Contractor growth · Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping for contractors: what it costs
The pages that rank for this search are mostly offshore staffing pitches or general cost guides that never price the work a contractor actually needs. This puts the monthly prices bookkeeping services publish side by side, with what each one covers.
WritingBy Landon LittleOctober 11, 20268 min read
The short answer
A contractor can get the books done four ways: software you run yourself, an online bookkeeping service, a bookkeeper who specializes in construction, or an employee. Here is what each costs, from the prices the services print and the government's wage data, read October 11, 2026.
Online bookkeeping services that print a price
| Service | Entry price | What the entry tier covers | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | $99 a month (AI-run); a human bookkeeper from $299 a month billed annually | Essentials: AI categorizes and reconciles, in-app support; Core adds a US bookkeeper | Tax filing is an add-on |
| Fincent | $189 a month (Pro, billed monthly) | A monthly bookkeeper, up to $25,000 in monthly expenses | Advanced, from $389, adds project tracking, 1099 filing and business tax filing |
| Bench | $199 a month (revenue up to $250,000); $399; $649 with tax filing | Monthly books, year-end tax-ready financials, a bookkeeper by phone or message | Its plumber page lists 1099 reporting; annual billing saves 20% |
| Merritt Bookkeeping | $250 a month flat | Bookkeeping in QuickBooks with monthly statements; no tiers, no contract | Catch-up $100 to $200 per month behind |
| Bookkeeper360 | $399 a month | Monthly close with a P&L and balance sheet | Cleanup from $1,000; payroll from $200 a month; business tax from $1,000 a year |
| Bookkeeper.com | $399 a month | Up to $500,000 in revenue and 100 transactions a month; reports by class or location | Higher tiers $599 and $799 |
| Xendoo | $395 a month, or $355 billed annually | Weekly bookkeeping up to $50,000 in monthly expenses and four accounts | Catch-up from $295 a month; tax returns from $1,295 |
| 1-800Accountant | $469 a month billed annually | A bookkeeper from 75 monthly transactions, tax filing and owner payroll | Its $299 plan includes bookkeeping software, not a bookkeeper |
| Vyde | $399 a month billed annually | A bookkeeper plus business and personal tax filing | 1099s and catch-up are add-ons |
| inDinero | From $750 a month | A controller and team, AR and AP, payroll support | Monthly, quarterly or annual payment |
| Ignite Spot | 0.5% of revenue a month | Reconciliations, bill pay and invoicing | Aimed at $1M to $7M in revenue |
| Nova Solutions | $179 a month flat | A person categorizes every transaction, reconciles bank and card accounts, and sends a monthly P&L and balance sheet | No tax filing, payroll, 1099 filing or job costing |
Bookkeepers who specialize in contractors
| Provider | Published price | What it says it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Wishup | Managed bookkeeping from $299 a month; a dedicated construction-trained virtual bookkeeper from $999 | Job costing and project accounting |
| Stealth Agents | $1,600 a month for a full-time dedicated virtual bookkeeper | HVAC bookkeeping tasks; no review layer described |
| Taxstra, Fintruction, Aviaan Accounting, Steph's Books | Not published | Quote only |
Most bookkeepers who specialize in construction or the trades do not publish a monthly price. The two that do are staffing firms that place a virtual bookkeeper with you.
What an employee costs
An employee costs more than the wage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks at $24.36 an hour, or $50,670 a year, in May 2025, before benefits and payroll taxes. Part-time help is the middle ground: FreshBooks' guide puts part-time bookkeepers at $400 to $800 a month for basic bookkeeping.
Doing it yourself
| Software | Price | Job or project tracking |
|---|---|---|
| Wave | $0, or $19 a month (Pro) | No |
| FreshBooks | $23, $43 or $70 a month | Project profitability on the $70 plan |
| Xero | $27, $59 or $97 a month | Project costs on the $97 plan |
| Knowify | $99 a month billed yearly, or $149 monthly | Job costing on the Advanced plan, $329 a month billed yearly |
| JobTread | $199 a month plus $20 per user | Job costing included |
QuickBooks' pricing page did not load for us on the read date, so it is not in the table. Software makes you the bookkeeper, and the time it takes is the real cost: How much does a bookkeeper cost? puts numbers on that trade.
What contractors need that most entry plans skip
- Job costing: labor, materials, equipment and subcontractors tied to each job.
- WIP schedules: for jobs that span months, what you have billed against the work actually done.
- Retainage: money held back until a job is accepted, on both what you are owed and what you hold from subs.
- 1099s for subcontractors: the IRS threshold rose to $2,000 for tax years beginning after 2025, up from $600, and Form 1099-NEC is due January 31.
- Sales tax on materials, where your state charges it.
Few entry tiers include these. Bench's plumber page lists 1099 reporting, Fincent puts project tracking and 1099 filing in its $389 Advanced plan, Bookkeeper.com reports by class or location, and Wishup's construction page says its dedicated bookkeepers handle job costing.
What the guides claim, and how solid each is
| Source | What it claims | Who wrote it | How solid |
|---|---|---|---|
| NerdWallet | Around $300 a month typical; online packages about $200 to $700 and up | A personal-finance publisher | Part of its range comes from an analysis of Reddit posts |
| FreshBooks | Part-time bookkeepers $400 to $800 a month; outsourced $500 to $2,500 | FreshBooks, which sells accounting software | No sample stated |
| Keeper | Outsourced bookkeepers $250 to $1,500 a month | Keeper, which sells tax software | No sample stated |
| Steph's Books | Basic bookkeeping $500 to $1,500 a month for most small businesses | A bookkeeping firm | No sample stated; its own packages are quote only |
Where Nova fits
Nova's bookkeeping is $179 a month flat, done by a person: every transaction categorized, bank and card accounts reconciled, and a monthly profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet you can hand to a lender or your tax preparer. It does not include tax filing, payroll, 1099 filing, job costing or WIP schedules. That makes it a fit for a service contractor who needs clean monthly books. A builder whose lender wants WIP schedules every month is better served by a construction bookkeeper.
Sources
- Bookkeeping service pricing pages read on October 11, 2026: Pilot, Fincent, Bench and its plumber page, Merritt Bookkeeping, Bookkeeper360, Bookkeeper.com, Xendoo, 1-800Accountant, Vyde, inDinero, Ignite Spot, Wishup and Stealth Agents.
- Software pricing pages read on October 11, 2026: Wave, FreshBooks, Xero, Knowify and JobTread.
- Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks (43-3031), national median, read through the BLS Public Data API on October 11, 2026 (series).
- 1099 threshold: IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, read October 11, 2026.
- Guides read on October 11, 2026: NerdWallet, FreshBooks, Keeper and Steph's Books.
- Prices are copied from each page on the read date and change often, so check the provider's page before you sign. This is not tax advice.
Questions this post answers
- How much does bookkeeping cost for a contractor?
- Services that publish a price charge $189 to $399 a month for a human bookkeeper at their entry tier (Fincent, Bench, Merritt, Pilot, Bookkeeper360, Bookkeeper.com and Xendoo, read October 11, 2026). A construction-trained virtual bookkeeper starts at $999 a month at Wishup. Job costing, WIP schedules and 1099 filing usually cost more. Nova's bookkeeping is $179 a month flat.
- How much does bookkeeping cost per month?
- NerdWallet puts typical small-business bookkeeping at around $300 a month, and the entry prices we read run from $99 for AI-run books to $399 for a human bookkeeper. Guides from FreshBooks, Keeper and Steph's Books put outsourced bookkeeping between $250 and $2,500 a month, without stating a sample.
- Do contractors need job costing?
- If your jobs run for weeks or months, usually yes: job costing ties labor, materials and subcontractors to each job, so you can see which jobs make money. Short service calls, like most plumbing, HVAC and cleaning work, often get by with clean categories and a monthly profit-and-loss statement. Among the options we read, job tracking sits in higher tiers: Fincent's $389 Advanced plan, Xero's $97 plan and Knowify's Advanced plan.
- Do I need to file 1099s for subcontractors?
- Generally, if you pay a non-employee for services above the threshold. The IRS instructions for Form 1099-NEC say the threshold rose to $2,000 for tax years beginning after 2025, up from $600, and the form is due January 31. Ask your tax preparer how it applies to your business.
- Is flat-rate bookkeeping worth it?
- A flat rate makes the cost predictable, but check what it covers. Merritt charges a flat $250 a month with no tiers. Others scale: Xendoo's entry plan covers up to $50,000 in monthly expenses, Bookkeeper.com's up to 100 transactions, and Ignite Spot charges 0.5% of revenue. Ask what happens in a busy month and whether catch-up work is extra.
- Can I do my own bookkeeping as a contractor?
- Yes, with software. Wave starts free, FreshBooks at $23 a month and Xero at $27, and construction tools such as Knowify ($99 a month billed yearly) and JobTread ($199 a month plus $20 per user) add job tracking. The real cost is your time, since software makes you the bookkeeper.
Want your books done for $179 a month?
A person categorizes every transaction, reconciles your bank and card accounts, and sends a monthly profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet. Flat rate, no tax filing or payroll.
Building in this trade? See Contractor websites, or see pricing.