Best Bookkeeping Services in 2025: Compare Top 12 Providers

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Best Bookkeeping Services in 2025

Choosing a top bookkeeping provider in 2025 isn’t just about a low monthly fee. You want consistent quality (happy customers and clear SLAs), pricing that matches your workload, a stable partner that won’t vanish in peak season, flexibility to work in your software stack (QBO, Wave, Xero, Zoho, Freshbooks, Sage, Wave, NetSuite, SAP Business One, etc.), and enough feature depth to actually run A/P, A/R, sales tax, payroll, and month-end close. This guide gives you an at-a-glance ranking, then dives into reviews, prices, reliability, flexibility, and features — in simple, scannable tables designed to render nicely in Elementor on desktop and mobile.

Overall Rank (Top 12 Providers)

How to read this table: “Rank” is the overall position based on our composite score built from five weighted factors — Quality (30%), Pricing (20%), Reliability (20%), Flexibility (15%), and Feature Depth (15%). We break ties (in order) by higher Quality, then lower true entry Pricing, then higher Reliability; if still tied, we list alphabetically. “Superlative” is a plain-English strength. “Monthly Price” is the current starter bookkeeping tier shown by the provider and may scale with usage. Clicking on the company name takes you to the external provider website in a new tab.
Rank Company Superlative Monthly Price
1 Maxim Liberty Best overall value for multi-function bookkeeping From $60+/mo (5 hours/mo)
2 Pilot Best for VC-backed startups & accrual workflows From $169/mo (15k exp/mo)
3 Bookkeeper360 Best “one-vendor” finance stack (BK + Tax + CFO) From $399/mo
4 RemoteBooksOnline Best budget choice with software included From $150/mo (1 acct)
5 CapForge Best for ecommerce & ops-heavy SMBs From $249/mo
6 Merritt Best rock-bottom flat rate (essentials only) $250/mo flat (QBO only)
7 Xendoo Best for weekly cadence & tax add-on From $395/mo (4 accts, cash-basis)
8 Ignite Spot Best embedded controller/CFO support From $625/mo
9 inDinero Best premium “all-in” back-office From $750/mo
10 QuickBooks Live Best if you already live in QBO From $300 (50k exp/mo)
11 1-800Accountant Best low-friction onboarding From $249/mo
12 Bench Service disruptions / acquisition (Dec 2024) From $339/mo

Scoring Factors & Weights

We rank providers across five weighted factors: Quality (30%) — review-driven using major platforms and recent feedback; Pricing (20%) — low, transparent entry tiers with minimal gotchas; Reliability (20%) — years in business, BBB presence, and continuity signals; Flexibility (15%) — support for your software + fair contracts; Feature Depth (15%) — coverage of the full bookkeeping cycle (from coding to reconciliations to AP/AR and filings).

Quality (30%) — Reviews & Highlights

To keep this table readable on mobile, the “Reviews” column summarizes platform ratings with links; “Review Highlights” shows one short best/worst quote (≤25 words) when available.
Company Reviews (click to see) Review Highlights
Maxim Liberty Trustindex: 5.0 BBB: A+ (Accred.) Clutch: 5.0 Best: “Maxim Liberty provides top-notch, one of a kind service I have not seen anywhere else.” Worst: — (no substantive negatives surfaced on cited pages today)
Bookkeeper360 Trustpilot: 3.1 Best: “Quick and efficient… my books are great.” Worst: “Overbilled… poor communication… unreliable tax guidance.”
Pilot Trustpilot: 4.0 Best: “Pilot has made our bookkeeping a breeze!” Worst:Rude customer support, insufficient financial advice, and an all around bad service
RemoteBooksOnline BBB: 4.43 Trustpilot: 4.5 Best: “Professional and reliable… the best.” Worst: “$3460.00 to ruin my accounting.”
CapForge Google: 4.9 Yelp: 4.5 Best: “Experts… highly recommend for bookkeeping and consulting.” Worst: “I would not recommend this service, so many errors, little thought.”
Merritt Google: 4.9 Yelp: 4.9 Best: “Pocket-friendly flat rate with money-back guarantee.” Worst: — My accountant called it “The worst bookkeeping I’ve ever seen.” and he is a true professional.
Xendoo Google: 4.7 Birdeye: 4.7 Best: “Dedicated team… weekly bookkeeping keeps us on track.” Worst: “Errors made with filing of sales tax.”
Ignite Spot Nicejob: 5.0 Best: “Complete bookkeeping, payroll, and CFO.” Worst: — (no consistent negatives surfaced)
inDinero G2: 3.9 Clutch: 5.0 Best: “Knowledgeable & responsive… streamlined our accounting.” Worst: — (limited verified negatives)
QuickBooks Live G2: 4.0 Best: “Cleanup went pretty well… despite being assigned 3 bookkeepers.” Worst: “Do not do it – not worth it.”
1-800Accountant Trustpilot: 4.4 G2: 1.0 Best: “Low-friction onboarding and broad coverage.” Worst: “Terrible and Unethical”
Bench Trustpilot: 3.1 BBB: 1.0 Best: “We had a truly excellent experience onboarding with Maya on Bench.” Worst: “They Scammed me 3K. Worst Experience Ever. Dont touch this company”

Pricing (20%) — Plans, Limits & Features

To improve mobile rendering, each provider spans multiple plan rows. “Limits” consolidates common constraints (accounts, expense bands, usage). “Features Included” shows what you get at that tier. Plan names link to official pricing pages (external, nofollow).
Provider Plan (from $/mo) Limits Features Included
Maxim Liberty Basic (~$60) Up to 5 hours/mo Monthly updates & reports
Premium (~$120) Up to 10 hours/mo Weekly updates & reports
Enterprise (~$240) Up to 20 hours/mo Daily updates & reports. Plus A/P, A/R, Sales Tax, Payroll
CPA Plan (~$270) Up to 30 hours/mo Adhoc updates & reports
Pilot Essentials ($199) By expense tier Monthly bookkeeping; standard reports
Core ($599) By expense tier Accrual support; faster close; richer reporting
Bookkeeper360 Bookkeeping ($399) Expense bands Monthly/weekly BK; cash or accrual; reports
BK + Tax ($1,149) Expense bands Bookkeeping + tax prep/planning
RemoteBooksOnline Beginner ($150) ~1 bank account / light BK + QBO/Xero license; reconciliation; reports
Intermediate/Enterprise ($195–$375) 2–8 accounts or higher usage BK + software; more volume
CapForge Bookkeeping (from $249) $249–$995 tiers Monthly reconciliation & reporting
All-in Growth ($1,295–$4,495) Scaled scope BK + tax + advisory + CFO
Merritt Flat $250 Essentials only Transactions, reconciliations, basic reports
Xendoo Essential ($395) Up to $50k expenses/mo Weekly BK; up to 4 accounts; 1 integration
Growth ($695) Up to $75k expenses/mo More accounts/integrations
Scale ($995) Up to $125k expenses/mo Up to 12 accounts; up to 4 integrations
Ignite Spot Min. ~ $625 Revenue-based; custom BK + payroll + controller/CFO options
inDinero From ~ $750 (custom) Custom scope BK + tax + CFO bundles
QuickBooks Live $300 tier $0–$10k monthly expenses Monthly BK; QBO required; cleanup fee upfront
$500 tier $10k–$50k expenses Monthly BK; QBO required
$700 tier $50k+ expenses Monthly BK; QBO required
1-800Accountant From ~ $209 Plan-based BK + tax packaging
Bench Service changes N/A See reliability notes (shutdown & acquisition)

Reliability (20%) — Age, HQ, BBB

Continuity matters. Favor providers with years of operating history, transparent HQ info, and a clear exit path (exports, admin access). The late-2024 Bench shutdown is a reminder to verify stability and data portability before moving your books.
Company Started In HQ BBB Accredited?
Maxim Liberty 2005 San Juan, PR Yes (A+)
CapForge 2000 Carlsbad, CA
Bookkeeper360 2012 Woodbury, NY
Pilot 2017 San Francisco, CA No
Xendoo 2016 Fort Lauderdale, FL
Merritt 2010 San Diego, CA No
RemoteBooksOnline 2014 Knoxville, TN Yes (A+)
Ignite Spot 2007–2008 Layton, UT Yes (A+)
inDinero 2009 Remote-first (US) No
QuickBooks Live 2019 Mountain View, CA No
1-800Accountant 1999 New York, NY A-
Bench 2012 Vancouver, BC No

Flexibility (15%) — Software & Contracts

Pick teams that work in your stack (QBO, Xero, Zoho, Sage, Wave, NetSuite; and industry systems like Buildium, Stessa, Propertyware, Rentvine, JobTread, Contractor Foreman). Favor month-to-month terms, refunds for unused hours where applicable, and no lock-ins to proprietary platforms.
Company Software Support Contracts Notes
Maxim Liberty All major (QBO, Xero, Zoho, Sage, Wave; NetSuite on request) Pay upfront; cancel anytime; refund unused hours; money-back on first payment Enterprise plan covers A/P, A/R, Sales Tax, Payroll
CapForge QBO/Xero + ecommerce toolchains Month-to-month after 90 days All-in packages available
Bookkeeper360 QBO, Xero + partner apps Typically month-to-month (confirm plan) BK + Tax + CFO under one roof
Pilot QBO; startup-centric integrations Annual or monthly per plan Accrual focus; CFO & tax bundles
RemoteBooksOnline QBO/Xero included No contracts; first month free Good for lean budgets
Merritt QBO only Flat monthly Essential bookkeeping only
Xendoo QBO/Xero + integrations Monthly; annual discounts Tax add-on available
Ignite Spot QBO, payroll & AR/AP tooling No long-term lock-in (per materials) US-based team; BBB A+
inDinero QBO + mid-market tools Custom engagement Premium back-office bundles
QuickBooks Live QBO only Monthly; cleanup required upfront Tiered by expense volume
1-800Accountant QBO-centric Monthly plans BK + tax packaging
Bench Proprietary Monthly or annual Service changes since Dec 2024

Feature Depth (15%) — What’s Included

We keep this to four columns. “Core Bookkeeping” combines data entry, catchup/cleanup, reconciliations, and reporting (and, where applicable, sales tax & payroll notes). “AP/AR” combines payables and receivables. “CFO/Tax” captures advisory and tax availability.
Company Core Bookkeeping AP/AR CFO/Tax
Maxim Liberty Yes (includes catchup/cleanup, recon, reporting; AP/AR, Sales Tax & Payroll: Yes on Enterprise) Yes (Enterprise) Yes (add-on)
CapForge Yes Yes Yes (advisory/tax)
Bookkeeper360 Yes Yes (Back-Office add-ons) Yes (CFO & Tax)
Pilot Yes (cash/accrual) Vendor pay optional Yes (CFO & Tax)
RemoteBooksOnline Yes (sales tax & payroll vary by plan) Limited/basic Tax prep not standard
Merritt Monthly Updates with Essentials only No No
Xendoo Yes (weekly; tax add-on) Limited/basic Tax add-on; no CFO
Ignite Spot Yes Yes Controller/CFO & tax
inDinero Yes Yes Yes (bundled)
QuickBooks Live Yes (BK only; cleanup upfront) No (focused on BK) No (separate Intuit products)
1-800Accountant Yes Limited Tax often included
Bench Historically yes Historically limited Historically no

Provider Snapshots

  • Maxim Liberty: Value-first with broad software support and enterprise-level options for A/P, A/R, sales tax, and payroll when you need them. Money-back stance on first payment reduces risk.
  • Pilot: Excellent fit for accrual accounting, multi-system data flows, and startups that also want CFO/tax under one umbrella.
  • Bookkeeper360: One-vendor finance stack (BK + Tax + CFO). Pay-as-you-go plus monthly/weekly options suit changing workloads.
  • RemoteBooksOnline: Budget-friendly plans that include QBO/Xero licensing; simple monthly bookkeeping for lean SMBs.
  • CapForge: Clear tiers, ecommerce/process-heavy strengths, and an option to go all-in with tax + advisory + CFO.
  • Merritt: Minimalist, flat-rate bookkeeping using QBO. Great price if you truly only need essentials.
  • Xendoo: Weekly cadence with predictable pricing by expense band; tax available as an add-on.
  • Ignite Spot: Controller/CFO leadership with bookkeeping — strong for owners wanting finance coaching.
  • inDinero: Premium managed back-office with tax and CFO — good for growing firms wanting one contract.
  • QuickBooks Live: If you’re deep in QBO and want a native monthly service, it’s a simple add-on (note cleanup prerequisite).
  • 1-800Accountant: Broad national footprint and plan packaging that often bundles bookkeeping + tax.
  • Bench: All-in-one software + service platform that faced disruption in December 2024; they shutdown operations but were then salvaged by employer.com.

Maxim Liberty has been providing outsourced bookkeeping services to businesses and accounting firms in the USA and Canada since 2005.