DO IT YOURSELF
AI does the bookkeeping, you check it.
Upload statements and ZeraBooks AI bookkeeping reads, categorizes and reconciles each month against the bank, from $79 a month billed annually after a 7-day trial.
GUIDE · BOOKKEEPER OR SOFTWARE
Bookkeeper vs bookkeeping software,
counted in money and in your hours.
Software is cheaper if you have the time and like the work; a bookkeeper is cheaper once your own hours are worth more than the fee. Count the hours honestly: most small businesses spend two to five a month in software. ZeraBooks offers both on one ledger: bookkeeping services from $150 a month, or AI software you run yourself.
Free call · service from $150 a month (USD) · or software from $79/month billed annually
THE REAL MONTHLY COST
Is bookkeeping software cheaper than a bookkeeper?
Only if your time is free. Pine & Pour is a fictional coffee cart with 140 transactions a month, one bank account and one card. The owner’s hour is valued at an assumed $60, and the service quote is an assumed $200 a month. The part-time bookkeeper is paid the BLS median of $24.36 an hour.
| Option | Fee | Owner hours | Owner time at $60 | Total a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software, done yourself | 79.00 | 4 | 240.00 | 319.00 |
| Part-time bookkeeper, 6 hours, plus software | 225.16 | 1 | 60.00 | 285.16 |
| Bookkeeping service | 200.00 | 0.5 | 30.00 | 230.00 |
Change one number and the answer moves. At $20 an owner hour, software costs 79 + 80 = $159 and wins. At 60 transactions a month the software hours fall to about two. The point of the table is to put your hours in it, because that is the cost most owners leave out. For wage data and five ways to pay a bookkeeper, see how much a bookkeeper costs.
Tell us about your books. We’ll scope the work and quote it before anything starts.
THE THREE-QUESTION TEST
Do I need a bookkeeper or can I use software?
Answer these honestly. Two or more “bookkeeper” answers usually means hand it over.
- 1
Are the books current today?
Yes: software can keep them that way. No, and you’re more than two months behind: a bookkeeper, at least for the catch-up.
- 2
Will you actually do it every month?
Yes, on a fixed day: software. “When I get to it”: a bookkeeper. Books done in a rush at tax time cost more than either.
- 3
Is an hour of your time worth more than about $40?
If it is, the fee for a service is usually below the value of the hours it saves. If not, software and your own time is the cheaper route.
SIDE BY SIDE
What does a bookkeeper do that software doesn’t?
Modern software does most of the typing. What’s left is judgment and follow-through.
| Job | Software, done yourself | Bookkeeper or service |
|---|---|---|
| Reading statements and recording transactions | The software | The bookkeeper, often with the same software |
| Categorizing the routine lines | The software suggests, you check | Done for you |
| Deciding the odd ones (a refund, a loan, a personal charge) | You | The bookkeeper asks you once |
| Reconciling to the statement | The software, if it checks balances; you fix differences | Done for you |
| Chasing a missing statement | You notice, or don’t | The bookkeeper asks for it |
| Closing the month on time | You | On an agreed schedule |
| Tax returns | Neither: that is your accountant’s job | Neither: that is your accountant’s job |
The last row trips people up. Neither software nor a bookkeeper files your return; for who does, see bookkeeper vs accountant.
OR BOTH
Can you use bookkeeping software and a bookkeeper together?
Bookkeeper on your software
Common, and sensible: you keep ownership of the file and can see everything. Ask for your own login before you agree to anything else.
Catch-up by a bookkeeper, then software
Pay once to get current, then keep it current yourself. Works if the backlog was a one-time problem.
Software now, service later
Start yourself; hand over when transactions or accounts grow. On one ledger, nothing has to move.
WITH ZERABOOKS
One ledger, two ways to run it.
The ZeraBooks service and the software are the same AI-native ledger. Switching between them doesn’t mean moving your books.
HAND IT OVER
Our team does it, you see it.
Our bookkeepers do the same work for you from $150 a month, with a read-only login and an upload portal.
Can AI software replace a bookkeeper?
For the routine work, increasingly yes: reading statements, categorizing and reconciling. It doesn’t replace someone deciding the odd transactions and making sure the month actually gets closed. That part is either you or a bookkeeper.
How many hours a month does bookkeeping take in software?
For a small business with one or two accounts and up to about 150 transactions, typically two to five hours once set up. Catch-up months take longer.
What does a bookkeeping service cost compared with software?
ZeraBooks software is $79 a month billed annually or $149 monthly. The ZeraBooks bookkeeping service starts at $150 a month in U.S. dollars, agreed after a free call.
Is it better to hire a part-time bookkeeper or use a service?
A part-time hire gives you one person’s hours; a service gives you a schedule and cover when someone is away. On cost they are often close, as the table above shows. See how much a bookkeeper costs for the full comparison.
I’m behind already. Software or bookkeeper?
Get current first with catch-up bookkeeping, then decide. Keeping books current is a much smaller job than catching them up.
WE DO YOUR BOOKS
Count your hours.
Then pick the cheaper one.
If handing it over wins, tell us your accounts and we’ll quote from $150 a month. Book the free call.
Last updated October 18, 2026 · Written by Damin Mutti, founder of ZeraBooks