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How much does accounting cost in Finland? Oy and sole trader 2026

Karma Accounts · Published 18 October 2026

In Finland, the median advertised price for monthly bookkeeping was 100 euros without VAT for a small limited company (Oy) with 11 to 30 receipts and 90 euros for a sole trader (toiminimi) with the same volume, according to Arvento's survey of 316 published price lists in October 2026. The year-end is often billed on top: where firms listed it separately, the median was 295 euros for an Oy's financial statements and tax return and 200 euros for a sole trader's income statement and tax return. What you actually pay depends on how the firm prices, how many receipts you have, your company form and whether you pay salaries.

Our own prices come further down, kept apart from the market figures.

What the market figures say

Arvento, a Finnish business valuation and comparison site run by Aimiten Oy, read the price lists that accounting firms publish on their own websites. These are its figures, not official statistics. "Typical" is the median across firms; half of the firms fall in the range in brackets.

Typical prices for work often billed apart from the monthly fee:

All prices are without VAT, collected on 13 October 2026; price lists that did not say were treated as VAT-exclusive. Each band uses the cheapest advertised package covering a typical receipt count, and each band has fewer firms than the 316 in total. Two limits matter. Only firms that publish prices are included: 316 of the 1 618 firms with a working website, and the survey says these are probably cheaper than average. And "from" prices and the low end of ranges were used, so real prices can be somewhat higher.

Three ways firms price bookkeeping

By the number of receipts. A monthly package covers a set number of receipts (tositteet), and each one over it costs extra. In the survey, 165 firms published a monthly bookkeeping price and 75 of them stepped it by receipts, entries or bank transactions. A busy month costs more, and firms count differently, so ask what one receipt means.

By the hour. 154 firms listed an hourly rate. It may cover the whole service or only advice, catch-up work or the year-end; 28 firms gave only an hourly rate for the year-end. You see the cost after the work is done.

A fixed monthly price by size. The fee is set by the size of the business, often its turnover, and does not change with the number of receipts. You know the monthly fee in advance; confirm what it includes and when it can change.

What is often billed separately

When you compare quotes, add twelve months of the monthly fee to everything else. Ask about each of these:

• The year-end: financial statements for an Oy, the closing of the books for a sole trader.
• The tax return, if it is not in the year-end price.
• VAT returns, monthly or quarterly.
• The software licence.
• Payroll, usually per payslip, sometimes with a base fee.
• Receipts over the package.
• A start-up fee, and catching up on months that were never booked.

Then VAT. Accounting services are taxed at the general rate of 25.5 %, so 100 euros without VAT is 125.50 euros with it. A VAT-registered business can usually deduct that VAT, to the extent it uses the service in VAT-liable business. Any VAT that cannot be deducted remains a cost to the business.

Why an Oy costs more than a toiminimi

The law asks more of a limited company.

• Double-entry books. Every Oy must keep double-entry books (Accounting Act, chapter 1 section 2). A sole trader may keep single-entry books unless at least two of these were exceeded in the last financial year or the one before it: a balance sheet total of 100 000 euros, turnover of 200 000 euros, or more than three employees on average (chapter 1 section 1 a).
• Financial statements, filed publicly. An Oy files its financial statements with the Trade Register (chapter 3 section 9), according to the Finnish Patent and Registration Office within eight months of the end of the financial period, even in a year with no business. A sole trader whose financial year is the calendar year prepares formal financial statements only if at least two of the micro-company limits (450 000 euros balance sheet, 900 000 euros turnover, 10 employees) were exceeded in both of the last two financial years; with any other financial year, a sole trader prepares them regardless. A sole trader usually need not file financial statements with the Trade Register.

So an Oy's year-end is real work every year, while a sole trader's is mostly closing the books and the business tax return. More in toiminimi vs Oy: bookkeeping, filings and tax.

What else moves the price

• How the business runs. Daily cash sales with a Z-report every day, stock, or sales to consumers in several EU countries take more time than a few invoices a month.
• Employees. Each person paid on a pay date usually means one payslip, plus the reporting after it. An owner taking salary from an Oy counts too. What the salary costs the employer is in first employee payroll costs.
• The state of the records. Books that were never kept take extra work, so ask how a firm prices it.

What to ask before you sign

1. What exactly is in the monthly fee: bookkeeping, VAT returns, the year-end, the tax return?
2. Is the year-end a separate invoice, and how much is it?
3. Is the software included, and what happens to my data if I leave?
4. How is payroll charged: per payslip, per employee or with a base fee?
5. Is there a receipt limit, what counts as a receipt, and what does each extra one cost?
6. Which fees are not on the price list: start-up, catch-up work, advice by the hour?
7. Are the prices with or without VAT?
8. What is the notice period, and is there a minimum term?
9. Who does the work, and who answers my questions?

Get the answers in writing. See also how to compare accounting firms in Finland, and if you already have a firm, switching accountant in Finland.

What a year costs with us

These are Karma Accounts' own published prices, not market figures. We charge a fixed monthly fee by turnover with no limit on receipts. The fee includes the bookkeeping, VAT returns, the accounting software and the year-end: for an Oy the financial statements and tax return, for a sole trader the business tax return.

• Sole trader: 69 € a month up to 240 000 € of turnover; above that the company prices apply.
• Limited company: 199 € a month up to 240 000 € of turnover, 249 € up to 500 000 €, and a written quote above that.
• Payroll: 15 € per payslip, only in the months a payroll is run.

All prices are plus VAT 25.5 %. A full year:

"One person paid monthly" means twelve payslips, 180 € a year. The year-end brings no separate invoice in the spring. Our Oy fee is higher than the survey's median for bookkeeping alone; it includes the year-end, the VAT returns and the software, with no receipt limit. Compare written yearly quotes for the same work.

A few things are agreed separately, in writing before the work starts: daily cash takings with a Z-report every day, catching up on past years, foreign trade beyond the ordinary, and restructurings or groups. Other work outside the fee is 85 € an hour for routine catch-up and admin and 130 € an hour for advisory work, billed in half hours. There is no start-up fee and no fixed term; the agreement ends with two months' written notice, ending at the end of a calendar month.

See the accounting price list, limited company (Oy) accounting prices, sole trader accounting at 69 € a month and payroll services at 15 € a payslip, or request a quote: your company form, turnover and whether you pay salaries are enough.

Frequently asked questions

How much does accounting for a small limited company (Oy) usually cost in Finland?

In Arvento's October 2026 survey of published price lists, the median advertised price for monthly bookkeeping for a small Oy with 11 to 30 receipts was 100 euros without VAT, and for the financial statements and tax return, where billed separately, 295 euros. Our price is 199 euros a month up to 240 000 euros of turnover, year-end included, plus VAT.

How much does an accountant cost for a sole trader in Finland?

In the same survey, the median advertised price for a sole trader was 70 euros a month with up to 10 receipts and 90 euros with 11 to 30, without VAT, plus 200 euros where the income statement and tax return were billed separately. Our price is 69 euros a month with no receipt limit and the tax return included, plus VAT.

How much does small business accounting usually cost in Finland?

Mostly it depends on the number of receipts, the company form and payroll. The survey's median advertised monthly prices ran from about 70 euros for the smallest sole traders to about 260 euros for an Oy with 61 to 100 receipts, before year-end fees, software and payslips. Compare yearly totals, with VAT treated the same way in every quote.

Sources

• Arvento: accounting firms' price survey 2026, 316 published price lists, collected 13.10.2026 (in Finnish, CC BY 4.0)
• Finlex: Accounting Act 1336/1997, chapter 1 sections 1 a, 2, 4 and 4 b, chapter 3 section 9 (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: filing financial statements with the Trade Register
• Tax Administration: rates of VAT
• Tax Administration: deducting VAT on purchases
• Karma Accounts: price list

Please note: this is general information about Finnish rules, not advice for your own situation, and the rules change. Ask us before you act on it.

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