Fixed-Price Bookkeeping Services Compared: How to Choose
What a fixed-price bookkeeping fee really covers, how UK and Danish providers package VAT, payroll and tax, and how to choose the right model.
Mathias Popp
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In short
A fixed price tells you how you are billed, not what you get. Two providers at the same monthly fee can deliver very different amounts of work.
Bookkeeping, VAT returns, payroll and Self Assessment are the items most often sold as add-ons to a low headline fee.
The real split is between services where you keep the books and a provider checks them, and services where the provider keeps the books for you.
Get the scope, the monthly deadline and the name of the person who signs off in writing before you compare prices.
What a fixed-price bookkeeping fee covers
A fixed-price fee covers an agreed list of work for one monthly amount. Anything outside that list is billed separately, so the list matters more than the number.
Providers set the boundary in different ways: by transaction volume, turnover, number of bank accounts, number of employees or number of entities. A fee that suits you at 80 transactions a month may move to a higher band at 300. Software subscriptions, onboarding and catch-up work on earlier months usually sit outside the monthly fee too.
Hourly billing still has a place. It suits a one-off clean-up, where nobody knows the size of the job until they open the ledger. For routine monthly work it leaves you guessing at the bill, which is the problem a fixed fee is meant to solve.
The three service models
Fixed-price offers fall into three models: software you run yourself, software with an accountant who handles year-end and tax, and a managed service that keeps the books for you. The difference is who does the monthly work.
Model | What you do | What the provider does |
|---|---|---|
Software only | Categorise, reconcile, chase receipts, fix errors | Supplies the ledger, bank feeds and automation |
Software plus accountant | Keep the books during the year, unless you buy a bookkeeping add-on | Year-end accounts, tax returns, advice; VAT and payroll often extra |
Managed bookkeeping | Answer questions and supply documents | Reconciles and categorises through the month, resolves exceptions, signs off |
Software only suits a business with an in-house bookkeeper or an owner who enjoys the work. The accountant bundle suits sole traders and small limited companies with simple books. Managed bookkeeping suits companies whose owners want the ledger done and checked without touching it. Our guide to AI bookkeeping services covers how automation changes each of these models.
Fixed-price providers in the UK and Denmark
The providers below all bill a fixed or quoted monthly fee, but they package bookkeeping, VAT and payroll differently. Each summary uses the provider's own website, checked in September 2026. Prices change, so confirm them before you sign.
The Accountancy Partnership (UK)
Monthly plans from £24.50 for sole traders and partnerships and from £39.50 for limited companies, excluding VAT, per its plans and pricing page.
Core plans include a dedicated accountant, unlimited support, annual accounts, the tax return and Pandle bookkeeping software.
Bookkeeping (from £20), VAT returns (from £35) and payroll (from £24) are monthly add-ons. No contract; cancel any time.
Crunch (UK)
Prices come from a quote tool based on business type, turnover, monthly transactions and the number of directors and employees, per its pricing page. Software-only plans start at £10 plus VAT a month.
Accounting packages list Self Assessment, VAT returns, year-end accounts and Corporation Tax.
Bookkeeping is an add-on, one-off or monthly. Director payroll is included for up to two directors; employee payroll is extra.
Gorilla Accounting (UK)
A fixed monthly fee, with package prices given by quote on its website.
FreeAgent is included in all packages; Xero is offered at a discount.
Unlimited accountant support with a same-day response guarantee for contact before 3pm. Serves limited companies, sole traders, landlords and contractors.
inniAccounts (UK)
A fixed-fee service for contractors, consultants and freelancers who trade through a limited company, per its website.
Runs on its own accounting app, with a named account manager and direct access to in-house accountants.
Covers Corporation Tax, VAT returns and payroll, with quarterly company health checks.
Accounts and Legal (UK)
Offers bookkeeping, management accounts, tax, payroll and a fully outsourced finance department, alongside legal services.
Works in Xero. Pricing is by quote.
Suits SMEs that want accounting and legal work from one firm.
Aspia (Denmark)
Formerly Accountor Denmark, part of Aspia Group since July 2024.
Offers outsourced bookkeeping, payments, invoicing, reporting and payroll, plus interim bookkeepers and controllers.
No packages or prices are published; scope and fee are quoted.
Balance (UK and Denmark)
An AI-powered accounting firm in London and Copenhagen. From £350 a month per entity, agreed before starting and never hourly. The fee covers bookkeeping with continuous reconciliation, VAT preparation and filing, auditor liaison and Bea, an AI finance assistant on Slack, WhatsApp or email.
Works inside Xero, e-conomic or Business Central. AI agents do the matching and receipt chasing; a named ACA-qualified accountant reviews and signs off.
Payroll, management accounts and annual accounts are added when needed. Monthly terms, one month's notice. Details are on the services page.
What Danish rules add to the choice
In Denmark, the bookkeeping system itself must meet the Bookkeeping Act. Companies that file annual reports must keep their books in a compliant digital system, so check the provider's system before you check its price.
According to KPMG's summary of the rules, the system must either appear on the Danish Business Authority's list of registered systems or meet the requirements as a custom system. It must store records for at least five years with backups inside the EU, handle OIOUBL and Peppol e-invoices, and produce a SAF-T file. The VAT return must be reconciled with the books no later than the day the VAT is reported.
A registered system carries the technical requirements. It does not reconcile your bank or prepare your VAT return. Those tasks sit with you unless the contract gives them to the provider.
What "VAT, payroll and tax included" should mean
"Included" should mean the provider prepares the work, checks it against the ledger and files it. Anything less, such as "support with" or "help preparing", means you or another accountant still does part of it.
VAT. Prepared, reconciled to the ledger, reviewed and submitted, with corrections included.
Payroll. Calculations, filings, starters and leavers, and year-end documents.
Tax returns. Corporation Tax and Self Assessment named separately, with a price for each director's return.
Correspondence. Who answers HMRC or Skattestyrelsen, and whether that is billed.
UK sole traders and landlords now need digital records through the year. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies from 6 April 2026 where qualifying income (turnover from self-employment and property) is over £50,000, falling to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. A service that only reconstructs the books at year-end no longer fits these businesses.
Continuous bookkeeping and who owns exceptions
Continuous bookkeeping reconciles and matches transactions during the month rather than in one batch after it closes. Problems surface while they are still easy to fix.
A batch service may not look at March until mid-April. By then, a missing receipt is six weeks old and a marketplace payout that does not match sales has been joined by four more. With continuous work, the question arrives the week the transaction happens.
Exceptions are where scope gets tested: a card payment with no receipt, a payout net of fees and refunds, a supplier paid twice. The contract should say who investigates, who asks you for evidence and who approves the final treatment. It should also say whether unresolved items hold up the monthly close or are shown as open in the reports.
How to choose by business type
Match the service model to the work your business creates each month, then compare prices within that model. Transaction volume matters, but so do the number of entities, employees and sales channels.
Sole trader or freelancer. Software plus an accountant usually fits. Check that Making Tax Digital submissions are covered.
Contractor through a limited company. A specialist contractor service handles dividends, payroll for one director and IR35 questions.
Growing limited company. Look for a named reviewer, a monthly close date and a clear rule for how the fee moves as volume grows.
E-commerce. Ask how each marketplace and payment processor is reconciled, and whether high volume triggers per-transaction charges.
More than one entity or country. Check the price per entity, and whether the provider works in both your UK and Danish systems.
Whatever the type, get three things in writing: the list of deliverables, the day each month the books are finished, and the person who signs them off. Once the books arrive, our guide to reading a monthly profit and loss statement and balance sheet shows what to check.
FAQ
Does fixed-fee accounting always include bookkeeping?
No. Many fixed-fee accounting plans cover year-end accounts and tax returns and sell monthly bookkeeping as an add-on. Check for a bookkeeping line in the quote.
What is usually billed on top of the monthly fee?
Payroll, VAT returns, Self Assessment for each director, management accounts and catch-up work on earlier periods are the common extras. Software subscriptions may also be separate.
Can I switch provider in the middle of the financial year?
Yes. Agree a cut-off date so each provider knows which periods it owns, and have the new provider check the ledger for unreconciled items before it takes over. At Balance, most clients are fully handed over inside two weeks.
What qualification should the reviewing accountant hold?
A recognised professional qualification such as ACA or ACCA in the UK. Ask for the reviewer's name and professional body, and who is responsible for statutory filings.
How do UK and Danish bookkeeping rules differ?
The UK rules focus on digital records and submissions to HMRC, now extending to sole traders and landlords through Making Tax Digital. Denmark regulates the bookkeeping system itself: it must be registered or compliant, store records in the EU and reconcile VAT with the books by the reporting date.
More answers are on our FAQ page.
Choosing a provider you can hold to account
A fixed monthly price makes budgeting easier; the written scope decides whether the books actually get done. Compare who does the work, who resolves exceptions and who signs off, then compare price.
Balance suits UK and Danish companies on Xero, e-conomic or Business Central that want their books kept continuously and signed off by a named accountant, for one agreed monthly fee. If that describes you, book a 15-minute call to go through your current setup. There is no obligation.