Pricing
The True Cost of Hiring a Bookkeeper Locally vs. Offshore
The local wage is just the start. Here's the fully-loaded cost of a local bookkeeper, line by line, against an offshore bookkeeper — no blended numbers.
Why the wage comparison is misleading
Most firms compare the offshore rate to the local wage and stop. But a local hire's wage is maybe 65% of what they actually cost. Payroll taxes, workers' comp, health insurance, benefits, and overhead add up. To compare honestly, you have to count all of it — and show the math.
The local base wage
A U.S. bookkeeper with 5+ years of experience carries a base wage around $40/hour, based on BLS data for bookkeeping and accounting clerks at the experienced end. That's the number most people quote. It's also the number that's least representative of true cost.
Payroll taxes (employer)
Employer-side FICA, FUTA, and SUTA run roughly 9–11% of wages. On a $40/hour wage, that's about $4/hour you pay that never reaches the employee.
Workers' compensation
Even an office classification carries workers' comp — typically 1–3% of wages. Call it $0.80/hour on a $40 wage. Small, but it's real and it recurs.
Health insurance
Employer health insurance for single coverage runs roughly $4–5/hour equivalent, based on KFF's annual employer health premium survey spread across 2,000 hours. Family coverage is far higher; we use single coverage as the conservative baseline.
Other benefits
PTO, sick leave, 401(k) match, and similar benefits add roughly 5–8% of wages — another $2–3/hour. These are costs you pay whether or not the employee uses them fully.
Office, equipment, and software
A desk, a computer, software licenses, and a share of overhead run roughly $3–6/hour equivalent, prorated. Remote local hires reduce this but don't eliminate it.
The fully-loaded total
Add it up and a local bookkeeper runs roughly $55–63/hour fully loaded. We present this as a range, not a single number, because the real figure depends on your benefits and location — a single hardcoded number reads like marketing. The range is honest.
The offshore comparison
A dedicated offshore bookkeeper from the Philippines is $8.50/hour, flat — employment, benefits, and overhead are included because they're different in the Philippines, not because the work is worse. The difference is the difference in employment cost structures, not in work quality.
Run your own numbers
Every firm's fully-loaded local cost is a little different. Use our cost calculator to plug in your actual local wage and assumptions, then compare. Or see the full pricing page.