PRICE GUIDE · BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL · 2026–2027
Bookkeeper cost in the UK
£20–£50 per hour. Typically £25.
A freelance bookkeeper costs £20–£50 per hour in the UK, with about £25 typical. A bookkeeper entering receipts for a sole trader is cheapest; payroll, VAT, multiple bank accounts and London rates cost more, and many offer a monthly retainer instead.
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HOW MUCH IT COSTS
How much does a bookkeeper cost in the UK?
| Low end | £20 | simple monthly bookkeeping for a sole trader |
|---|---|---|
| Typical | £25 | what most people pay |
| High end | £50 | a busy business with payroll and VAT in London |
Locufy guide prices for 2026–2027. Updated 2026. A national range, not a quote — enter your town above for real prices from the accountants, solicitors and professional firms near you.
What moves the price
- Volume of transactions — more invoices, receipts and bank lines mean more bookkeeping hours
- Experience and qualifications — AAT-qualified bookkeepers and specialists charge higher rates
- Extra tasks — payroll, VAT returns and credit control add to the bookkeeper's work
- Software — a bookkeeper working in cloud software you already use works faster
- State of the records — catching up on months of missing bookkeeping costs more
- Region — bookkeepers in London and larger cities charge more than elsewhere
Professional services prices in the UK are up 12% over five years (ONS Consumer Price Inflation, Other services n.e.c., to 2026 August). Five years ago a typical bookkeeper would have cost about £35 — an estimate from today's guide price and that index, not a recorded price. Source: ONS MM23 D7FR →
WHAT YOU GET
What a bookkeeper visit includes
Takes: A few hours a month for a small business; longer for catch-up work. Not included: Year-end accounts, tax returns and audits are usually done by an accountant and priced separately — see the related guides below.
WHAT PEOPLE BOOK
Common bookkeeper jobs
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Bookkeeper near you, with prices shown
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Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.
How to pay less
- Keep receipts and invoices in one place so the bookkeeper spends less time chasing paperwork
- Use cloud bookkeeping software with bank feeds, which cuts manual entry time
- Agree a monthly retainer if the bookkeeping is regular, rather than paying for each hour
Before you book
- Check the bookkeeper is supervised for anti-money laundering, as the law requires
- Ask about qualifications such as AAT and whether the bookkeeper holds insurance
- Agree which software the bookkeeper will use and who can access the records
- Confirm whether VAT returns and payroll are included in the bookkeeping price
Bookkeeper cost: questions people ask
£20–£50 per hour, with about £25 typical. Simple monthly bookkeeping for a sole trader costs the least; a busy business with payroll and VAT in London costs the most.
A small business often needs a few hours a month. Catching up on months of missing records takes much longer.
Yes. Professional bookkeepers must be supervised for anti-money laundering, either by HMRC or by a professional body.
No. A bookkeeper keeps the day-to-day records; an accountant usually prepares year-end accounts and tax returns from them.
Year-end accounts, tax returns and audits are normally done by an accountant and charged separately.
They are Locufy guide prices for the UK, based on published UK bookkeeping rate guides. They form a national range rather than a quote.
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