Should You Put Your Bookkeeping Prices on Your Website?

When I had my bookkeeping business, I didn’t list every price directly on my website. I used “starting at” pricing. Visitors could click a button to see a PDF with more details about my packages and prices.

My thinking was pretty simple. If someone took the time to click a button to look at pricing, they were looking for that information. I wanted them to be able to find it.

That didn’t mean the price they saw was necessarily the exact amount they would pay. Every business was different. The final breakdown of services and pricing came later, in the proposal. It was a middle ground that worked for me.

It’s worth thinking about how much pricing information to include on your bookkeeping website. You don’t have to choose between publishing every price and saying nothing about pricing at all.

Potential clients want some idea of what your services cost

Consider the last time you checked a website to buy a service. At some point, you probably wondered what it was going to cost.

Knowing if the service started at $200, $500, or $1,500 would help you decide if you should keep looking. You may not have needed an exact quote, but that info would be useful.

Your potential clients are doing the same thing.

If you omit pricing information on your website, the only way to find out is to contact you. Some people will. Some might leave because they don’t want to call to see if your services fit their budget.

Giving them some pricing information can also help them qualify themselves. A person with a lower budget than your starting prices can learn this before a discovery call. If someone likes your starting price, they can reach out. They’ll have a clearer idea of what to expect.

But bookkeeping has an added complication.

Bookkeeping can be difficult to price before you know what you’re dealing with

You can ask a potential client these questions:

• How many transactions do they have?
• How many bank and credit card accounts do they use?
• Do they have payroll?
• Do they collect sales tax?
• What bookkeeping software do they use?

All of that helps. But it still may not tell you what you’ll find when you actually see the books.

• Are the accounts reconciled?
• Are transactions categorized properly?
• Are things missing?
• Is last month unfinished or is last year unfinished?

That uncertainty is one reason it can be difficult to put an exact bookkeeping price on a website.

You need enough details to price the work right. But you might not have all that info when someone visits your site for the first time.

That doesn’t mean you can’t tell them anything.

How you package your services makes a difference

Bookkeepers structure their services in different ways.

• Some have ready-made packages. A client chooses from two or three levels of service, each with a fairly defined list of what’s included.
• Some begin with basic bookkeeping services and then add what each client needs. Payroll might be an extra charge. So might accounts payable, sales tax filings, or other services.
• Some bookkeepers create an individual scope and price for every client.

The way you structure your services affects how easily you can show prices on your website.

• If you have three standard packages, you might feel comfortable showing their prices.
• Letting your clients build their own package from different services can work well. Showing a starting price can help them decide.
• If you customize each package, you might need to chat before discussing price.

There isn’t one right approach.

Don’t confuse how you calculate the price with what the client is buying

This is where bookkeeping websites can get a little too focused on bookkeeping. A client with 150 monthly transactions, three bank accounts, and two credit cards may show the workload involved.

That information matters to you.

But is that what the client is buying?

A package described as:

• Up to 150 transactions
• Three account reconciliations
• Monthly financial statements

may make perfect sense to another bookkeeper.

However, a small business owner may have no idea whether 150 transactions are a lot or a little. They may not fully understand what reconciliation involves. They might know they should get financial statements, but they might not know what to do with them.

The services and deliverables still matter. Clients should know what they’re getting. But you can also explain what having those things taken care of means for them.

• Books stay current instead of piling up.
• You check accounts regularly to catch errors and missing information.
• Decision-making is based on reliable financial information.
• Tax time is easier with books that are well-organized, accurate, and current.
• You are managing a key part of the business they might not want to handle themselves.

You can tell people what you do and what having it done means for them.

That makes the price easier to understand, too.

You have more than two choices

Putting pricing on your website doesn’t have to mean publishing a detailed price list. You have several options.

Don’t show pricing. Invite potential clients to reach out. This way, you can understand their business before talking about price.

Show a starting price. “Monthly bookkeeping starts at $___.” This gives visitors a helpful benchmark.

Show your packages or price ranges. If your services are standard, you can share more information with visitors up front.

Provide a separate pricing guide. You can let visitors click to a page or document for more details about your packages and pricing.

That last option was the approach I used in my bookkeeping business.

Someone who wasn’t interested didn’t have to wade through all the details. Someone who wanted to know more could easily find them.

“Starting at” can be useful for bookkeeping services

I still like “starting at” pricing for bookkeeping. It gives a potential client context but also allows for the specifics of their business.

For example:

Monthly bookkeeping starting at $450/month

Now they know something. They know roughly where your services begin. They can decide whether that fits with what they expected to spend. And if it does, they can take the next step.

After you learn more about their business, you can create a proposal. This will outline the scope of work and the costs involved.

Your website doesn’t have to do the proposal’s job.

So, should you put your bookkeeping prices on your website?

There isn’t a rule that says you should or shouldn’t. Ask yourself what a potential client needs to feel ready to take the next step.

Your complete package price

A starting price

A range or a separate pricing guide.

Or maybe your services are customized enough that you really do need to talk first.

Your website doesn’t have to tell a prospective client exactly what they’ll pay.

It should provide enough details to show what you offer, how it helps, and whether they should explore it further.

And sometimes, a little information about price is an important part of that.