What does a bookkeeper cost, and what do you get?
I'm Jon. I will not quote a fee for a business I have not seen. I do publish four monthly retainers, and the fee is agreed in writing before any work starts. This is what those retainers are for, and what usually moves the figure. Nothing below is a price I have made up for this page. The numbers are the ones already on the site.
The four retainers
They sit together under packages. All of them are excluding VAT, and they are starting points. The figure is then set against turnover and how much goes through the bank.
- Starter, from £150 a month. The books kept: monthly bookkeeping, a bank reconciliation and a simple profit and loss, up to about 40 bank transactions, in Xero or QuickBooks. VAT returns and payroll are not inside that fee.
- Foundation, £250 a month. This is the one I recommend when the books and the filings should sit together. It adds the quarterly VAT return where you are registered, year-end accounts, the corporation tax computation, the confirmation statement, and one director's Self Assessment.
- Growth, from £650 a month. Everything in Foundation, plus monthly management accounts with a short written note, a 13-week cash forecast, a KPI dashboard and budget versus actual, a quarterly review, and up to two directors' Self Assessments.
- Fractional FD, from £1,800 a month. Everything in Growth, plus a monthly strategy meeting and a board-style pack, forecasting, and a view on cash, pricing, hiring and funding.
What moves the fee
Four things come up in almost every conversation. I would rather name them than pretend there is a single price for 'a bookkeeper'.
- Transaction volume. Starter is built around about 40 bank transactions a month. If the bank is busier than that, the fee is revisited in writing. It is not a surprise at month three.
- VAT. If you are not registered, you do not pay for a return. On Starter a VAT return is a separate add-on, quoted individually, because the price depends on the complexity of the business. There is no fixed fee for that add-on. On Foundation the quarterly return is included where you are registered. A monthly VAT scheme is still quoted on its own.
- Payroll. Payroll is a separate add-on. It is discussed and quoted individually, and the price depends on the complexity of the business. There is no fixed payroll fee on any retainer I publish.
- Catch-up work. If the books are behind, I can take that on. It is quoted after a conversation, because the cost depends on how far behind they are, the volume of transactions, and the state of the records. It is not part of the monthly fee. One-off forecasts sit outside the retainer as well, and that fee is confirmed in writing before the work starts.
What you are paying for
A current ledger, a bank that has been reconciled, and a profit and loss you can read. The month-end close is delivered by the 10th of the following month. On Foundation and above, the filings that belong with that ledger come with it. On Growth, and on the fractional FD retainer, you also get a view of cash and a conversation about what changed.
The software subscription stays in your name. Most clients are on Xero, and Sternal Finance is a Xero partner. QuickBooks is supported where that is already the ledger.
If you tell me roughly how many transactions go through the bank in a typical month, whether you are VAT registered, and whether you need payroll or a catch-up, I can say which retainer fits. I will not invent a fifth price on a call.
Sources
This guide does not cite a GOV.UK tax figure. The retainers are the ones already published on the packages section of this site. Whether a VAT return applies at all is covered separately: Do I need to register for VAT?
The fees named above are published on the packages section of this site.
The package figures were taken from this site in November 2026.