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MN Office: 1 (952) 927-4011
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Our Pricing

 

What does it cost to work with CSI? Here, we explain pricing factors for different services, add-ons, and situations. We update this page regularly, but prices are subject to change. Your service agreement will always reflect the most accurate and guaranteed costs for your specific services.

 

To learn about the cost of a service, click the corresponding tab here:

  • Accounting
  • Payroll
  • Taxes

Monthly Accounting Service Pricing

Our average accounting fee comes out to approximately $800 per month. However, depending on your activity and complexities, your fee can range from $600 to $1,500+ per month. (Remember, that includes more than just bookkeeping!)

Need an incentive to bundle? Clients who work with us for both accounting and payroll save $105 per month.

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Smiling accountant with hands raised and text

Pricing Variables for Monthly Accounting

Every business has different monthly accounting needs, so each monthly accounting quote is different. However, your customized fee depends on these variables:

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Your Accounting Activity

Think of this as the volume of work.

Your monthly accounting investment can largely depend on how much financial activity your accountant has to work with.

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The Complexity of Your Financials

Think of this as the difficulty of the work.

Some examples of complexities are owning multiple business locations, needing sales tax management, or having multiple bank accounts.

Example Monthly Accounting Pricing Scenarios

This is not used to offer a quote, but it's helpful in seeing where you might land. Try our Pricing Calculator to get an instant estimate!

Business Type

Activity & Complexity

Estimated Monthly Investment

Very small business

Fewer than 50 monthly transactions, 1–2 bank accounts, no payroll, minimal reporting needs.

$600–$750

Growing small business

50–150 monthly transactions, payroll processing, multiple bank and credit card accounts.

$700–$1,200

Service business with operational complexity

More than 100 monthly transactions, many employees, sales tax filings.

$900–$2,000+

Multi-entity or highly complex business

Multiple locations operating in multiple states, advanced reporting, or significant cleanup work.

$2,000+

What Makes CSI's Pricing Go Up & Down

Accounting costs are usually higher when:

  • You have a high volume of transactions.
  • You have multiple locations.
  • You operate in multiple states.
  • You use accrual-basis accounting.
  • You need sales tax management, especially if you file monthly.
  • You have multiple business bank accounts, credit cards, or loans.
  • Your bookkeeping or taxes are behind.
  • Your prior bookkeeping or tax returns need to be corrected.
  • You don't want to bundle with CSI's payroll service.

 

Accounting costs are usually lower when:

  • You have a low volume of transactions.
  • You have only one location.
  • You only operate in one state.
  • You use cash-basis accounting.
  • You don't need sales tax management, or if you only file quarterly.
  • You have one bank account, one credit card, and one loan.
  • There is no gap in your bookkeeping or taxes.
  • Your bookkeeping and tax returns are correct.
  • You bundle with CSI's payroll service.
Get Instant Estimate

What Drives the Monthly Accounting Industry's Pricing

Why does the monthly accounting industry cost what it costs? This image shows the key factors that influence this.

To provide the best service while keeping fees minimized, CSI doesn't follow every industry norm. On the service side, we keep automation and AI usage at a reasonable level and don't outsource work overseas, unlike most other monthly firms.

Instead, we invest in our staff and technology, and we follow compliance laws closely. We also offer virtual service and standardize our offerings as much as possible.

Visual - Accounting industry cost drivers

Our Value vs. Others

Here's what goes into your investment at CSI versus other monthly accounting firms.

Service

CSI Accounting & Payroll

Other Monthly Accounting Firms

Audit Support

✔ Included in monthly investment.

✖ May be available for an extra fee.

Advisory Services

✔ Regular meetings & one-off questions included. Large consulting projects available as add-ons.

✖ Regular meetings & one-off questions included, but may not be able to take on large consulting projects.

Business Tax Services

✔ Included in monthly investment.

✖ Filing fee due during tax season.

Individual Tax Services

✖ Filing fee due during tax season.

✖ Filing fee due during tax season.

Bill Pay & Invoicing

✖ Not provided, as this is more effective and affordable if handled in-house.

✔ Some firms provide this and have higher fees across the board to make up for the hugely increased workload.

Why Are Some Firms Cheaper?

If you're comparing monthly accounting services to bookkeeping services, then bookkeeping services will usually be cheaper. Why? They provide significantly less work and value. The same goes for comparing monthly accounting services to tax filing services. It's apples to oranges.

When you compare CSI Accounting & Payroll to other monthly accounting firms, it's still not necessarily comparing the exact same features. (See the chart above.) Regardless, there's still bound to be cheaper options, even though we work to keep fees minimized.

After all, we don't outsource accounting work overseas, and we employ enough experts to uphold our high standards for communication and service. If we just focused on being the cheapest option, we wouldn't be able to do the positive things that set us apart from other monthly accounting firms.

Is CSI's Monthly Accounting Worth It?

Monthly accounting is not worth it for everyone. It can't provide much value to very small or very new businesses with little financial activity. They may be better off with the full DIY approach or an annual tax preparer, which each offer limited value at limited price points.

However, if you're established and are in a position to grow, then monthly accounting can offer tons of value. It helps you minimize your tax liability, avoid penalties for non-compliance, and gain year-round insights to grow your profitability. And CSI has the reviews to help you feel confident in choosing us to provide it!

Not sure if monthly accounting is right for you? Try the Ideal Accounting Solution Quiz to find out.

Tyler3-min

Accounting Service Pricing FAQs

What will my monthly accounting investment be?

Will my monthly accounting investment change over time?

Is this more cost-effective than hiring internally?

What's the cost to get started?

What will annual taxes cost me?

What is the cost of catch-up bookkeeping and taxes?

Do I still need to pay for accounting software?

What does an add-on consulting project cost?

Are there additional or unexpected fees?

Payroll Service Pricing

Out of our current payroll-only client base, an average month of payroll fees can range from a little under $100 to $500+. The average payroll client sits at a fee of around $275 per month.

Need an incentive to bundle? Clients who work with us for both accounting and payroll save up to $120 per month.

 
How Much Does CSIs Payroll Service Cost
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Basic Payroll Service Pricing Variables

 

Payroll services charge for different basic payroll specifications. Here are the most critical factors in pricing a basic payroll package:

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How Many States You'll Pay Taxes To

Fees will be added per state that we need to process per pay period. If your employees all live in the same state, you will only need to pay taxes to one state.

 
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Pay Frequency

The more often you pay your staff, the more often we process your payroll. This means higher fees per pay period. We offer weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly pay frequencies.

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How Many People on Payroll

Payroll fees are heavily influenced by the number of people you have on payroll. There will typically be a small fee per person per pay period.

Payroll Service Add-Ons

There are a variety of optional add-on services that go beyond a basic payroll package. These come at additional costs. Here are the add-ons that we provide:

PTO Tracking Shown on Pay Stubs

HR Services

Timekeeping Solutions

Paper Checks & Reports

Pay As You Go Workers' Compensation Insurance

Employee Retirement Plans

Employment Verifications

Amending Prior Providers' W-2s or Quarterly Returns

What Makes CSI's Pricing Go Up & Down

Payroll costs are usually higher when:

  • You run payroll more often. Although this costs less per payroll, it costs more overall throughout the year. (More often means more payroll runs per year.)
  • You pay payroll taxes to multiple states.
  • You have more employees on payroll.
  • You have vendor payments, such as retirement contribution reporting, child support and other garnishments, or HSA and FSA reporting.
  • You opt for more add-on features.

 

Payroll costs are usually lower when:

  • You run payroll less often. Although this costs more per payroll, it costs less overall throughout the year. (Less often means fewer payroll runs per year.)
  • You pay payroll taxes to only one state.
  • You have fewer employees on payroll.
  • You do not have any vendor payments, such as retirement contribution reporting, child support and other garnishments, or HSA and FSA reporting.
  • You do not opt for more add-on features.
Get Instant Estimate

Is CSI's Payroll Service Worth It?

Payroll is easy... until it's not. It's time-consuming to handle on your own, and it's a compliance risk. Since payroll is affordable to outsource, it's one of the first things that most businesses hire a service to do.

Depending on the features you choose, CSI's payroll pricing is comparable to large, national payroll services. So, what's different? Our reviews say that our customer service is much better. So, is it worth it? You do the math!

Not sure if it's for you? Try our Pricing Calculator to see if your investment fits your business, or read our 5-star success stories.

Alex5

Payroll Service Pricing FAQs

How is my payroll investment determined?

What costs extra?

Will my investment change over time?

Does CSI's payroll service cost more than the national providers?

Tax Service Pricing

We don't offer one-off business or individual tax services. They are only for our monthly accounting clients.

Business taxes: Strategy, preparation, and filing are all included in your monthly accounting fee.

Individual taxes: At tax time, you only pay to file your individual taxes! We charge on a per-form basis, with the fee ranging from about $750 to over $2,000. We want to provide this for every monthly accounting client since it's where tax savings are.

csi consultant with hands out and text with graphics
Accountant with hand up and white text and blue background

The Value of Year-Round Tax Strategy

Proper tax strategy consists of three things: tax planning, projections, and preparation. Bookkeeping solutions and tax solutions can't capture the full picture the way that monthly accounting does.

All year long, tax strategy (done through monthly accounting) monitors your situation to help reduce the stress of tax season and legally minimize what you owe.

Evolution of Our Fee Structure

Years ago, we charged separately for monthly accounting and annual business taxes. That meant our clients needed to pay a larger fee during tax season, throwing off their monthly cash flow. This is still the norm for most accounting solutions.

Now, we've spread out the cost of filing annual business taxes. Instead of an annual fee spike, our clients have monthly balance. Fees are consistent, with no business filing fees due at tax time.

These graphs are examples that both reflect our average fees in 2025. Fees will vary.

Visual - Annual tax fee - distributed throughout the year

The Cost of Back Work

 

If you didn't get your taxes filed this year (and maybe even the years before that), then you'll need us to handle your back work and back taxes.

When there's a gap in your accounting, back work is necessary to get your books caught up while transitioning from one accounting service to another. It's also part of how CSI can guarantee audit-proofed books at no additional cost.

Back Work Fee = # of Prior Months to Work On * Monthly Fee

If you need assistance, we offer back work payment plans.

 
Cropped for website Explaining Back Work

Is CSI's Tax Service Worth It?

Everything to do with your business taxes is included in our monthly accounting service. Cost-wise, we think you'll say that's definitely worth it!

Since tax savings are found in your individual taxes, it's beneficial to have the same provider handle all of your taxes, so no strategy gets lost in communication. For 2025 taxes, 95 percent of our monthly accounting clients found it worth it to have us handle their individual taxes, too.

Not sure if it's for you? Trying the Pricing Calculator for our monthly accounting service and reading some of our hundreds of 5-star reviews might help you decide!

Jon4

Tax Service Pricing FAQs

 
 
 

How do tax costs compare between CSI and annual accountants?

What factors affect the cost of my return?

Do you charge separately for business tax strategy?

What's the value of getting back work handled?

Schedule a Call With an Expert

To find time to grow your business, you need to get accounting and payroll off your plate and under one roof. Using multiple providers for these services means poor communication, extra work, and frustration. 

There's a better solution. Outsource your accounting and payroll with one experienced company, just like thousands of our satisfied clients did.

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