The three bills, not one
Small businesses don't buy "a CPA." They buy up to three things, often from different providers:
- The return itself. Commonly reported 2026 ranges: roughly $500–$1,500 for a Schedule C, $1,000–$2,500 for partnership/S-corp returns. (See our full CPA pricing guide for the breakdown.)
- Bookkeeping. Roughly $200–$1,000/month for typical small businesses in published 2026 guides, scaling with transaction volume. This is the bill owners underestimate most.
- Planning and advisory. Often $500–$1,500 per planning session, or bundled into monthly packages of $750+/month for full-service arrangements covering books, filing, and planning together.
Ranges are commonly reported across 2025–2026 industry surveys and firm-published guides — orientation, not quotes.
The bundled model, explained
More firms now sell a single monthly subscription — bookkeeping, tax filing, payroll coordination, and planning sessions in one package, commonly starting around $750/month for full-service. The pitch is incentive alignment: when the same firm keeps your books all year, there's no March cleanup surprise, and planning happens when decisions are still movable.
Whether bundling beats à la carte depends on your discipline. If your books are clean and you only need a return filed, unbundled is cheaper. If every April starts with a cleanup project, the bundle is usually the lower total cost.
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The DIY breakpoint
Tax software handles compliance for simple situations at a fraction of professional fees. The honest breakpoint isn't about intelligence — it's about movable decisions. If your situation involves entity choice, owner compensation structuring, multi-state activity, or significant retirement contributions, professional input typically pays for itself in the decisions, not the filing. If it's a simple Schedule C with clean books, software plus a periodic review is a reasonable setup.
What actually drives your price
- Entity type and return complexity — the base price of the work.
- Book condition — the multiplier. Clean books, clean quote.
- Service breadth — filing only, or books + filing + planning.
- Provider model — local firm, virtual firm, or national service; each prices differently for the same scope.
Frequently asked questions
Can a small business do its own taxes with software?
For simple situations — single-member LLC, clean books, one state — tax software (commonly under $200 for business tiers) handles compliance competently. The value case for a professional rests on decisions software cannot make for you: entity election, owner compensation structure, retirement contributions, and estimated payments. Many owners use software for bookkeeping and a professional for the return and planning.
What is the cheapest way for a small business to handle accounting?
The cheapest sticker price is DIY software. The cheapest total cost is usually clean books plus the right level of professional help — because cleanup fees and missed planning opportunities dwarf software subscriptions. Messy books are the most expensive option regardless of who does the return.
Should I hire a local CPA or an online service?
Online and virtual firms are commonly reported as 20–50% cheaper due to lower overhead, and they suit straightforward, single-state situations well. Local firms earn their premium on multi-state activity, industry specialization, and relationship depth. Match the provider to your complexity, not just the price.