Free Bookkeeping Invoice Template

What to include on a bookkeeping invoice

• Your name/firm and contact
• Client and service period
• Monthly retainer or hours at your rate
• Add-ons (payroll, catch-up, reports)
• Tax, total and net terms

Recurring engagements beat hourly — bill like it

Modern bookkeeping is sold as a monthly service tied to scope — transaction volume, number of accounts, payroll — rather than hours. Fixed monthly pricing smooths your revenue and ends “why did last month cost more” conversations; the invoice simply states the service period and tier. What still bills separately: catch-up/clean-up projects (quoted per months of backlog), payroll add-ons per run or per employee, 1099 season, and advisory work outside the plan. The engagement letter defines the scope; the invoice should never quietly exceed it — new work gets a new line or a new quote.

Typical bookkeeping pricing (US)

Volume and complexity set the tier:

• Monthly service, small business: $250–$800 per month
• Higher-volume or multi-entity: $800–$2,500 per month
• Hourly (where still used): $40–$100
• Catch-up work: often quoted per month of backlog — $200–$500 per month cleaned
• Payroll add-on: $50–$150 base per run plus $5–$15 per employee
• 1099 preparation: $5–$25 per form, seasonal line

Invoice practices for a clean client book

• Bill on the 1st for the month ahead, ideally on auto-pay — bookkeepers should model good AR
• State the service period and plan tier on every invoice (“Monthly bookkeeping — July 2026, Growth plan”)
• Quote catch-up and advisory work separately; never bury project fees inside the subscription line
• List software you resell (QBO subscriptions etc.) as pass-through lines with your markup policy applied consistently
• Reference the engagement letter for scope so out-of-scope requests convert to quotes, not surprises