Decide About Pricing While Selecting a
Bookkeeping Service – An Hourly, Package or Flat Rate?
Are you looking for a firm providing bookkeeping services but not sure what should be the right fees to pay them? If you are facing this concern then the details we will be providing in the following sections will help you take a decision and select the right firm. In particular, we will look into different pricing schemes as well as their pros and cons, so that you can avoid pricing options which are not suitable for your business.
Selecting the Right Bookkeeping Service – Decide About Pricing
Avoid Hourly Rates – Avoid Package Rates
Hourly Rates
During your search for firms providing bookkeeping services you need to avoid firms which have hourly rates. The reason is that in case of hourly rate, it can be difficult to figure out how much would be your monthly expenditure on bookkeeping. Suppose, the hours required to perform bookkeeping suddenly increases then you will have to pay a higher price than you have made allocation for and affect the budget you had created. Secondly, the bookkeeping service provider will have a vested interest in increasing the hours required for the task by complicating things unnecessarily.
Moreover, your expenditure would increase in case:
- The person you hire is a slow typist.
- Bookkeeper makes plenty of mistakes while recording details.
- More steps are performed for doing a task than required.
Package Rates
You will find firms providing bookkeeping services which have a flat rate package. When you first look at such offers, they may seem to be a good deal and better in comparison to hourly rates. But similar to clothes, one size hardly ever fits all. Upon closer scrutiny you will find that such package covers a small range of services they will provide as part of that package. Such bookkeeping services will most often be inadequate for your business needs. Let us look at an example to explain it better.
Suppose there is a small firm with only a few transactions every month and just a single checking account to manage while there is another company with three loans, five credit cards, inventory, two checking accounts and payroll to manage. In case both firms are using same bookkeeping package then it would clearly indicate that the larger business is not getting services it requires while smaller business is paying more for services it is getting.
The Right Pricing? – Customized Flat Rate
The best option would be getting a customized flat rate on the basis of bookkeeping services you require. The bookkeeping service provider should closely examine your requirements, evaluate your business and what you expect. After such analysis is performed, the firm should specify a flat rate for bookkeeping services they will have to provide.
A Final Note
As we can see there are different pricing options to choose from with each having its negative as well as positive features. You will have to analyze requirements of your business and decide which of the pricing options best suits your needs and budget.