Bookkeeping Virtual Assistants: 8 Best Services + What They Cost

The eight services below cover three models: assistants working in your systems, firms responsible for a monthly close, and expert guidance while you do the work yourself. Compare the scope before the cost tier. An assistant handling documents and reminders is a different purchase from a firm preparing financial statements or tax filings.

Choose the bookkeeping support model

Start by listing the work that is late. If the backlog is missing receipts, unsent invoices, unanswered vendor emails, or records waiting to be entered, you need time assigned to those tasks. A bookkeeping assistant can take responsibility for that recurring administrative work under your instructions.

If the problem is deciding whether the books are correct, you need an appropriately qualified reviewer or a service responsible for the close. Ask exactly what that service includes. Some packages add accounts receivable, bill management, tax, or advisory; others are limited to categorization and monthly statements.

Those scopes can overlap, so a job title alone won't settle the choice. Magic is my pick for the assistant role because the same person can handle the surrounding inbox and scheduling work as well. Keep transaction entry, review, and payment approval clearly assigned, including when more than one vendor is involved.

Dedicated bookkeeping assistants

These place a person in your systems. Cost tiers below are effective hourly rates: $ is the offshore-dedicated band, $$ mid-market, $$$ standard US-based, $$$$ premium US.

1. Magic (best bookkeeping virtual assistant overall)

A Magic bookkeeping virtual assistant works in the systems you use, with the scope agreed before the handover. The role can cover collecting receipts and client documents, preparing invoices, sending approved payment reminders, categorizing expenses as directed, and preparing records for reconciliation. Related inbox and calendar work can sit with the same person.

Magic is my first choice for that recurring role. Its part-time and full-time plans sit in the offshore dedicated tier, with billing every four weeks and no long-term commitment. Screening and training come before placement, with coaching and AI tools supporting the assistant afterward. Payment starts after you choose your assistant.

The benefit is having one person follow the task through your systems: collect the missing receipt, attach it to the record, and flag anything the accountant needs to review. Give the assistant a named user account with the permissions required for the work. Retain review and payment approval with the appropriate person in your business.

2. Wishup (best managed option for solo owners)

Wishup places pre-trained assistants from India and names bookkeeping as a specialty rather than appending "also knows QuickBooks" to a general profile. Its useful wrinkle is a managed tier for solo operators who don't want to direct anyone at all, which sits well below its dedicated staffing tier. Assistants come with at least four years of experience, and the service covers accounts payable, accounts receivable, and monthly financial reports. Tax work is quoted separately and includes CPA review.

Pros:

• Its managed offer is another way to assign bookkeeping work with a service involved in delivery; compare the scope with a dedicated assistant.
• Replacement assistants and a customer success manager come standard higher up the range.

Cons:

• The jump from managed to dedicated is steep, with nothing in between.
• Confirm the assistant's working hours and the overlap your workflow needs before starting.

3. BELAY (best when the staffing has to be US-based)

BELAY places US-based contractors and staffs bookkeepers, accountants, and payroll specialists alongside its executive assistants. That single fact is what reassures clients and board members who would rather nobody offshore touched the financials, and it's why BELAY shows up in so many church and nonprofit recommendations.

Pros:

• Every bookkeeper is US-based, and payroll or accounting can be added from the same vendor.
• Matching includes a dedicated success consultant and a re-match if the first one doesn't fit.

Cons:

• It sits at the premium tier, several times the rate of a Magic bookkeeping virtual assistant doing the same category of work.
• Rates aren't published, so you can't compare BELAY to anything without a discovery call.

Done-for-you virtual bookkeeping firms

These own the close. Cost tiers here are monthly service fees, not hourly: $ entry, $$ standard small-business bookkeeping, $$$ higher transaction volume, $$$$ with tax and advisory attached.

4. Pilot (cheapest entry point for clean books)

Pilot runs an AI-first close with human review layered on top, covering transaction categorization, account reconciliation, and the monthly close, with AI chat for questions. Its entry plan carries a generous monthly expense ceiling for the price, which makes it the cheapest real close on this page. Higher tiers add a dedicated US-based bookkeeper, accrual accounting, bill management, a custom chart of accounts, and reports early in the month. Pre-revenue startups get a discount, and newly formed entities can add tax services cheaply.

Pros:

• The lowest entry cost tier of any full close here, with room for real transaction volume.
• Startup and new-entity discounts are worth money if you qualify.

Cons:

• The entry plan gives you AI plus chat support, not a named human who knows your business.
• Higher-tier pricing isn't published, so comparing it to Bench or Bookkeeper360 takes a sales call.

5. Bench (best for books plus taxes from one vendor)

Bench pairs you with a bookkeeping team and does the monthly close in its own software rather than QuickBooks. You get a P&L, a balance sheet, and year-end statements your accountant can file from, and its top tier adds business and personal income tax filing through a licensed tax team. Check the current eligibility and scope for the selected plan.

Pros:

• Tax filing and bookkeeping come from one vendor, so nothing gets lost in the handoff.
• There's a QuickBooks-certified hourly option if you'd rather stay in QBO.

Cons:

• Confirm how to export your records and which reports remain accessible if you leave the service.
• Your books live in Bench's own platform, which makes leaving more work than exporting a QuickBooks file.

6. Bookkeeper360 (best for staying on QuickBooks or Xero)

Bookkeeper360 keeps your books where they already are and adds a dashboard tracking trends month to month. Payroll runs through a Gusto integration and the team is US-based. Its distinguishing option is a weekly plan that closes and reports every week instead of every month, which is unusual at its tier and genuinely useful when cash is tight.

Pros:

• Keeping records in QuickBooks or Xero can simplify a future handover; check the cleanup and export work still required.
• Weekly reporting is rare outside far more expensive services.

Cons:

• Onboarding and prior-year cleanup are quoted separately, so the real first-year cost runs above the monthly figure.
• Tax filing isn't included, so you'll still need a CPA.

7. Xendoo (best when expense volume is predictable)

Xendoo prices on how much you spend each month rather than on hours, which makes budgeting simple as long as your volume is steady. Every plan includes weekly bookkeeping, a dedicated accounting team, and monthly financial statements, with fractional CFO work available above that.

Pros:

• Weekly bookkeeping is included at every tier, not just the top one.
• Expense-based pricing is easy to forecast if your spend is flat month to month.

Cons:

• Tax prep, catch-up bookkeeping, and advisory are all sold separately, which changes the annual total considerably.
• Cross your tier's expense ceiling and you move up a tier, so a good month costs you money.

Expert guidance while you do the work

8. QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted

QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted belongs on this page because so many people searching for a bookkeeping virtual assistant actually want it. A certified bookkeeper is available by live chat or video to answer questions, review what you've entered, and catch errors. It offers guidance inside QuickBooks while you remain responsible for doing the bookkeeping. Check the scope of review and the plan requirements before adding it.

The catch is that your expert is on call rather than assigned, so the same person may not appear twice, and the hours are still yours. If the problem is confidence, this solves it. If the problem is time, it doesn't.

How I chose these bookkeeping services

Each service was compared on four things: cost tier, whether a person works in your file or a firm owns the close, which accounting software the books end up living in, and who is accountable for the month closing correctly. Dedicated assistants and done-for-you firms are ranked in separate groups rather than against each other, because they solve different problems and a single ranked list would be misleading. Cost tiers keep the comparison on service scope; current quotes still need the volume, software, and review responsibilities specified. The selection includes dedicated bookkeeping support, managed firms, and guided do-it-yourself work as separate models.

Wage context comes from the BLS, which puts the median wage for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks at $23.66 an hour, or $49,210 a year as of May 2024, before payroll taxes, benefits, software seats, and the time you'd spend managing the role.

Once you've picked a service, my guide on how to hire a virtual assistant covers interviews, trials, and the first 30 days.

FAQ

What does a bookkeeping virtual assistant do?

A bookkeeping virtual assistant takes the recurring, day-to-day work off your plate: collecting receipts and statements, entering bills, categorizing transactions, creating and sending invoices, chasing customers for payment, and preparing bank reconciliations, so the month is clean before it reaches your accountant. The broader list of what else that person can absorb is in my virtual assistant tasks list.

Is a bookkeeping virtual assistant the same as an accountant?

No. A bookkeeping VA records and organizes transactions. An accountant or CPA interprets them, advises on tax position, and signs off on filings. Most small businesses need both, and the assistant makes the accountant's hours cheaper by handing over clean books. If you're new to the category, start with what a virtual assistant is.

How much does an accounting virtual assistant cost?

It splits into bands rather than a single number. Offshore dedicated assistants, where Magic sits, are the cheapest by a wide margin. Mid-market managed bookkeeping runs a few times that, and US-based dedicated staffing is the most expensive. Done-for-you firms price monthly by transaction or expense volume instead, which is a different basis entirely and why the two groups above aren't compared on one scale.

Can a virtual assistant use QuickBooks or Xero?

Yes, and specialist services train for it. QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks are the three you'll see supported most often, and a Magic bookkeeping virtual assistant works in whichever one you already run. Give the assistant a user-level login rather than admin access, and switch on the audit log so every change is attributable.

How do I keep my financial data safe?

Assign roles in your accounting software instead of sharing a password, and use a password manager with shared vaults so credentials never travel by email. Get an NDA signed. Most importantly, never let the person entering bills be the same person who can release money from your bank, because approval and entry belong in different hands regardless of who you hire.

Should I hire a bookkeeping VA or a virtual bookkeeping firm?

Magic is my recommended option for recurring bookkeeping admin when you or your accountant will review the records. A firm responsible for the close is a separate choice when you want that review and reporting included. Ask each provider whether receivables, bill management, and tax work are included or quoted separately.