2026 rate benchmark: U.S. vs Houston
Ranges reflect published rate cards and quoted engagements, not averages. Where your business lands inside a range depends on the drivers listed further down.
| Service | Typical U.S. range | Houston market rate |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly bookkeeping — basicBookkeepingLow volume, basic bank and card reconciliations, monthly financials. Houston entry-level packages start slightly below the national floor. | $250–$350 / month | $200–$400 / month (under 100 transactions) |
| Monthly bookkeeping — mid-rangeBookkeepingMore transactions plus light AR/AP management. This is the standard small-business band in the Houston market. | $500–$700 / month | $400–$800 / month (100–300 transactions) |
| Monthly bookkeeping — premium / complexBookkeepingHigh volume, multi-entity, or job-costed books. Houston full-service pricing usually includes payroll coordination. | $1,000–$2,500 / month | $800–$1,500+ / month (300+ transactions) |
| Catch-up cleanup — per month behindCleanupBoth markets price cleanup as a monthly rate multiplied by how far behind the books are. | $300–$400 × months behind | ~$250–$400 × months behind (often $300–$350) |
| Catch-up cleanup — typical projectCleanupThe national high end reflects multi-year, multi-entity rebuilds. Most Houston projects land between $750 and $3,500. | $1,000–$8,000+ per project | $800–$3,500 typical; $2,500+ if a full year behind |
| Fractional CFO — monthly retainerFractional CFOHouston CFO firms quote above the national midpoint, largely driven by energy, construction, and healthcare complexity. | $3,000–$10,000 / month (most common $5k–$7k) | $5,000–$15,000 / month |
| Fractional CFO — 1 day per weekFractional CFOStanding weekly presence for forecasting, lender reporting, and board prep. | $7,000–$12,000 / month | $7,000–$12,000+ / month |
| Fractional CFO — hourlyFractional CFOProject or advisory work billed hourly. Houston hourly rates run modestly below the national spread. | $175–$450 / hour | $150–$350 / hour |
Six things that move your quote inside the range
Transaction volume
The single biggest driver. Every bank, card, loan, and merchant account adds reconciliation work — a business with three accounts and 400 monthly transactions costs multiples of one with a single account and 60.
Number of entities
Each LLC, holding company, or property-level entity is its own set of books, its own reconciliation, and its own financial statements.
Payroll and contractors
Payroll runs, multi-state withholding, and 1099 tracking push a package from basic into mid-range almost immediately.
Industry complexity
Job costing for contractors, IOLTA trust reconciliation for law firms, and inventory for retail all require specialized monthly procedures.
How far behind you are
Cleanup is priced separately from ongoing work. Months behind × the monthly rate is the standard formula in both national and Houston pricing.
Reporting depth
Monthly statements are baseline. Cash-flow forecasting, KPI dashboards, and lender-ready packages move the engagement toward CFO-level pricing.
How to use these numbers when you compare quotes
- 1
Count your monthly transactions across every bank, card, and merchant account. That number, not your revenue, tells you which of the three bookkeeping tiers you belong in.
- 2
Separate cleanup from ongoing work. A quote that bundles both into one monthly fee hides how much you are paying to fix the past versus maintain the present.
- 3
Ask what is excluded. Payroll runs, sales tax filings, 1099s, and year-end tax package prep are commonly billed on top of the monthly fee.
- 4
Compare deliverables, not just price. Two $500 quotes are not equivalent if one includes a monthly review call and a cash-flow forecast and the other emails a P&L.
- 5
Treat anything far below the Houston floor as a warning. Sub-$150 monthly bookkeeping usually means quarterly data entry with no reconciliation — which is what creates cleanup projects later.
Pricing questions we hear most
Is bookkeeping cheaper in Houston than the national average?
At the entry and premium ends, yes. Basic Houston packages start around $200/month versus a $250 national floor, and Houston full-service work tops out around $1,500/month versus $2,500 nationally. Fractional CFO work is the exception — Houston retainers run $5,000–$15,000 per month, above the $3,000–$10,000 national range.
How much does it cost to catch up a year of unreconciled books?
Plan on the monthly rate multiplied by the months behind. In Houston that is commonly $300–$350 per month behind, so a full year of cleanup typically starts around $2,500 and runs to $3,500 for more complex books.
When does a fractional CFO make sense instead of a bookkeeper?
Once the books are current and you need decisions rather than records — pricing strategy, cash-flow forecasting, debt structuring, or lender and investor reporting. Below roughly $1M in revenue, most owners are better served by accurate monthly bookkeeping plus quarterly advisory.
Should I pay hourly or a flat monthly fee?
Flat monthly fees are better for recurring work because they make the cost predictable and remove the incentive to bill slowly. Hourly makes sense for one-off cleanup, software migrations, or short advisory projects.
Sources & methodology
Figures are compiled from a 2026 rate survey of published bookkeeping and fractional CFO pricing pages, quoted engagements, and industry wage data. Ranges are reported as observed low-to-high quotes rather than statistical averages, and Houston figures come specifically from firms serving the Greater Houston market.
- Primary dataset: CreditReady Bookkeeping 2026 U.S. and Houston bookkeeping / CFO pricing survey — published rate cards and quoted engagements for basic, mid-range, and premium monthly bookkeeping, catch-up cleanup, and fractional CFO retainers. The per-line citations behind every range are retained in the source workbook; email us and we will send it. Request the source workbook
- National wage context: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 43-3031 Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks — national employment and wage estimates. bls.gov/oes/current/oes433031.htm
- Houston wage context: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, TX metropolitan area (MSA 26420) — the local wage base underneath Houston service pricing. bls.gov/oes/current/oes_26420.htm
- Houston market context: Local CFO and bookkeeping firm rate pages serving Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, sampled in 2026, benchmarked against our own published Houston pricing. creditreadybooks.com/pricing
This page is for general information and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Pricing changes over time and by provider — always confirm scope and exclusions in writing.
Get a flat-fee quote for your books
Tell us how to reach you and roughly how far behind you are. We'll come back with the tier you fall into and a flat monthly fee — usually within one business day.
Want a real number for your books?
Send us your transaction count and how far behind you are. We'll tell you which tier you fall into and quote a flat monthly fee — no obligation.
Also useful: our own packages · DIY vs outsourced cost calculator