Understanding Accountant Pricing & Fees: How Much Does Hiring an Accountant Cost?

Handling business taxes is often more complex than it sounds. And if you’re already mired in CEO duties, taking the time to do your business’s taxes yourself isn’t always feasible.

Outsourcing accounting is the answer for many businesses. But unfortunately, plenty of business owners pass up this opportunity because they believe it’s too expensive. So how much does hiring an accountant cost?

How Much Does Hiring an Accountant Cost?

Without knowing more information about your business and the accountant, it’s impossible to come up with an exact figure. But how much do accountants charge on average?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cost of an accountant is about $40 per hour. Keep in mind that that rate is for one accountant.

Comprehensive accounting services (like those offered by a whole accounting team) cost significantly more — outsourced accounting departments can charge as much as $100 per hour or more.

That might sound like a lot. However, as cost & profitability planning will likely indicate, hiring outside accountants is almost always significantly less expensive than hiring additional employees.

How Accountant Costs Are Calculated

As you can see, the cost to hire an accountant is highly variable. But what factors actually contribute to the cost?

The two main things that determine an accountant’s rate are the services your business needs and the accountant’s qualifications. Both the types of services you hire an accountant for and the frequency of services will influence the total price.

More qualified and/or experienced accountants will typically command a higher rate. You may also choose to look for an accountant with one or more of these certifications:

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Master of Accounting
Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

As you may have guessed, accountants with one or more of the above qualifications will likely cost more.

What Services Can an Accountant Provide?

Unlike a bookkeeper, an accountant looks at the big picture of your business’s finances. Here are some of the financial duties an accountant may be able to provide:

Tax preparation
Regulatory compliance monitoring (for financial regulations)
Bookkeeping
Financial software administration
Financial reporting outsourcing
Auditing
Consulting
Payroll management

Of course, some accountants may not offer all of these services. Before hiring a business accountant, make sure you understand the duties they can (and cannot) perform.

Benefits of Hiring an Accountant

If you’re wondering “how much does hiring an accountant cost?” it’s important to first consider some of the benefits of hiring a business accountant:

You can avoid errors and penalties on your taxes
You’ll save time and money
You’ll have an expert to help with financial planning
It’s less expensive than hiring full-time accounting employees

If you want to grow your company, an accountant can help get you on the path to success!

When Does Your Business Need an Accountant?

In many cases, the average cost to hire an accountant is financially feasible, even for smaller businesses. But do you need one? Here are a few situations where you might:

Getting started with new bookkeeping systems
Filing business taxes
Running an audit
Organizing and maintaining financial records
Seeking financial advice

As you can see, some businesses may only need the help of an accountant a few months out of the year. Others may benefit from year-round financial help.

Should You Hire an Accountant? A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Not sure whether you should hire an accountant? If so, you can run a cost-benefit analysis. This will give you a more exact answer to the question, “how much does hiring an accountant cost?”

To run an analysis, you need to make two columns. One contains the benefits of hiring an accountant. The other is for the costs of hiring an accountant.

For each benefit, assign an approximate monetary amount. Do the same for hiring costs. If the benefits outweigh the costs, hiring an accountant is probably worth it. Here are some questions to help you get started:

What services do you need? How much are they?
How much would it cost to outsource these services?
How often would you need these services?

To get an accurate idea of the cost, call around for quotes from a few different accountants and/or firms. There’s often a huge variation in price!

How TGG Accounting Can Help

Accountant prices can sometimes seem high. But if hiring one is within your budget, you’ll save yourself hours of frustration and headache.

At TGG Accounting, our experienced financial experts are committed to the success of your business. Whether you need to hire one accountant or outsource your business finances to a whole team, we can help! Contact us today if you have any questions or are ready to get started.