11 Best Online Bookkeeping Services For Small Businesses

Whether you run an online store or a local business, you have to keep track of your profits and your expenses. Hiring an online bookkeeping service can save you time and money and help you stay organized.

The right bookkeeping service can handle your invoices, payments, and financial reports with ease, giving you the freedom to focus on scaling your business.

In this article, I have compiled a list of the best bookkeeping services, including the key features, pricing, and pros and cons, to help you make an informed decision.

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EcomBalance

Ecom Balance is a service that specializes in helping eCommerce entrepreneurs manage their bookkeeping needs. They offer monthly bookkeeping services designed specifically for growing eCommerce businesses that sell on platforms such as Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, eBay, and many more​.

Their services also include monthly financial analysis, offering detailed reports and insights that enable businesses to understand their numbers better and make smarter decisions​.

They deliver top-notch monthly bookkeeping by integrating all eCommerce sales channels into Quickbooks Online or Xero. This integration allows for seamless financial management, regardless of the current state of a business’s books.

Ecom Balance also provides custom bookkeeping services, handling Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR), payroll management, vendor invoice payments, and more.

Ecom Balance was founded by eCommerce sellers and entrepreneurs, not bookkeepers.

Their understanding of entrepreneurial needs, combined with their process-oriented approach and significant experience in the eCommerce space, enables them to provide a bookkeeping service that is ideal for entrepreneurs selling physical products online.

Pricing is based on revenue. Stores that make 6 figures starts at $399/month. If you make 7 figures, it’s $599/month. If you make 8 figures, it starts at $799/month.

Pros

• Dedicated bookkeeping team: Ecom Balance provides a reliable team of trained bookkeepers that specialize in ecommerce.
• Retroactive bookkeeping: Ecom Balance offers catch-up bookkeeping services for businesses that are behind by more than two years.
• Helpful visual reports: Their services include monthly financial analysis, offering detailed reports and insights that enable businesses to understand their numbers better and make smarter decisions​. 

Cons

• Relatively new: EcomBalance is a relatively new company that does not have as long of a track record as other companies on this list.

Click Here To Try EcomBalance For Free

Bench

Bench Accounting is a user-friendly online bookkeeping service that offers software and professional bookkeepers for small businesses.

Bench handles all aspects of your account and serves as your main point of contact, making sure your books are up-to-date and tax-compliant, so you can focus on running your business.

Bench also connects with major ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and Amazon, as well as payment processors like Stripe and PayPal.

Some of the notable features of Bench include 1099 reporting, which lets you monitor payments made to your independent contractors, and Gusto integration to help you manage your payroll.

Pricing

Bench offers two plans 一 Essential and Premium, which cost $249 and $399 per month, respectively. Here’s a summary of each pricing plan:

Bench also offers the following bookkeeping add-ons:

• Specialized bookkeeping: Starts from $100 per month.
• Historical bookkeeping: Starts from $299 per month.

Pros

• Dedicated bookkeeping team: Bench provides a reliable team of three well-trained bookkeepers to take care of all bookkeeping needs, including importing bank statements, categorizing transactions, preparing monthly financial statements, and consolidating financial information into a year-end financial package.
• Retroactive bookkeeping: Bench has a specialized program called BenchRetro that offers catch-up bookkeeping services for businesses that are behind by more than two years. Enrolling in this program requires an additional fee.
• Helpful visual reports: Bench has an interactive reporting feature that provides quantitative analytics, including revenue, expenses, and profit, and precise delivery of Income Statements and Balance Sheets.

Cons

• Poor app reviews: The App Store rating is poor, and many users have reported experiencing technical difficulties with the app, including glitches and slow performance.
• Difficult to switch: Bench’s proprietary software does not integrate with other accounting software, which makes it challenging to switch to another bookkeeping service provider. However, you can download Excel files of historical data.

QuickBooks Live

QuickBooks Live is a bookkeeping service launched in 2019 that assists QuickBooks users with advanced reporting, categorizing expenses, and reconciling accounts.

After enrolling, you’ll be assigned a dedicated bookkeeper to work with you virtually.

Your first month with QuickBooks Live includes onboarding and cleaning up your books for $500, followed by a fee for the applicable pricing tier, which is based on your average monthly expenses.

You’ll also need to pay a monthly QuickBooks Online subscription fee which starts from $15 a month.

QuickBooks Online integrates with bank accounts, payment processors, and major ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, and offers pricing plans and features that can be upgraded as your business grows.

One of their unique features is their ability to calculate sales tax across multiple jurisdictions automatically. In addition, QuickBooks provides purchase order functionality and inventory tracking, which appeals to online store owners.

Pricing

QuickBooks Live offers three pricing tiers based on your business’s monthly expenses.

• Low: $200 per month for monthly expenses up to $10,000.
• Medium: $300 per month for monthly expenses ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.
• High: $400 per month for monthly expenses of more than $50,000.

Note that you must subscribe to one of the following QuickBooks plans to use QuickBooks Live bookkeeping services.

Pros

• Inventory management: QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced allow for advanced inventory management features, including tracking inventory and cost of goods, creating purchase orders, managing vendors, and syncing with third-party platforms.
• Record-keeping and reporting: Gives you the ability to add reference numbers, attachments, and memos to expenses and split them into multiple categories or items.
• Feature-rich: Tons of features such as setting up customers and vendors, assistance with reports and reporting tools, customized chart of accounts setup, importing historical data, month-end close, and ongoing assistance with bookkeeping practices.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: Can be overwhelming if you’re inexperienced and may lead to accounting errors.
• Lack of tax consulting: QuickBooks Live doesn’t provide tax filing, tax planning, or financial consulting services. If you need these services, you can go with Bookkeeper360.
• Limited users: The Simple Start plan and Essential plans include only one and three account users, respectively. On the other hand, QuickBooks competitors like Xero and Wave include unlimited users on all their plans.

Click Here To Try QuickBooks For Free

Xendoo

Xendoo is a cloud-based bookkeeping and accounting software platform that caters to ecommerce businesses selling on multiple platforms, such as Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, WooCommerce, etc. 

Xendoo specializes in tax filing, bookkeeping, sales tax preparation, and payroll integration. They also support franchises with customized reporting and group benefits and allow users to manage multiple businesses within a single account.

Like Bench, Xendoo integrates with Gusto to help manage employee information, benefits, deductions, and payroll taxes and forms. However, Xendoo integrates with Quickbooks Online and Xero, while Bench does not.

In addition, Xendoo provides multichannel ecommerce and seller marketplace accounting and integrates with the most popular inventory tracking apps.

Pricing

Xendoo offers three plans based on your monthly expenses. Let’s look at their plans in detail below:

If your monthly expenses are above $125,000, you can contact Xendoo for a custom quote.

Xendoo also provides the following add-ons:

• Tax guidance + Annual federal and State tax return: $1200 per year.
• Catch-up bookkeeping: Starts at $295 per month.
• Fractional CFO: Starts at $1500 per month.

Pros

• 30-day money-back guarantee: Xendoo offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which allows you to try the service risk-free. If you’re not satisfied with your experience within the first 30 days, you can receive a refund for the monthly fee of your first month.
• Integrations: Xendoo offers integrations with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Gusto, and other accounting and bookkeeping services, allowing you to transition easily. 
• Helpful customer support: Xendoo has top-notch customer support available through phone, email, and live chat, with many satisfied customers praising their team’s dedication to their business.

Cons

• No free trial: Xendoo doesn’t offer a free trial, so you can’t test the software before committing to a paid plan.
• Limited features on the Essential plan: Accrual-based accounting and tax consultants aren’t available with the Essential plan.

Click Here To Try Xendoo

Bookkeeper360

Bookkeeper360 is an online bookkeeping service that provides small business owners with real-time financial data to help them grow their businesses.

They offer a dedicated account manager, seamless integration with accounting software like Xero and QuickBooks, and other business apps like Gusto and Amazon.

In addition, Bookkeeper360 offers add-on services like payroll, tax filing, HR, and CFO advisory for an extra cost.

Bookkeeper360 offers the following bookkeeping features:

• Monthly reconciliation
• Monthly statements
• Subscription to Xero or QuickBooks
• Phone, email, and chat support
• Advanced reporting (available only in the weekly plan)
• Weekly updates (available only in the weekly plan)

Overall, Bookkeeper360 is a scalable solution for businesses using Xero and QuickBooks Online.

Pricing

Bookkeeper360 offers three subscription plans based on monthly expenses, accounting methods, and the frequency of the services needed.

Here’s a breakdown of the features you get for each plan:

Bookkeeper360 also provides the following add-ons:

• CFO advisory: Starting at $1000 per month.
• Tax filing for individuals: Starting at $300 per filing.
• Tax filing for businesses: Starting at $800 per filing.
• Payroll and HR: Starting at $46 per month.
• Back-office: Starting at $150 per month.

Pros

• Marketplace: Bookkeeper360’s new app marketplace gives users access to third-party software products that can be integrated with Bookkeeper360. The marketplace features apps in lending, payroll, payments, and sales tax categories.
• Accrual basis accounting: Bookkeeper360 offers the accrual basis of accounting with its bookkeeping service and includes complex accounting features such as deferred revenue, inventory, and accrued expenses.
• Mobile app: Bookkeeper360’s mobile app connects seamlessly with Xero and QuickBooks Online accounts.

Cons

• Pricing structure: Bookkeeper360’s quote-based pricing structure makes it difficult to compare their pricing and services with other online bookkeeping services that offer transparent pricing.
• Software requirements: Bookkeeper360 is only compatible with QuickBooks or Xero accounting software, which may be a problem if you’re using any other accounting software like Wave.

Pilot

Pilot Bookkeeping offers a variety of financial services to startups and businesses, including bookkeeping, CFO, and tax services.

They specialize in assisting high-growth technology startups, ecommerce stores, professional services, and nonprofits.

Pilot provides a dedicated financial expert who reconciles your books on a monthly basis, compiles reports and offers recommendations on financial best practices.

Each plan includes a dedicated financial expert to reconcile the books monthly, compile reports, and provide financial best practices.

While Pilot’s burn-rate calculations make them a suitable choice for venture capitalist-backed businesses, their high monthly cost may not be practical for some small businesses.

Nonetheless, startups can benefit from the discount offered to pre-revenue companies and the provision of monthly reports.

Pricing

Pilot offers two plans – Core and Plus, priced according to your monthly expenses. Here’s a summary of each of their plans:

• Core ($900 to $29,999 in monthly expenses): $499 a month.
• Core ($30,000 to $59,999 in monthly expenses): $559 a month.
• Core ($60,000 to $99,999 in monthly expenses): $639 a month.
• Core ($100,000 to $149,999 in monthly expenses): $739 a month.
• Core ($150,000 to $199,999 in monthly expenses): $839 a month.
• Plus ($200,000 or more): Custom pricing starts at $1500 a month.

The following features are included in all Core plans:

• Dedicated financial expert
• Accrual basis bookkeeping
• Profit & Loss, balance sheet, and cash flow statements
• Burn rate calculations

Users get access to all the features included in the Core plan as well as the following additional features:

• Support for Multiple Entities, Classes, and Location.
• Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Inventory Tracking.
  Custom charts.

Pilot also offers tax plans and CFO services at the following rates:

• Tax Essentials: Starts at $2450 a year. This service is suitable for C corporations without foreign subsidiaries that are not profitable.
• Tax Standard: Starts at $4950 a year. This service is suitable for profitable C corps, LLCs, S corps, or businesses with foreign subsidiaries.
• CFO Basic: $2250 per month.
• CFO Essential: $4050 per month.
• CFO High Touch: $6750 per month.

Pros

• Great for startups: Besides offering perks for pre-revenue companies like discounts and burn-rate calculations, Pilot bookkeeping also assists with research and development tax credits.
• Tax management: Pilot offers a separate package that includes federal, state, and city-level income tax preparation and 1099 filing.
• Additional services: Pilot offers various other financial assistance for a fee on top of their bookkeeping, such as accounts payable and receivable, custom reporting, and controller services.

Cons

• Onboarding fee: Pilot charges an onboarding fee equal to one month of bookkeeping services.
• Prepaid plans: Pilot’s plans require an annual prepaid subscription, which may be a financial burden if you prefer a monthly payment plan.
• Accounting software: Pilot requires businesses to use QuickBooks Online, which limits flexibility if you use different accounting software.

1-800 Accountant

1-800Accountant is a virtual accounting firm that provides year-round support for businesses with a team of experienced professionals.

They offer bookkeeping, tax preparation, and filing, along with payroll processing and entity formation services.

1-800Accountant also specializes in helping nonprofits with setup, compliance, bookkeeping, and more. Users get a dedicated accountant with every plan who can provide assistance with proactive tax planning and quarterly reviews.

Plus, 1-800Accountant offers a secure online portal, catch-up bookkeeping, and payroll processing.

While online reviews praise their user-friendly dashboard and transparent fees, 1-800Accountant has been criticized for poor communication and follow-through, resulting in long wait times for tax-related responses.

Pricing

1-800Accountant has four monthly subscription plans starting at $0 to $399. Here’s a breakdown of each plan:

Pros

• Entity formation: 1-800Accountant offers entity formation services, which include the preparation and filing of Articles of Incorporation, obtaining an employer identification number, acting as a registered agent, and helping businesses save on taxes.
• Catch-up bookkeeping: 1-800Accountant helps you to quickly and efficiently get your finances up-to-date, regardless of how far behind you are. 
• Payroll and tax preparation: 1-800Accountant can file personal and business taxes, provide tax planning and consulting, as well as audit defense, along with payroll processing for employees.

Cons

• No monthly plans: 1-800Accountant doesn’t offer a monthly subscription option, only annual plans.
• Bookkeeping only in the Enterprise plan: To access bookkeeping services and financial reports, you need to subscribe to the Enterprise plan.

Wave Advisors

Wave Advisors provides affordable and reliable bookkeeping services tailored to the specific needs of small businesses. Their trained financial professionals handle all basic bookkeeping tasks, including account reconciliation, transaction categorization, and financial statements.

In addition, Wave Advisors offers personalized support, tax support, and accounting coaching for an additional monthly fee.

All of their features are customizable to meet each business’s specific needs and include collaborations with a dedicated accounting team, as well as business insights and planning.

Overall, Wave’s affordable and dependable accounting solution sets them apart from their competitors, making them an ideal option for small businesses operating on a tight budget.

Pricing

Wave’s basic plan is free, but for additional features such as payment processing or payroll, you can choose to upgrade with the following options:

• Invoicing: Free.
• Accounting: Free.
• Payments: Accept credit card payments at 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction. Bank payments are for 1% per transaction only.
• Payroll (Tax service state): $40 per month + $6 per active employee + $6 per independent contractor paid.
• Payroll (Self-service state): $20 per month+ $6 per active employee + $6 per independent contractor paid.
• Advisors (Bookkeeping support): $149 per month.
• Advisors (Accounting and payroll coaching): $379 one-time fee.

Pros

• Free features: Wave offers many free accounting features such as income and expense tracking, invoicing, financial reporting, and scanning receipts.
• Unlimited users: You can add unlimited users to your Wave account.

Cons

• Lack of integrations: Wave’s free accounting software lacks native integrations with seller platforms, making it less suitable for ecommerce businesses. While you can add third-party integrations via Zapier, they can be time-consuming to set up.
• Limited full-service payroll: Wave Payroll’s full-service payroll is only available in 14 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

inDinero

inDinero is a feature-rich bookkeeping and accounting solution offering scalable services to businesses of all sizes.

You have access to a team of accounting experts on all their plans. Plus, inDinero provides you with personalized solutions to help you manage your finances more efficiently.

inDinero offers many features, including dedicated account managers, monthly reconciliation, automated imports, AR/AP tracking and reporting, and more.

If you want basic bookkeeping services, you can use their basic plan. But if you have more complex needs, you can upgrade to their custom plan to get advanced features and personalization.

While some users have complained about their client services, the overall reviews are positive.

Pricing

InDinero offers three small business plans starting at $750 per month. Here’s a summary: 

• Essential: $750 per month. Ideal for businesses with simple financial structures.
• Growth: $1250 per month. Best for established and growing companies.
• Executive: Custom pricing. Ideal for established companies with complex needs.

All plans include the following features:

• Dedicated bookkeeping team
• Monthly reconciliations
• AR/AP processing and reporting
• Inventory reconciliation
• Payroll support
• Profit & Loss and balance sheet reporting
• Cash flow statement and forecast
• Support of Quickbooks Online or NetSuite

Pros

• Scalable plans: inDinero offers a customizable plan that can be tailored to fit your specific business needs.
• Streamlined processes: inDinero’s knowledgeable and responsive team streamlines the complete accounting, booking, and tax-filing process. 

Cons

• Lack of transparency: inDinero doesn’t display all the features you receive with their plans. You need to contact them directly to learn about all the features included in inDinero’s plans.
• Expensive: The cheapest inDinero plan is $750 a month, which can be expensive for small businesses.

Bookkeeper.com

Bookkeeper.com is an all-in-one solution for bookkeeping, tax preparation, and payroll. 

In business for more than 25 years, the online bookkeeping platform offers a range of useful tools such as online payroll, calculators, and a learning center.

Plus, their dedicated team of certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors and account managers provide monthly financial statements, software setup, free business advice, and optional payroll and tax preparation add-ons.

Bookkeeper.com is an excellent option if you’re a QuickBooks Online user looking to outsource your bookkeeping tasks to a full-service accounting firm.

Pricing

Bookkeeper offers four subscription plans based on annual gross revenue and monthly transaction volume.

Here’s a summary of each plan:

Bookkeeper also offers the following services for an additional fee:

• Payroll service
• Invoicing
• Tax planning and strategy
• 1099 service
• Catch-up bookkeeping
• QuickBooks setup
• Business tax return

Pros

• Accrual and cash basis accounting: Accrual and cash basis accounting is available on all plans.
• Software setup: free accounting software setup on all plans.
• Monthly financial statements: Bookkeeper.com provides monthly financial statements, including a balance sheet, general ledger report, profit and loss statement, and statement of cash flow, to help you stay up-to-date with your business’s finances.

Cons

• No free trial: No free trial, but they do provide a 30-day unconditional satisfaction guarantee for their products.
• Lack of transparency: Bookkeeper.com doesn’t display pricing for add-on services like payroll and tax preparation on their website. You need to contact them for a custom quote.

Merritt Bookkeeping

Merritt Bookkeeping is a highly-rated virtual bookkeeping service that offers a fixed-price model with no hidden fees.

They can import your existing QuickBooks file or set up your books from scratch and provide monthly financial reports that are simple to understand.

Merritt Bookkeeping focuses on recording transactions, reconciling accounting, and offers financial information to small businesses across the US.

However, if you need tax filing or consulting services, you’ll need to opt for other bookkeeping services on the list.

Still, customers appreciate Merritt Bookkeeping for their cost-effective pricing, catch-up bookkeeping, and user-friendly client portal. They have a rating of 5 out of 5 on Yelp and 4.2 on G2.

Pricing

Merritt Bookkeeping charges a flat monthly rate of $190 with no limits on the number of transactions or how often they will provide the service. This pricing model applies to all businesses regardless of their size or number of employees.

Merritt Bookkeeping also provides the following add-on services:

• Catch-up bookkeeping: $140 for each month you’re behind.
• 1099 filing: $75 per report + $8 per form.

Pros

• Cost-effective: Merritt Bookkeeping offers budget-friendly, flat-rate pricing that excludes setup charges.
• 90-day money-back guarantee: The 90-day money-back guarantee allows you to test out their services for three months at no risk and receive a full refund if you’re not satisfied.
• 1099 filing: Merritt Bookkeeping offers assistance with 1099 filing for independent contractors, with an extra fee of $75 for report preparation.

Cons

• No accrual basis accounting: Merritt Bookkeeping does not offer accrual basis accounting.
• Basic services: Merritt Bookkeeping only offers essential bookkeeping services, excluding invoicing, payroll, and tax.

Which BookKeeping Service Should You Use?

Finding the best online bookkeeping service for your business can be overwhelming. After evaluating the many options from the list above, based on pricing, features, customer reviews, ratings, etc., you may be wondering how to narrow your choices. 

If you’re looking for a bookkeeping firm that specializes in ecommerce, specifically Amazon, Walmart or Shopify, then go with Ecom Balance. They haven’t been around as long as some of the other players on this list but I’ve known the owner for many years and he has an excellent track record.

If you’re looking for a “virtual” full-service accounting firm, go with Bookkeeper.com. Xendoo is the best online bookkeeping service for franchise and retail businesses, while QuickBooks Live provides top-notch assistance with QuickBooks Online accounting software.

Bookkeeper360 is the go-to option for Xero users, and Merritt Bookkeeping has the highest user review ratings for basic bookkeeping services.

For startups, especially high-growth tech startups, Pilot is a good choice. 1-800Accountant is the best option for new nonprofit organizations, and inDinero is the most scalable online bookkeeping service.

If you’re still uncertain about which bookkeeping service to choose, Bench is a solid overall bookkeeping service.

Ultimately, the right choice comes down to the unique needs of your business.

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Steve Chou is a highly recognized influencer in the ecommerce space and has taught thousands of students how to effectively sell physical products online over at ProfitableOnlineStore.com. 

His blog, MyWifeQuitHerJob.com, has been featured in Forbes, Inc, The New York Times,  Entrepreneur and MSNBC.  

He's also a contributing author for BigCommerce, Klaviyo, ManyChat, Printful, Privy, CXL, Ecommerce Fuel, GlockApps, Privy, Social Media Examiner, Web Designer Depot, Sumo and other leading business publications.

In addition, he runs a popular ecommerce podcast, My Wife Quit Her Job, which is a top 25 marketing show on all of Apple Podcasts. 

To stay up to date with all of the latest ecommerce trends, Steve runs a 7 figure ecommerce store, BumblebeeLinens.com, with his wife and puts on an annual ecommerce conference called The Sellers Summit.  

Steve carries both a bachelors and a masters degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Despite majoring in electrical engineering, he spent a good portion of his graduate education studying entrepreneurship and the mechanics of running small businesses.