How Much Do Bookkeepers Make? Hourly vs Monthly Retainers

Bookkeeping is one of the highest-paying skills you can learn from home without a degree, because every small business needs it monthly and almost none of them want to do it. Income is predictable and recurring, which is rare in side hustles.

What BLS data shows (May 2025)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025 national estimates) puts the median wage for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (SOC 43-3031) at $24.36 an hour, or $50,670 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earned under $17.31 an hour and the top 10% more than $35.84. This is employed bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks. Freelance bookkeepers who bill clients directly are self-employed and fall outside the survey.

Worked example

What a freelance bookkeeper would need to bill to take home the BLS annual median, using the freelance rate calculator's other starting inputs (25 billable hours a week, 6 weeks off, $6,000 expenses, 30% tax set-aside):

• Run the Freelance Rate Calculator with your own numbers

How Bookkeepers Charge

Monthly fixed fees per client are standard, scaled to transaction volume, number of accounts, and payroll. Hourly pricing punishes you for getting faster with the same client, so most experienced bookkeepers move away from it.

Your Client Capacity

Income is fee per client multiplied by how many you can serve. Standardised processes, one accounting platform, and a clear monthly close checklist are what let a solo bookkeeper hold a meaningful book of clients part-time.

Getting Qualified Enough

Software certification, practice on a sample company, and a strong grasp of reconciliation, categorisation, and reporting. Formal accounting credentials aren't required for bookkeeping, though they raise what you can charge.

Finding the First Clients

Local trades, salons, restaurants, and e-commerce sellers are chronically underserved. Referrals from a tax preparer who doesn't want the monthly work are the single best source.

Know the Boundary

Bookkeeping is recording and reporting. Tax advice, filings, and representation belong to licensed professionals — be clear with clients where your service ends.

Bookkeeping is one of the best remote side hustles because the work is recurring, the clients stay for years, and it gets faster every month you do it.

Hourly Punishes Getting Good

As you learn a client's books, the same work takes half the time — and hourly billing cuts your pay for it. Monthly retainers by client complexity fix this.

What Sets the Retainer

Transaction volume, number of bank and card accounts, payroll, inventory, and how disorganised the client's records are. Price the mess, not just the size.

Clean-Up Projects Pay Well

New clients often arrive with a year of untouched books. Bill clean-up as a separate fixed project before starting the monthly service.

Capacity Is Your Ceiling

Most solo bookkeepers hold a limited number of monthly clients well. Growing beyond that means raising prices, specialising, or hiring — not squeezing more clients in.

Specialising Raises Rates

Trades, restaurants, e-commerce, and short-term rentals each have quirks. Being the bookkeeper who knows one industry justifies a higher fee and shortens onboarding.

Certification and Software

Software certifications are cheap, quick, and reassure clients. Note that bookkeeping is not tax preparation or advice — know where that line is in your jurisdiction.

Related reading: How Much Do User Testers Make? and How Much Do Personal Trainers Make?. If you're weighing a degree and the CPA route, see how much accountants make a year by state and employer.