Comparing the Costs of an In-House Accounting Department vs. Outsourcing

Business owners are faced with a multitude of decisions, one of the most important being whether to invest in people or migrate to the growing trend of outsourcing their accounting department.

Cost —both monetary and non-monetary — is in many cases the number one factor companies evaluate when considering outsourcing their accounting function.

We’re here to take a close look at how much your business may expect to spend annually on either choice to aid in your decision-making.

Major In-House Accounting Costs 

When handling your own accounting and financials internally, there are different operations costs than relying on a third-party vendor. Here are four of the big costs you can expect when having an in-house accounting team, small or large:

1. Employee Salaries & Benefits
When dissecting the monetary costs of maintaining accounting in-house, the first element is employee salaries. The size of your company will ultimately determine which positions are required for the accounting department, but most at a minimum include:

• Senior Accountant – ~$81,500 annually
• Bookkeeper – ~$46,400 annually
• Controller – ~$161,700 annually

Just to have the minimum number of accounting professionals in-house for most businesses to function, you’re looking at $289,557 on average cost.

This does not include the cost of providing employee benefits like paid time off, insurance, retirement plans, work compensation, etc. Here is some information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from June of 2025 on employee compensation averages. Based on a 35-hour work week, the average monthly cost of employee benefits is $2,060 for private industry workers. Based on the three necessary workers to start this in-house team, we’ll be multiplying this number by three.

2. Onboarding & Training
To fully onboard and train one employee, it is estimated to cost the employer upwards of $4,700 on average. Accounting for the age of this information, today’s costs are likely higher. For executive positions for larger accounting departments, recruiting costs can be as much as $28,000.

Remember, these are estimates of costs per employee, so if you’re hiring a minimum of three accountants, you’ll need to manage a small and streamlined department in-house, you can multiply this number by the headcount on the team.

Recruiting, onboarding, and training two new in-house accounting department employees a year, for example, could cost your company a minimum of $10,000 for basic talent, not considering more expensive-to-recruit or onboard execs.

3. Turnover Costs

You may spend all this time finding a team and training them only to have one of your key players leave not too long after hire. It’s estimated that losing an employee can cost a company one-half to two times the employee’s salary. While this is not a guaranteed cost, it’s definitely a level of risk to factor into your comparison of in-house vs. outsourced accounting costs.

4. Accounting & Finance Tools

Finally, consider the price tag of the accounting and financial tools, software, and tech suites you’ll need to pay for to maintain an in-house accounting department. Some of our regular go-to accounting tools here at Kreischer Miller include QuickBooks and BILL. Of course, we leverage other tools beyond these, but thinking in terms of the minimum software to do the basic job, some of these tools can cost over $100 a month. Let’s estimate spending around $400 a month, or $4,800 per year, for important accounting and finance software.

Total Estimate of In-House Accounting Department Annual Costs

The above are estimates for maintaining an in-house accounting department within your organization; the total cost will vary depending on your company’s unique talent acquisition, onboarding, training, turnover, and tools used to manage your accounting.

Annual Costs - The Breakdown

• Senior Accountant, Bookkeeper & Controller Salaries and Benefits - $363,717
• Recruiting, Onboarding & Training 2 employees - $10,000
• Turnover - unquantifiable; depends on time invested in employees, time to hire new, etc.
• Accounting & Finance Tools - $3,600 (low estimate)

Total: $377,317

Outsourced Accounting Services Costs

The flip side of this cost analysis is outsourcing your company’s accounting. This option presents both monetary and non-monetary benefits when compared to maintaining accounting in-house.

1. Finding the Right Outsourced Accountants

It’s important to note that outsourcing your accounting function is not the same as offshoring; rather, outsourcing typically provides more of a personalized touch from a local company.

Look for an outsourced team that provides a client service model that is flexible depending on your company’s needs. Here are some items to keep in mind when considering outsourcing:

• Communication: Look for a team that communicates clearly, provides updates, and is available to answer your questions. Determine if you’d like to correspond with the outsourced team on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, either virtually/electronically or via phone/video call.
• Personalized Service: Choose someone who takes the time to understand your business and can offer customized solutions rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Scalability: Evaluate whether the accountant can adapt to your business's growth and changing needs over time.
• Technology Stack: Ensure the outsourced team has a technology stack comprised of up-to-date, sophisticated tools that will improve efficiency in your accounting and finance functions.

By focusing on these factors, a small business can find an outsourced accountant that supports its overall growth.

2. Flat-fee Retainer

With an average cost of approximately $60,000 annually, depending on the size of your business, outsourced accounting provides immediate savings for a business owner who can now use those extra funds to invest in other areas of the business.

The Bottom Line: Key Benefit of Outsourcing Your Accounting

The first and most apparent advantage of outsourcing your accounting needs is the money savings vs. managing an in-house team.

By outsourcing, business owners also get more time back in their day to focus on other critical areas of the business, which is extremely valuable.

Since business owners and employees don’t have to spend their own time and money hiring and onboarding new employees, they can grow with the business while the outsourced accounting team assists with additional tasks as needed.

Find Out if Outsourcing is Right for Your Organization

Is your accounting department creating real value? If you’re unsure, it may be time to consider relying on a trusted partner with clear operational costs.

To help you better understand where your organization stands—and how outsourcing your accounting function might benefit you—we invite you to complete a short diagnostic tool. Upon submitting your answers to the diagnostic questions, you will receive an autogenerated report that will include a unique summary of your results as well as a list of next steps and action items.

Kreischer Miller’s Outsourced Accounting & Finance Services

At Kreischer Miller, we offer tailored outsourced accounting services that meet the needs of your business. Whether your goal is saving money, accelerating growth, or positioning your business for sale, with our expertise you can streamline your operations, reduce costs, and make smarter data-driven decisions.

Learn more about our services here.