The True Cost of DIY Books.
What is doing it yourself really costing you?
How the books get done today
Doing your own books is really costing
A pro at $450/month costs $5,400/yr - so DIY is leaving about $25,704 on the table every year, plus 30 working days of your own time.
Hours a year
240
Working days lost
30
vs a pro
$5,400/yr
Over 5 years
$155,520
Where the DIY cost hides
How this is calculated＋
Time cost = weekly hours × 48 working weeks × the value of the hour (for staff we add 25% for super, leave and overheads). We add a conservative allowance for errors - late lodgement penalties, missed deductions and rework - of 5–8% of the time cost, and typical catch-up fees if the books are behind.
- Surveys consistently put small-business owners at 5–10 hours a week on financial admin.
- The real cost usually isn't the bookkeeping - it's the selling, quoting and growing that doesn't happen in those hours.
LINK Books does it for a fixed monthly fee, backed by Chartered Accountants - usually for less than DIY costs you.
Talk to Books →Based on your own numbers plus conservative allowances. The point isn't the cash cost of bookkeeping - it's the value of the time and accuracy you get back.