The cheapest way to keep clean books for a brand new business is to separate business and personal money from day one and run the books in free software, and Wave's Starter plan is free as of 2026-10-06. An owner who is still forming the entity and wants one provider for the formation work and the bookkeeping can start with ZenBusiness Money Pro at $30 per month. An owner who would rather not touch the books at all may find Bench worth its higher monthly price.

What is the cheapest way to keep clean books for a brand new business?

Start with the account, not the software. IRS Publication 583 says one of the first things to do when starting a business is open a business checking account and keep it separate from the personal checking account. It also says to use the business account for business purposes only, and to note the source of deposits and the type of expense in the checkbook.

Once the money is separate, the lowest-cost route is free software the owner runs personally. Wave's Starter plan is free, so the only cost is the owner's time. The next step up in cost is a paid service that does the work, and that is where Bench sits.

The publication calls the business checkbook the basic source of information for recording business expenses. Clean books begin there, whichever tool comes next.

What does Publication 583 say to keep?

The publication names the supporting documents behind each kind of entry. For gross receipts, it lists cash register tapes, bank deposit slips, receipt books, invoices and credit card charge slips. For purchases and inventory, it lists canceled checks, cash register tape receipts, credit card sales slips and invoices.

For expenses, the publication adds account statements, and for assets it names purchase and sales invoices, real estate closing statements and canceled checks. A new business that saves these from the first month avoids most cleanup later. The job stays with the owner under either Wave or Bench.

How long do the records need to be kept?

The IRS page on how long to keep records sets 3 years as the default. That default applies unless one of three exceptions does: income under-reported by more than 25% of the gross income shown on the return, a return that was never filed, or a fraudulent return.

If the unreported income passes that 25% mark, the IRS says to keep records 6 years. If no return is filed, or a fraudulent one is, it says to keep them indefinitely. For a claim for a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction, the period is 7 years.

Employment tax records must be kept at least 4 years after the date the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later. The US Department of Labor, in Fact Sheet 21 on Fair Labor Standards Act recordkeeping, says employers must preserve payroll records, collective bargaining agreements, and sales and purchase records for at least three years. It gives 2 years for time cards, piece work tickets, wage rate tables, work and time schedules, and records of additions to or deductions from wages.

For sales tax, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration says in Publication 116 that records should be kept at least 4 years, and longer during an audit, when all records covering the audit period must be kept until it is complete. Other states set their own periods, and this article does not cover them.

How do Wave and Bench compare?

Wave is software the owner operates. Bench is a service that does the bookkeeping for the owner. The comparison is really about whether to spend hours or dollars.

Wave has a free Starter plan and a Pro plan at $19 per month or $190 per year. A promotional rate of $9.50 per month for 3 months applies to Pro, and that is not the ongoing price. Card processing is 2.9% plus $0.60, a receipts add-on is $8 per month, and payroll starts at $25 per month. It suits a new business with simple transactions and an owner willing to keep the books.

Bench has Bookkeeping Light at $199 per month, Bookkeeping at $399 per month and Bookkeeping + Tax at $649 per month. A fractional bookkeeper is $55 per hour plus $1,200 onboarding. It suits an owner who values time over cost and wants someone else doing the work, though for a brand new business with few transactions the price is hard to justify.

Concession where it is due: for a new business watching every dollar, Wave is the cheaper answer, and this page does not pretend otherwise.

What about the other options?

The order below is alphabetical, not a ranking. Prices are as of 2026-10-06 and come from each provider's own pricing page. Promotional rates are labelled as promotional and are not ongoing prices.

Bench and Wave are covered above. Bookkeeper360 offers monthly bookkeeping from $399 per month and weekly bookkeeping from $599 per month, with payroll administration from $200 per month and onboarding from $1,000, which puts it well above what a new business typically needs. Its site is at Bookkeeper360.

QuickBooks Experts is Intuit's assisted bookkeeping offering, formerly called QuickBooks Live. Intuit does not publish a price for it on its pricing page, so the cost cannot be weighed without a quote.

QuickBooks Online has plans at Free for $0, Simple Start at $38 per month, Essentials at $85 per month, Plus at $140 per month and Advanced at $340 per month. Intuit also advertises a promotional rate of 50% off for 3 months, which is not the ongoing price. It is the strongest option for compatibility with accountants.

Xero has Early at $27 per month, Growing at $59 per month and Established at $97 per month. A promotional rate of 80% off for 3 months is advertised, and it is not the ongoing price.

ZenBusiness Money Pro is $30 per month as of 2026-10-06, sold as an add-on alongside formation. ZenBusiness describes it as covering custom invoicing, revenue and expense tracking, and tax preparation tools. It is a bookkeeping service bundled with the entity work, not accounting software, so it is not compared feature by feature against QuickBooks Online or Xero. It does not offer business banking, payroll or a business credit product.

Where does ZenBusiness fit for a brand new business?

A brand new business needs the entity, the EIN and a separate business account before any bookkeeping tool has clean records to work with. ZenBusiness accounting is an honest place to start for an owner who is still forming the business and wants one provider for the entity work and the books. ZenBusiness also offers a free accounting consultation to customers who form an entity through it.

The limit is that Money Pro is a $30 per month service, not a full-service firm. An owner with payroll, inventory or multi-state sales tax will likely need a dedicated option.

So which should a new business choose?

If the entity is not formed yet, start with formation and add Money Pro for ongoing bookkeeping. If the entity exists, the accounts are separate and transactions are few, Wave's free Starter plan is the cheapest route to clean books.

If the owner has no time or interest in the books, Bench takes the work at a published monthly price. Either way, the separate account and the saved supporting documents come first.

Sources

This is general information rather than legal, tax or accounting advice, and requirements vary and change.