--- title: "Dental Bookkeeping Pricing: Flat, Hourly, % of Collections" description: Flat fee, hourly, or a percentage of collections. How each dental bookkeeping pricing model works, and which one lines up with your interests. image: https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hubfs/blog-images/post_234.png --- [Skip to content](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-bookkeeping-pricing-models#main-content) [![](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-horizontal-transparent.png?width=1298&height=290&name=logo-horizontal-transparent.png)Homepage](https://reciprocityaccounting.com) - [Services](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/services) - [Pricing](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/pricing) - [FAQ](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/faq) - [Blog](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog) - [About](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/about) [Book a Discovery Call](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/contact) - [Services](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/services) - [Pricing](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/pricing) - [FAQ](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/faq) - [Blog](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog) - [About](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/about) [Book a Discovery Call](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/contact) ![Reciprocity Accounting card: Flat Fee, Hourly, or % of Collections, a Cost post.](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/post_234.png?width=1200&height=630&name=post_234.png) Cost # Dental Bookkeeping Pricing Models: Flat Fee, Hourly, or a % of Collections ![Greg Hudnall](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/49dbd5c12b604f92786349ba17b92e2c) Greg Hudnall October 27, 2026 Cost  ·  5 min read For the monthly close, pay a flat fee for a written scope. Hourly fits a one-time cleanup with a cap. A % of collections raises your fee as the practice grows, even when the work does not. There are three common ways to pay a dental bookkeeper: a flat monthly fee, an hourly rate, or a percentage of your collections. A flat fee is the right default for the monthly close, and hourly has a place on one-time cleanup work. A percentage of collections deserves the closest look, because your fee goes up as the practice grows even when the work does not, and in some states it raises a fee-splitting question. ## Flat Fee: Predictable, If the Scope Is Written Down Most accounting firms now charge a flat fee. In Ignition's [2025 pricing benchmark](https://www.ignitionapp.com/us/2025-accounting-tax-pricing-benchmark), a survey of 219 US firms using its software, 54% of firms priced bookkeeping on a fixed fee. Value pricing came second at 27%, a minimum fee plus a complexity charge was 11%, and hourly billing had fallen to just under 4%. Ignition reports nearly 8% the year before, though it cautions that year-over-year comparisons are directional because the two samples differ. Percentage of collections is not among the models Ignition reports. With a flat fee, you know what the books cost before the month starts, and you can call with a question without watching a clock. The bookkeeper also has a reason to build a process that runs cleanly every month. Our breakdown of [what dental bookkeeping costs](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/how-much-does-dental-bookkeeping-cost) puts dental-specific work at $700 to $3,500 a month, depending mostly on size and scope. A flat fee is only as good as the scope behind it. "Monthly bookkeeping" can mean a bank reconciliation and a P&L, or it can mean a full tie-out of your practice management system to the bank with dental benchmarks on top. Two firms can quote the same number for very different work. Our comparison of [what $400, $750 and $1,250 a month buy](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-bookkeeping-price-difference) walks through what usually sits inside each price. So get two lists in writing: what is included, and what triggers an extra charge. The usual extras are catch-up work on months that were never closed, a second location, payroll, year-end work and tax preparation. Those charges are fair. Get the price of each before you sign. Full disclosure: we charge flat fees. Our plans are priced by practice size, and the scope is written into the engagement. The questions at the end of this post apply to us as much as to anyone. ## Hourly: Who Carries the Risk of a Messy Month Hourly puts the cost of every messy month on you. A month with a missing deposit, a payer that changed its remittance format, or a front desk that posted payments to the wrong patient takes longer to close, and on hourly you pay for that extra time. It also changes how you use the bookkeeper. When every question has a meter running, owners tend to stop asking. Much of the value of a bookkeeper who knows your numbers is being able to ask why lab jumped without worrying about the bill. Hourly makes sense for a one-time project nobody can size yet. Rebuilding a year of books that were never reconciled, cleaning up a chart of accounts, or preparing for a sale can be hard to price before anyone has looked. For that kind of work, a capped hourly estimate is reasonable. ## % of Collections: Your Fee Rises With Your Collections A percentage-of-collections fee ties the bookkeeper's pay to your collections. It is usually sold as alignment. Take an illustrative rate of 1% of collections. At $1,000,000 a year in collections, that is $10,000 a year, about $833 a month. Grow to $1,300,000 and the fee becomes $13,000 a year. You paid $3,000 more for the same reconciliations, the same accounts and the same close. Have a hard year and fall to $900,000, and the fee drops to $9,000, in the year you most need someone digging into what went wrong. Bookkeeping effort is driven by accounts, transactions, providers and locations. Collections mostly move with your fees and your payer mix. Raise your fees 5% and a percentage fee rises with them, with no extra work behind it. There is also a conflict built in. Reconciling collections against production and deposits is the core of dental bookkeeping, and on a percentage model the person checking your collections figure is paid on it. Nobody needs to be dishonest for that to be a bad setup. You would not design it that way on purpose. And a percentage changes every month, so it is hard to compare quotes or to notice when you are overpaying. ## Is Paying a % of Collections Allowed? Paying a non-dentist a share of what patients pay you is something some dental rules look at closely. The ADA's [Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct](https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/about/2025_code_of_ethics_full.pdf) says dentists "shall not accept or tender 'rebates' or 'split fees,'" and its advisory opinion says a dentist who pays a "specific amount or percentage of professional fees collected" to a vendor for advertising or marketing services "is engaged in fee splitting." That opinion addresses marketing vendors, though it says the prohibition applies to dealings with "any third party." It is an ethics code for ADA members, not a statute. State law varies. Utah's [dental practice act](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title58/Chapter69/58-69-S502.html) lists "sharing professional fees with an unlicensed person" as unprofessional conduct. California's [Business and Professions Code section 650](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=650) goes the other way for non-referral services, allowing compensation "based on a percentage of gross revenue" when it is "commensurate with the value of the services furnished." We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. A flat fee never raises this question. A percentage fee might, depending on your state and how the contract is written. If you are offered one, ask your attorney before you sign. ## What to Ask Before Signing Whatever the model, get answers to these in writing: **What exactly is included every month?** Ask for the deliverables list: the reconciliations, the production and collections tie-out, the reports and the close date. **What triggers an extra charge?** Catch-up months, a new location, a new provider, payroll, year-end, tax work. Get the price of each, or the method for pricing it. **When does the fee change?** On a flat fee, the answer should be a stated trigger, such as crossing a collections threshold or adding a location. On a percentage fee, it changes every month. **What date do the books close?** Ask for the date and what happens when it is missed. We explain [why the books should close by the 10th](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-books-monthly-close-deadline) in a separate post. **What happens to my file if I leave?** The accounting file should be in your name. Get that in the agreement. Then compare the cost over three years. A percentage fee that looks cheap at today's collections can cost more than a flat fee once the practice grows, without an extra hour of work behind it. *P.S.* [*Reciprocity Accounting*](https://reciprocityaccounting.com) *charges a flat monthly fee for a written scope, so what you pay follows the work, not your collections.* [*See how we can help your practice.*](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/contact) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the most common way bookkeepers charge? A flat monthly fee. Across accounting firms, Ignition's 2025 benchmark found 54% priced bookkeeping on a fixed fee and just under 4% billed hourly. Dental-specific bookkeeping usually runs $700 to $3,500 a month, depending on size and scope. ### Is hourly billing bad for a dental practice? For the monthly close, it usually works against you, because you pay for every month that goes wrong. Hourly can make sense for a one-time cleanup project with an agreed cap. ### Is paying a bookkeeper a percentage of collections a good idea? Usually not. Your fee rises with collections even when the work does not, and some dental ethics and state rules look closely at sharing fees with non-dentists. Ask your attorney before you sign one. ### What should a flat-fee bookkeeping agreement include? A list of monthly deliverables, a close date, the triggers for extra charges with their prices, when the base fee changes, and confirmation that the accounting file is in your name. ### How do I compare quotes that use different pricing models? Work out each one's annual cost at your current collections and at the size you expect in three years, then compare the scope behind each number. **Related reading:** - [How to Choose a Dental Bookkeeper: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Hire](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/how-to-choose-dental-bookkeeper) - [What Outsourced Dental Bookkeeping Actually Costs (And What You Get)](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/outsourced-dental-bookkeeping-cost) - [What Does a Dental Bookkeeper Actually Do?](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/bookkeeping-for-dentists) ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Freciprocityaccounting.com%2Fblog%2Fdental-bookkeeping-pricing-models](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Freciprocityaccounting.com%2Fblog%2Fdental-bookkeeping-pricing-models) ## Keep reading ### [![Reciprocity Accounting card: Why Dental-Specific Bookkeeping, a Problems post.](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/post_86.png?width=1200&height=630&name=post_86.png) Problems Why Dental Practices Need Dental-Specific Bookkeeping](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-specific-bookkeeping) ### [![Reciprocity Accounting card: $400 vs $750 vs $1,250, a Compare post.](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/post_233.png?width=1200&height=630&name=post_233.png) Compare $400 vs $750 vs $1,250: Dental Bookkeeping Prices](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-bookkeeping-price-difference) | ![Reciprocity Accounting](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hubfs/logo_horizontal_dark_transparent.png) Accounting built for dental practices. Books closed by the 10th. **Guaranteed**. Reciprocity Accounting LLC 6809 Main St #37, Cincinnati, OH 45244 [(833) 538-5551](tel:+18335385551)  ·  [info@reciprocityaccounting.com](mailto:info@reciprocityaccounting.com) | | Resources [Services](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/services) [Pricing](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/pricing) [FAQ](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/faq) [Dashboard](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/dashboard) [Benchmark Scorecard](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/benchmark-scorecard) | Company [About](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/about) [Blog](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog) [Contact](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/contact) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | © 2026 Reciprocity Accounting. 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