Fixed-fee bookkeeping packages UK: what to compare
What is a fixed-fee bookkeeping package?
A fixed-fee package is a defined scope of bookkeeping work for one monthly price that does not move when a month turns out to be difficult. That last part is the whole point. If the fee changes because your bank feed broke or a supplier sent three months of invoices at once, it is not a fixed fee — it is an estimate.
For how that compares with paying by the hour, see bookkeeping hourly rates UK. This guide is about what sits inside the package.
What should a bookkeeping package include?
Three things are non-negotiable. Everything else is a legitimate add-on, provided it is priced openly.
| Component | Core or add-on? | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Bank reconciliation | Core | Every account, every month — not just the main current account. |
| Transaction categorisation | Core | To your chart of accounts, with queries resolved rather than returned. |
| Monthly P&L and balance sheet | Core | With a stated delivery date. No date means no commitment. |
| VAT return | Add-on | Prepared, reviewed and submitted — or only prepared, and you file it? |
| Payroll | Add-on | Journals only, or full processing with RTI and payslips? These are very different. |
| Management accounts | Add-on | Monthly or quarterly, and does it come with commentary or just figures? |
| Year-end accounts and CT600 | Add-on | Almost never in a bookkeeping package. Budget separately. |
What gets left out, and why it matters
This is where two packages that look alike stop being alike. A cheaper quote is often cheaper because something sits outside it.
Take payroll, which is the clearest example because the two versions share a name. Payroll journals means someone posts your payroll figures into the ledger. Payroll processing means someone calculates the pay, issues the payslips, files the RTI submission with HMRC and produces the P60s. Our own pricing separates them for exactly that reason: journals are £69 a month, full processing is £99. A provider quoting £69 against a rival's £99 is not undercutting them — they are selling a different thing.
The question that exposes most of this: “what happens in a VAT quarter?” If the answer involves an extra invoice, the monthly figure you were quoted is not your monthly cost.
The other common exclusion is catch-up work. If you arrive with six months of unreconciled transactions, that backlog is usually scoped and priced separately from the ongoing fee — which is reasonable, but it should be said before you sign rather than invoiced afterwards.
How to compare two packages fairly
Put both quotes on the same scope. A worked example — a VAT-registered limited company with two employees, needing bookkeeping, VAT and payroll:
| Provider A | Provider B | |
|---|---|---|
| Headline monthly fee | £195 | £274 |
| Bookkeeping and reconciliation | Included | Included |
| Monthly P&L and balance sheet | Quarterly only | Monthly, by the 10th |
| VAT return filed with HMRC | +£120 per quarter | Included |
| Payroll with RTI and payslips | +£45 per month | +£99 per month |
| True monthly cost | £280 | £373 |
| Cost over twelve months | £3,360 | £4,476 |
Provider A is genuinely cheaper here, and the headline gap of £79 narrows to £93 once everything is priced — but the comparison is now honest, and you can see you are trading monthly reporting for the saving. That is a decision worth making deliberately rather than discovering in March.
The figures above are illustrative shapes, not quotes. For real market ranges see how much a bookkeeper costs in the UK.
Signs you are on the wrong package
- Your invoice moves most months. A fixed fee that is not fixed is an hourly arrangement with extra steps.
- You get figures but no date. Management information that arrives whenever it arrives cannot be used to make decisions.
- You are still doing the chasing. If queries come back to you in a list each month, you have bought processing rather than bookkeeping.
- You have outgrown the band. Packages are usually priced to transaction volume. Doubling your turnover without the fee changing often means something is being skipped.
- You cannot leave easily. Setup fees and minimum terms are a signal about how the provider expects to retain you.
What Cledger includes
Bookkeeping is £175 a month and covers bank reconciliation, transaction categorisation, and a monthly profit and loss plus balance sheet delivered by the 10th of the following month, on Xero or QuickBooks. The P&L and balance sheet are not an upsell.
VAT returns are £99 a month for a quarterly MTD-compliant return, prepared, reviewed and submitted to HMRC. Full payroll is £99 a month including payslips, RTI and P60s for up to ten employees; payroll journals alone are £69. Management accounts are £149 a month for a quarterly pack. Most small businesses land between £99 and £449 a month in total.
There are no setup fees, no hidden add-ons and no lock-in contract. If you run more than one company, each additional entity increases the fee, because each set of books is prepared and filed separately — there is no version of this where two companies cost the same as one.
Build your own combination on the pricing calculator and it will give you the monthly figure instantly.
Frequently asked questions
What should a fixed-fee bookkeeping package include?
At minimum: bank reconciliation, transaction categorisation, and a monthly profit and loss plus balance sheet on a stated date. Anything that calls itself a package without a reporting date is selling you data entry rather than bookkeeping. VAT returns, payroll and management accounts are normally priced separately, so check whether they are in your quote or beside it.
How much do bookkeeping packages cost in the UK?
Most UK small businesses pay £150 to £800 a month, with the majority landing between £200 and £450. The spread is driven by transaction volume, whether VAT is included, whether payroll is included, and how many separate companies you run — each set of books is prepared and filed separately, so two entities is close to double the work.
What is usually excluded from a bookkeeping package?
The common exclusions are VAT return preparation and submission, payroll RTI filing and payslips, year-end statutory accounts, corporation tax returns, and catch-up work on a backlog. A package can be cheaper than a rival simply because one of these sits outside it. Always ask what happens in a VAT quarter.
Is a bookkeeping package cheaper than paying hourly?
For most businesses with steady transaction volume, yes — and more importantly it is predictable. Hourly billing is cheaper only when volume is genuinely low and stable. The catch with hourly is that the month you most need help is the month the invoice is largest.
How do I compare two bookkeeping packages fairly?
Put both on the same scope. Write down the services you actually need — bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, management accounts — then price each quote against that full list, adding the cost of anything one provider excludes. The cheaper headline figure frequently loses once the exclusions are priced in.
Can I change bookkeeping package later?
With a reputable provider, yes, and without penalty. Volumes change, VAT registration arrives, staff get hired. A package you cannot adjust without a renegotiation is a contract problem rather than a pricing one — check for setup fees and minimum terms before you sign.
Noor Muhammad
Founder & Principal at Cledger. Part-qualified ACCA with 4+ years of UK public practice experience across VAT, corporation tax (CT600), payroll, management accounts and final accounts, working with Xero, QuickBooks, IRIS and CCH. About the team →