For the past 60 years, small business owners have come to CSI Accounting & Payroll looking for a bookkeeping service. The only issue is that we don’t just provide bookkeeping… we provide monthly accounting.
Since monthly accounting includes more, it can also cost more. Comparing bookkeeping to monthly accounting is like comparing a one-way flight to an entire vacation.
In this article, I’ll explain more of the differences. Let’s address these questions:
- What does monthly accounting include?
- What does bookkeeping include?
- How do the costs compare?
What Monthly Accounting Services Include
Monthly accounting services are a package that includes:
- Bookkeeping
- Monthly financial statements
- Regular meetings with your accountant, plus unlimited one-off advice
- Audit representation
- Tax strategy, preparation, & business tax filing
At CSI, individual taxes of our accounting clients will be an additional fee, and you can also add on larger consulting projects when you need them.
What Bookkeeping Services Include
Bookkeeping services include bookkeeping. That’s all.
You need to find a tax solution, and you don’t get the benefits of seeing your numbers in real-time, getting advice throughout the year, being supported in an audit, or working on a tax strategy to estimate and minimize your tax liability.
That’s a lot of gaps to fill.
Bookkeeping vs. Monthly Accounting Costs
Finally, we’ll talk typical fees.
Bookkeeping Fees
When you use a bookkeeping service, you expect it to be cheap. This service alone (when U.S.-based) averages about $500-$1,200+ per month as of January 2026. But then to cover tax filing, that service would be an additional $2,000-$3,000+ each year.
For only basic compliance, you’d pay $8,000-$17,400 per year. Remember, that doesn’t include insights, advice, audit support, or tax strategy.
Monthly Accounting Fees
Using CSI Accounting & Payroll as an example, as of January 2026, our average fee is about $800 per month. Depending on your activity and complexities, your fee can range from $600-$1,500+ per month.
Everything comes out to as little as $7,200-$18,000 per year. Bookkeeping, statements, advice, audit support, tax strategy, and business tax filing. You’re covered.
Pay More (Maybe), Get More (Definitely)!
Now that you know what monthly accounting and bookkeeping services include and how the costs compare, are you ready to check out monthly accounting services?
If so, please consider CSI Accounting & Payroll! To see if we can be a good fit for your business, click the button below for a free consultation:
Not ready to talk? That’s okay! First, see what your monthly accounting fee may look like by clicking the image below:
