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It’s 2025. Are you still paying top-of-the-line prices for basic accounting? Smart startups are outsourcing their accounting—saving up to 70% or more, optimizing their accounting function, and getting better financials than their competitors.
In other words, the future of startup accounting is here—and it costs less than you think.
In this guide to the cost of outsourcing accounting, we’ll break down what you should expect to pay for everything from bookkeeping to full-service financials.
You’ll see how an outsourced accounting team can save you 20-50% or more vs an in-house accounting team, what services you actually need, and how other startups have optimized their accounting costs with outsourcing.
We’ll also provide you with a practical framework for calculating potential cost savings and the key factors impacting outsourced accounting costs.
So, if you’ve been wondering, “How much does outsourced accounting cost,” read on.
“Alex” had it all figured out—or so he thought. (Alex is a fictional composite of real Enshored customers.)
As CFO of a Series B SaaS startup with $20m in funding and aggressive growth targets he should have been focused on strategic expansion.
Instead, he found himself neck-deep in basic accounting tasks, spending over 60% of his time on financial minutiae instead of driving company growth.
His small in-house team struggled to keep up with increasing transaction volumes while navigating always-changing compliance requirements. Software costs were getting out of control, and the complexity of their financial operations seemed to grow exponentially with each new market they entered.
“I knew something had to change when I realized I was spending more time reviewing expense reports than working on our next market expansion,” Alex recalls. “We were growing fast, but our accounting infrastructure wasn’t scaling with us.”
This happens to fast-growing companies every day, but the real problem isn’t just time—it’s money…
Because the real costs often remain hidden until it’s too late to do anything about them.
Managing a company’s finances is a big task. However, many CFOs are still using traditional in-house accounting methods, which are time-consuming, costly, and error-prone. It’s time for a wake-up call: Outsourcing accounting services can be a game-changer for businesses looking to streamline their financials and free up more time for decision-making.
This is because many businesses still think in-housing is the best option. The truth is that in-housing can be a costly and inefficient way to manage finances.
The cost of hiring, training, and retaining an in-house accounting team can be very expensive, especially for small businesses. Worse, employees may not have the same level of expertise or access to the latest technology as outsourced accounting firms.
The trouble is, when most startups calculate their accounting costs, they only focus on salaries. The average base salary for a full-time in-house accountant in the US is around $60,000, but that’s barely the tip of the iceberg. Once you factor in benefits, payroll taxes, and office space, the actual cost per accountant is over $80,000 per year. For high-growth companies in major tech hubs, that number can be even higher.
Beyond these obvious costs, many hidden line items can blow your budget. Software licenses and subscriptions are a big chunk of these costs, and many companies need multiple accounting tools. Training and certification costs add up fast, especially in a rapidly changing regulatory environment. During busy periods, overtime costs can go through the roof, and temporary staff coverage during vacations or sick leave creates additional financial burdens.
Regular technology upgrades and compliance training add to these costs, usually pushing accounting costs to 3-5% of operating costs for pre-revenue companies and 0.5-1.5% of revenue for established businesses. This is a big shock to founders who thought they were saving money by having an in-house team.
Outsourcing accounting services with a BPO provider can improve efficiency and reduce overhead, making it a smart choice for growing businesses—especially if you want to reduce errors and free up more time for decision-making.
You’ll also typically get access to advanced tools and expertise that can drive better business outcomes.
However, one of the biggest benefits of outsourcing accounting services is the ability to tap into comprehensive expertise and accuracy. Outsourced accounting firms employ experienced professionals who are experts in financial management, financial reporting, and financial analysis. This means your financial reporting will be accurate, compliant, and on time, enabling you to make informed business decisions and focus on what really matters: steering your business to growth and profitability.
Unlike in-house costs, which are unpredictable, the cost of outsourcing accounting services is much more transparent and fixed.
For small to mid-sized businesses, basic services are typically $500-1,000 per month for transaction processing, basic bookkeeping, and monthly reconciliations. Knowing what you need here will help you make better decisions on outsourced accounting pricing.
As businesses grow and their needs become more complex, comprehensive service packages—$1,000-$2,500 per month—can include advanced financial reporting, cash flow management, and tax preparation.
Complex solutions start at $2,500 per month for businesses that require sophisticated financial management. Full-service support packages usually include strategic advisory services and multi-entity accounting.
Costs will vary based on transaction volume, industry complexity, and other business-specific factors. But these aren’t set in stone. Transaction volume plays a big part—more transactions means more work and higher costs. Industry complexity also matters—businesses in highly regulated industries or with complex financial structures require more advanced service levels.
Before you switch to outsourced accounting services, you need to know your current costs and potential savings. Here’s a simple framework to help you do the maths.
Start with your current annual accounting costs. For an in-house team, this is:
Then add in the hidden costs that are often not tracked:
Now compare this to outsourced accounting costs using this formula:
For a typical startup or small business, the math looks like this.
In-house costs
Outsourced solution
This is a savings of $96,000 per year—a 73% reduction. Your numbers will be different, but this framework will help you make an apples-to-apples comparison.
When you’re evaluating outsourced accounting services, also consider these cost-impacting factors:
Not every startup needs every service, so choosing the right mix can have a big impact on both cost and effectiveness. Basic bookkeeping services are the foundation of your financial health, and financial reporting keeps stakeholders informed and compliant. Tax preparation, while seasonal, is a critical component that gets more complex as your business grows.
But outsourced accounting firms also offer expertise beyond basic bookkeeping and tax prep. Outsourc to plug into strategic insights and advisory services to help your business navigate complex financials and make data-driven decisions.
With a dedicated team handling your accounting needs, you’ll see higher levels of accuracy and efficiency, enjoy better financial performance, and carve out more of a. competitive advantage.
The flexibility that outsourced accounting services bring also means you can scale your financial operations as you grow. Many startups begin with basic bookkeeping and gradually add more services as they need them, paying only for what they need.
Outsourcing accounting services eliminates the need for ongoing training and technology investments, as these are managed by the outsourced accounting firm. This reduces the direct and hidden costs of having an in-house team.
The cost savings can be huge for small businesses, allowing them to allocate resources better and focus on growth initiatives.
Here’s the bottom line, no pun intended: as your company grows, your needs will expand to include more advanced services. For example, financial analysis becomes critical for data-driven decision-making, and cash flow forecasting helps predict and manage growth challenges. Many growing businesses also find value in advisory services that provide strategic guidance for expansion. Outsourcing means you can easily keep up with all these changes and more.
Take the example of a fast-growing fintech company that worked with Enshored. When they tried managing accounting in-house, costs mounted, and efficiency declined. After switching to outsourced accounting services, they transformed their financials in six months, reducing accounting costs by 40% while improving accuracy to 99.9%.
The outsourced accounting cost was a cost of growth that delivered big savings and better financials for the company.
More importantly, they reduced their financial response time from 7.5 hours to 18 minutes, enabling faster decisions and greater agility. This freed up the leadership team to focus on growth initiatives rather than day-to-day accounting tasks.
Don’t make the decision to outsource accounting services lightly, but the numbers do the talking. Start by doing a thorough audit of your current accounting costs, including direct labor costs, software and technology costs, training, overhead, and time spent by your team on accounting tasks.
Then, calculate your potential savings by comparing them to outsourced options. Remember to factor in efficiency gains and consider your growth projections—the right outsourced accounting solution should grow with your business.
Finally, when evaluating potential partners, look beyond cost. Consider their experience with similar businesses, technology capabilities, and ability to scale with your growth. The right partner should feel like an extension of your team, providing the expertise you need today and the capability to support future expansion.
So, the question remains: will you still pay high accounting fees this year while your competitors gain an edge through smart outsourcing? If you’re ready to learn more about how outsourced accounting services can transform your financial operations, contact us at Enshored to start the conversation.
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