets them

What contractor bookkeeping costs per month in 2026: three firms that publish a price, from $300 a month, and what your jobs do to the price.

Contents

In October 2026, we found three bookkeeping services for contractors and trades that publish a price. Pro Trade Bookkeeping estimates from $300 a month for a smaller operation, and $800 to $1,500 and up for a larger one or for job costing. Catalyst CPA charges $500 to $1,200 a month, set by your job volume and active projects. Wishup, a staffing service, places a dedicated bookkeeper from US$999 a month. We read every price on the firm's own page on 2026-10-19.

At two of the three firms, your jobs move the price. Pro Trade counts how complex your job costing is (tracking costs and profit for each job, not just for the business), and Catalyst counts your job volume and active projects. So before you compare, know how many jobs you run at once and whether you need a profit report for each one.

Contractor bookkeeping services that publish a price

#Firm and planPrice per monthWhat sets the priceWhat the plan coversClose day published?
1Pro Trade Bookkeeping, smaller operations [1]From $300Accounts, transaction volume, job costing, payroll, the state of your booksReconciliation, categorization, financial reports, a monthly review with your bookkeeper"Within a few days of month-end"
2Pro Trade Bookkeeping, mid-size [1]$400 to $800SameSameSame
3Pro Trade Bookkeeping, larger or job costing [1]$800 to $1,500 and upSameSame, with job costingSame
4Catalyst CPA [2]$500 to $1,200Job volume and the number of active projects; a flat fee after a free file reviewJob costing in QuickBooks Online, a profit report for each job every month, WIP and percentage-of-completion reports, progress billing and retainage, 1099s for subcontractorsNo
5Wishup, part-time dedicated bookkeeper [3]From US$999Part-time or full-timeA bookkeeper placed with you for job costing, payables, payroll and expense tracking, and reconciliationNo
6Wishup, full-time dedicated bookkeeper [3]From US$1,799SameSameNo

Pro Trade calls its ranges estimates, and sets your price after a free inspection of your books. It says its bookkeepers are U.S.-based, and it works in QuickBooks Online [1]. Catalyst CPA works in person in the Inland Empire and nearby counties, and remotely across California [2]. Pro Trade and Catalyst show a bare $ without saying which dollar; we read them from a Canadian address. Wishup prices in US$, and calls itself a remote outsourcing platform, so you hire a person through it rather than a firm that keeps your books [3].

Pro Trade also publishes catch-up prices: $300 to $900 if you're 1 to 3 months behind, $900 to $3,500 and up for 4 to 12 months, and a quote after inspection for longer [1].

Job-costing software is not a bookkeeper

JobTread and Knowify are software for running contractor jobs. Both connect to QuickBooks Online, but someone still has to do the books.

  1. JobTread charges US$199 a month, with one user included and US$20 a month for each extra user, with no contract and no setup fee [4]. Your accountant may count as a user.
  2. Knowify shows two prices for each plan. Billed yearly, Core is $99 a month with one user and Advanced $329 a month with ten users; billed monthly, they're $149 and $399 [5]. Each extra user is $29 a month.

General online bookkeeping services

General online services, such as Pilot and Bookkeeper360, don't specialize in contractors. Their starting prices run from US$99 to $750 a month and up, priced on online bookkeeping services. Ask whether their starting price includes job costing before you compare it with the firms above.

Questions to ask a contractor bookkeeper

  1. Do you track costs and profit for each job, and how many active jobs does my price cover?
  2. Do you handle progress billing and retainage (holdbacks, in Canada [6])?
  3. Will I get a WIP report, and do you use percentage-of-completion?
  4. Do you track subcontractor payments for year-end reporting: 1099s in the US, or the T5018 in Canada [7]?
  5. Do you run payroll, or work with my payroll provider? Do you handle certified payroll for federal or federally funded jobs in the US [8]?
  6. What day of the month will my books be closed?
  7. Are my books in my own QuickBooks or Xero file, and do you connect my job software to it?

How we collected this

On 2026-10-19 we read the pricing page of each firm and product named here and recorded its price, what the price covers, and any limits, with the URL and the date. Where a page says nothing, we say "not published". We list only firms that publish a price, so firms that quote after a call aren't here. No firm paid to be listed, and nobody was contacted. Prices change, so check the date.

What to do next

If your books are months behind, a catch-up comes first. 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.

Sources

  1. Pro Trade Bookkeeping pricing, read 2026-10-19 from a Canadian IP: monthly "From $300/mo" (smaller operations), "$400 - $800/mo" (mid-size), "$800 - $1,500+/mo" (larger or job costing); "Includes reconciliation, categorization, financial reports, and monthly review with your bookkeeper"; monthly books "within a few days of month-end"; price set by number of accounts, transaction volume, how far behind, job costing complexity, payroll setup and the condition of the books; cleanup "$300 - $900" (1-3 months behind), "$900 - $3,500+" (4-12 months), "Quoted after inspection" (1-3+ years); "We inspect first, then quote"; "These are estimates based on typical clients. We don't finalize pricing until we've reviewed your actual books"; the book inspection is "No cost, no commitment"; pricing "locked in writing before we start"; "Real U.S.-based professionals only"; QuickBooks Online. Bare $, no currency label. www.protradebookkeeping.com/pricing.html
  2. Catalyst CPA construction bookkeeping, read 2026-10-19: "$500-$1,200/month depending on job volume and number of active projects", quoted flat after a free file review; "Fees agreed before work starts"; job-costing setup in QuickBooks Online, monthly job profit reports, percentage-of-completion and WIP reporting, progress billing and retainage tracking, catch-up bookkeeping, 1099 subcontractor compliance, business tax preparation. In person in Moreno Valley, Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties and the Inland Empire; remote across California. Contract terms, close day and guarantee not published. Bare $. catalyst-cpa.com/construction-bookkeeping/
  3. Wishup bookkeeping for contractors, read 2026-10-19: "Dedicated Bookkeepers Starting $999/month"; FAQ: "starts at just US$999/month for part-time support and US$1,799/month for full-time support"; a cost table comparing ways to hire (freelance bookkeeper "$25-50/hour", in-house bookkeeper "$35K-$60K+/year + benefits") lists "Managed Contractor Bookkeeping Service", "US$299 onwards", with no period, best for "Larger contractors needing bookkeeping plus tax, payroll, and accounting support", and not stated as Wishup's own price; describes itself as "a 100% remote outsourcing platform"; tasks listed: job costing, accounts payable and vendor management, payroll and expense tracking, reconciliation and reporting. Hours per plan, contract length and close day not published. www.wishup.co/industry/professional-services/bookkeeping-for-contractors
  4. JobTread pricing, read 2026-10-19: "$199 per month"; "+ $20/month per internal user" (1 included; 2-10 users $20 each monthly, $16 annual; lower rates above 10); "Save 20% on an annual subscription"; "No contract & no setup fees"; "30-day money-back guarantee for monthly subscription"; "all of our pricing is in US dollars"; "Accountants and certain other non-employees may also be considered internal users"; integrates with QuickBooks Online. www.jobtread.com/pricing
  5. Knowify pricing, read 2026-10-19: Core "$99 / month" and "$149 / month", "Includes 1 user"; Advanced "$329 / month" and "$399 / month", "Includes 10 users"; Enterprise "Talk to us"; extra users "$29/month"; a Yearly/Monthly toggle with Yearly selected on load; the page's HTML pins each figure: Core data-yearly_price="99" and data-monthly_price="149", Advanced data-yearly_price="329" and data-monthly_price="399"; QuickBooks Online integration on all plans. Bare $. knowify.com/pricing/
  6. Builders Lien Act [SBC 1997] c. 45, s. 4(1), current to October 13, 2026, read 2026-10-19: the person primarily liable on each contract and subcontract "must retain a holdback equal to 10% of the greater of" the value of the work or material provided and the payments made on account. Other provinces have their own lien or construction acts. www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/97045_01
  7. CRA, T5018 slip - Statement of contract payments, read 2026-10-19: you must issue a T5018 slip or a listing if "Your primary source of business income is more than 50% from construction activities", payments went to "Canadian resident subcontractors for construction services", and the year's total to a subcontractor was "more than $500, not including GST/HST". www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/completing-filing-information-returns/t5018-slip-statement-contract-payments.html
  8. U.S. Department of Labor, Instructions for Form WH-347, read 2026-10-19: "covered contractors and subcontractors performing work on Federal or federally assisted construction contracts are required by the DBRA regulations and the contract clauses to submit payroll information on a weekly basis"; the WH-347 form itself is optional. www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/forms/wh347