The Real Cost of Hiring a Full‑Time Bookkeeper

Introduction: Do You Really Need a Full‑Time Bookkeeper?

Be honest, does your bookkeeping only get attention when tax season is around the corner or when your CPA asks for reports you do not have. If your answer is yes, you are not alone. The question that usually follows is simple. Should I hire a full‑time bookkeeper, or is there a smarter way to cover the work without overspending.

Why This Matters for Texas Businesses Right Now

Margins are tighter when interest rates stay high, payroll costs edge up, and customers pay a little slower. At the same time, compliance expectations have gone up. Banks ask for clean financial statements before renewing credit. The IRS uses more data matching and correspondence letters. Texas adds its own layers, franchise tax filings, sales and use tax for many industries, and city level rates that change by location. Good bookkeeping is not a nice to have. It is the foundation for tax filing, cash flow management, and smart decisions. The real question is how to buy the right amount of bookkeeping, at the right price, for the stage your business is in.

Answer in Plain English

A full‑time bookkeeper makes sense when you have steady transaction volume, recurring payables and receivables, inventory, payroll complexity, and weekly reporting needs. If your volume is modest, or your needs spike only at month end and year end, outsourced bookkeeping is usually more cost effective.

The costs are not small either way. A Texas full‑time hire means salary, benefits, payroll taxes, software, and management time. Outsourced services come as a predictable monthly fee tied to scope and transaction count. The right choice depends on volume, complexity, growth plans, and how much finance oversight you want in house day to day.

What a Bookkeeper Actually Does

Bookkeepers record and classify daily transactions, reconcile bank and credit card accounts, manage accounts payable and receivable, process payroll in some companies, and produce basic financial reports each month.

Accountants then review, analyze, handle tax planning and preparation, produce forecasts, and advise on strategy. There is overlap, but bookkeeping is about accurate, timely records. Accounting is about explanation, compliance, and decisions built on those records. When you keep that line clear, you hire the right help at the right level, and you do not pay CPA rates for transaction entry.

What a Full‑Time Bookkeeper Costs in Texas

Salary data and job boards point to a wide range based on experience, city, and scope. A typical Texas bookkeeper earns around $20 to $25 per hour on average, with metro areas moving higher. That translates to roughly $42,000 to $52,000 a year in base pay for many small business roles.

More experienced full charge bookkeepers who own the entire month‑end close in larger Texas markets can land closer to $55,000 to $70,000, sometimes more, especially when the job includes payroll, AR, AP, and inventory support. Add 15 to 25 percent for employer payroll taxes and benefits such as health, PTO, and retirement match. Add $600 to $2,000 a year for software and tools, depending on your stack.

The all‑in cost for a solid, in‑house bookkeeper commonly sits between $55,000 and $85,000 a year for small to midsize Texas businesses.

What Outsourced Bookkeeping Costs

Outsourced bookkeeping is usually priced per month, tied to transaction volume and scope. Expect a basic package for a solo or micro business, bank feeds, categorization, and monthly reconciliations in the neighborhood of $200 to $500 per month.

Full service small business packages with monthly close, AR and AP support, and management reports often run $500 to $1,500 per month. If you add payroll processing, multi‑entity consolidation, or inventory workflows, plans can land $800 to $2,000 per month.

AI‑assisted services with human review are trending in the $199 to $600 range for lower volume books, with upgrades for complexity. Once you pass 200 plus transactions a month or carry inventory and job costing, providers often bump you to mid‑tier pricing, $800 to $1,500, because the close itself takes meaningful time regardless of automation.

How to Pick Between In‑House and Outsourced

Ask four questions:

• Volume: How many monthly transactions across bank and credit cards. Under 150 can live happily with a solid outsourced plan. Over 300 with AR, AP, and inventory might justify a seat inside your office.
  
• Complexity: Do you have sales tax across multiple Texas jurisdictions, inventory and landed costs, job costing for construction, or heavy AR follow up. Complexity can tilt you toward a dedicated person, or toward a higher tier outsourced team with clear SLAs.
  
• Speed: Do you need weekly cash reports, vendor runs, and daily sales reconciliations, or will monthly close cadence do. Real time demands favor in house. Monthly rhythms are perfect for outsourced.
  
• Oversight: Who will manage the work. If you or your operations lead cannot spare the time, an outsourced service with a lead bookkeeper and a documented process often wins on consistency.

The Blended Option That Often Works Best

Many Texas businesses land in the middle. They use an outsourced bookkeeping team for reconciliations, the monthly close, and reports, then keep a part‑time in‑house admin for cash collections, bill processing, and paper flow.

The in‑house person manages scanning, approvals, vendor communication, and deposit runs. The outsourced team keeps the file clean, closes the books, and coordinates with your CPA for tax planning and quarterly payments. You get coverage without carrying a full salary, and you keep daily touch points inside the building.

Hidden Costs to Avoid

• Paying CPA rates for cleanup: If your books go untouched until March, your tax preparer will spend billable hours fixing what a bookkeeper could have handled monthly. That is the most expensive bookkeeping you can buy.
  
• Underpricing the role: Hiring a too junior bookkeeper to save money can backfire if reconciliations fall behind and errors stack up. You will spend more fixing mistakes than you saved on salary.
  
• Scope creep without a raise: If you keep adding AR, AP, payroll, and reporting without adjusting pay or team size, burnout is around the corner. Good bookkeeping is process, not heroics.
  
• Letting sales tax slide: Sales tax is separate from income tax, and Texas expects accurate filings with documentation to match. Treat it as its own workflow with clear ownership, in house or outsourced.

What Great Bookkeeping Looks Like

• Monthly close by the 10th business day: Bank and card accounts reconciled, AR and AP aging clean, undeposited funds cleared, and loan schedules updated.
  
• A simple reporting pack: profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, plus a rolling 13‑week cash view. Owners should be able to read it without a translator.
  
• Documented workflows for bill approvals, deposits, sales tax filing, and payroll review: When a person takes a week off, the process should still run.
  
• Clean year‑end handoff: tied out trial balance, fixed asset roll forward, 1099s filed, and schedules for your CPA, so tax prep is fast and accurate.

How to Scope and Price Correctly

• Count transactions: Pull a 3‑month average of bank and card transactions, including payment processors. Providers price by volume and complexity, not just revenue.
  
• List systems: Accounting software, POS, e‑commerce, time tracking, payroll, inventory. Integrations save time if set up correctly. Tell your provider what you use.
  
• Define deliverables: Reconciliations, AR, AP, payroll, sales tax, monthly financials, weekly cash report, calls with your owner or GM. Clarity up front prevents surprises.
  
• Ask for SLAs: Close date, response time, correction windows, and how often you will meet. You want service agreements that match your business rhythm.
  
• Start with a cleanup: If your books need a reset, buy a one‑time cleanup with a fixed fee before you begin monthly service. You will get better pricing and better results.

When a Full‑Time Hire Becomes the Smart Move

• You pass 300 to 500 monthly transactions and need weekly AP runs, daily sales reconciliations, and on‑site paperwork management.
  
• You operate multiple locations with complex sales tax and inventory movements that require daily attention.
  
• You want in‑person collaboration between operations, purchasing, and finance that a remote team cannot match.
  
• You are preparing for a loan, an investor, or a sale, and want tighter control and faster turnaround inside the building.

Even then, keep your CPA in the loop for quarterly reviews, tax planning, and oversight. A strong pairing of in‑house bookkeeping and external CPA review catches issues early and keeps your tax position optimized.

A Texas‑Smart Way to Decide

Run the math with your numbers. Estimate a full‑time all‑in cost using salary, taxes, and benefits. Price two outsourced scenarios, one basic and one full service. Compare total cost to your must-have deliverables. Layer in your time. If you would manage an in-house person for 5 to 10 hours a month, that is real cost too.

Then choose the option that gives you accuracy, timeliness, and clarity without straining cash. The right answer today might change in a year. That is normal. You can start outsourced, then hire when volume justifies it. You can hire, then keep month-end review with an outside team if that keeps quality high.

A Calm Wrap Up

You do not need to guess. You need clean books, predictable cash flow, and reports you trust. For many Texas businesses, outsourced bookkeeping at $500 to $1,500 a month covers the essentials and frees up cash for growth. As volume and complexity rise, a full‑time bookkeeper becomes a smart investment, especially when paired with CPA oversight.

Pick the model that lets you sleep at night and make decisions in daylight. Your tax filing will be smoother. Your quarterly payments will be accurate. And you will spend more time running your business, not chasing receipts.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bookkeeping Costs

1. What is the average salary of a full-time bookkeeper in Texas?

In 2025, the average base salary for a full-time bookkeeper in Texas ranges from $45,000 to $65,000. However, when you add payroll taxes, health benefits, paid time off, and software costs, the true annual cost often exceeds $70,000 to $85,000.

2. Will I lose control of my finances if I outsource?

No. In fact, you often gain more visibility. Modern outsourced firms like Taxvation use cloud-based tools (QuickBooks Online/Xero) that give you 24/7 access to your data. You maintain approval rights on payments, while we handle the data entry and reconciliation.

3. Does an outsourced bookkeeper also file my taxes?

Not always. Bookkeeping involves daily recording of transactions, while tax filing is an annual event. However, at Taxvation, we offer both. Our bookkeeping service ensures your books are “tax-ready” all year, making the filing process seamless and cheaper.

4. Is it safe to share my bank details with an outsourced team?

Yes, if you choose a professional firm. We use bank-level encryption and “read-only” access to bank feeds. We never have direct access to move your funds without your explicit authorization. This is often safer than having a single in-house employee with unchecked access to checks and cash.

5. How much money can I save by outsourcing?

Most small businesses in Texas save between $40,000 and $60,000 annually by switching from a full-time employee to an outsourced model. You get the expertise of a team for a fraction of the cost of one employee.