How Much Does Bookkeeping Cost in Chicago?
The cost of a bookkeeper for your Chicago based business can vary widely.
You can start by clicking here and filling in this form to get custom quotes for Chicago bookkeepers and bookkeeping services.
The cheapest option is just to use software such as Freshbooks, Quickbooks, or Zoho Books.
Some of these have free plans and generally don’t cost more than $200 per month for basic bookkeeping. But do, require you or someone at your company to keep the records up-to-date.
The next cheapest option is to hire a freelancer which can cost anywhere from $10 to $200 per hour on sites like Upwork.
However, your best option may be to hire someone locally in Chicago. You can find a list of Chicago bookkeepers above or click here to fill in this form to get custom quotes.
Finally, we cover the costs of hiring a full-time Chicago bookkeeper in more detail below.
What Software Can I Use For Bookkeeping in Chicago?
There are many popular bookkeeping software options available for Chicago based businesses.
The 5 most popular options for Chicago businesses are:
1. Freshbooks
- Monthly cost ranges from $6.80 to $22 per month for Chicago businesses
- Free trial available
- Use for fast and easy invoicing and payments
- Ability to track Chicago taxes owed
- Partnership with Bench for a real human bookkeeper available as a paid add-on
2. Quickbooks
- Plans for Chicago businesses range from $15 to $200 per month.
- Offer a paid QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper option
- Offer an Accurate Books Guarantee for your Chicago bookkeeper
- Track Sales and Chicago sales tax
- Track Income, expenses, invoice and payments
3. Zoho Books
- Free for Chicago businesses doing less than $50k a year in revenue.
- Price range of $15 to $240 per month for larger Chicago businesses.
- Offer an online bookkeeping program designed for small businesses
- Offers a multi-user interface
- Free customer support over email, phone, and chat.
4. Xero
- Plans normally priced between $13 and $70 per month for Chicago businesses
- Has partnership program for Chicago accountants & bookkeepers
- Offer an all-in-one accounting software solution
- Ability to use bank connections to track trasnations
- Automatically calculate Chicago sales taxes on transactions, and use reports to prepare Chicago sales tax returns.
5. Patriot Software
- Offers two plans for Chicago businesses $20/month or Premium for $30/month.
- Designed especially to be used by small businesses
- Unlimited number of users, including your accountant
- Use either (or both) cash-basis or accrual accounting
- Free USA-based support
What is a typical bookkeeper salary in Chicago?
A full-time Chicago bookkeeper makes sense if you have ongoing bookkeeping needs beyond what software or a freelancer can realistically handle.
Nationally the annual salary of a bookkeeper ranges from a low of $29,917 per year to high of $61,027 per year with an average of $42,729. So in most cases you should expect to pay a full-time Chicago bookkeeper somewhere in that range.
Just keep in mind that does not include benefits, such as health-insurance, 401k, etc.
What is the hourly rate of a Chicago bookkeeper?
If the salary above seems too high, you may want to consider hiring a part-time Chicago bookkeeper.
The national average hourly rate for a bookkeeper ranges from a low of $14.67 per hour to a high of $29.93 per hour with an average of rate of $20.95. Again this excludes the costs of benefits.
Are all Chicago bookkeepers certified?
Unlike CPAs, there is generally no legal requirement to be certified or have a license to be a Chicago bookkeeper. However, there are two national organizations that do provide certification for bookkeepers.
These are the the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) and the The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB).
The AIPB exam allows Chicago bookkeepers to use the Certified Bookkeeper (CB) designation. Those who earn their certification through the NACPB can use the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) title.
Therefore, make sure to ask any potential Chicago bookkeeper if they are have either one before hiring.
What’s the easiest way to find a Chicago bookkeeper?
Easy, just click here and fill out the form and relevant bookkeepers serving Chicago will be in touch.