Cost of Accounting Services: What Drives the Price and How to Compare Offers

What determines the workload

• Document flow is the main factor: primary documents, bank transactions and invoices. Each e-invoice (ESF) has to be issued or accepted, and when the price or quantity changes, an additional or corrected one must be prepared (Article 47 of the Tax Code).
• Tax regime: under turnover tax — a monthly turnover tax return by the 15th (Article 470 of the Tax Code); for a VAT payer — a monthly return by the 20th with purchase and sales register data (Article 273) and quarterly profit tax (Article 339).
• Employees: monthly personal income tax (PIT) returns by the 15th (Article 389), and for a company also social tax returns (Article 407); salary paid at least twice a month (Article 253 of the Labour Code), HR paperwork.
• Imports: turnover tax is not available to importers; the switch to VAT and profit tax takes effect from the date of the import contract or the import itself (Article 461(2)(1), Article 462(13) of the Tax Code); currency transactions and customs documents are added.
• Several types of activity with different rates: under turnover tax they require separate accounting (Article 468).
• Content of the annual financial statements: for micro-firms and small enterprises — the balance sheet and the statement of financial results (para. 10 of Regulation reg. No. 3567); for others — also statements of cash flows and changes in equity and notes (Article 22 of the Law "On Accounting").
• Mandatory audit: the specialist to whom the books are outsourced must meet the requirements for a chief accountant — higher education and experience in accounting or audit (Article 12 of the Law "On Accounting").
• State of the books: neglected accounting has to be restored first — a separate project whose price depends on the number of periods and the completeness of primary documents.

IE vs LLC: why the price differs

An IE on turnover tax with no employees has the minimum workload: income on a cumulative basis, tax at 1% (Article 467(1)(5) of the Tax Code), social tax for themselves and e-invoices. An IE is not a subject of accounting under the law and keeps records in the manner prescribed by legislation (Article 6 of the Law "On Accounting").

An LLC keeps full double-entry accounts, approves an accounting policy, carries out inventory counts and files annual financial statements (Articles 4, 11, 16 of the Law) — even at the same turnover that is more work. When an IE's income exceeds 1 billion soums, the workload approaches that of an LLC: VAT and profit tax from the day the threshold is exceeded (Article 462(7) of the Tax Code) and accounting for income and expenses under the rules for legal entities (Article 359).

Example: a year's workload for an IE and an LLC

The price difference becomes clear if you add up the mandatory actions for the year under the rules in force in 2026.

• IE on turnover tax with no employees: a monthly turnover tax return by the 15th and an annual one by February 15 (Article 470 of the Tax Code), 12 social tax payments for themselves no later than the 15th (Article 408), invoices for every sale made without a cash register receipt (Article 47).
• LLC on VAT with employees: monthly — a VAT return by the 20th (Article 273), PIT and social tax returns by the 15th (Articles 389, 407); quarterly — profit tax, and for the year by March 1 (Article 339); annual PIT and social tax returns by February 15; annual financial statements by March 1 (para. 7 of Regulation reg. No. 3567); salary at least twice a month, i.e. as a rule no fewer than 24 payments a year per employee (Article 253 of the Labour Code).

Payment formats

• Monthly retainer — for a stable workload; the contract fixes a range of documents and employees, and the price is revised if it is exceeded.
• Pay per volume — per document, employee or report; convenient for seasonal businesses.
• One-off work — reporting for a period, restoration, setting up accounting; priced after reviewing the documents.
• Hourly rate — for consultations and non-standard tasks.
• Combined format — ongoing bookkeeping plus separate projects, such as restoration or IFRS reporting.

How to compare offers

• Compare the scope item by item: payroll and HR, e-invoices, review of returns generated by the tax authority, annual financial statements, responses to requests.
• Check who files the returns: they are signed by the taxpayer or an authorised representative, and a document confirming the authority is attached (Article 82 of the Tax Code).
• Ask for the procedure: by what date you hand over documents so the provider can meet the 15th and the 20th.
• Find out what happens when volume grows: revision on actuals or a fixed price for the term of the contract.
• Check liability: the taxpayer is responsible to the tax authority for the returns (Article 81), so compensation for the provider's errors must be written into the contract.
• Ask whether handover of the database and documents on termination is included in the price.

The danger of accounting that is too cheap

A low price usually means less time per client: documents are posted and returns filed, but not reconciled with primary documents. Errors surface later and cost more than the savings:

• late tax returns — a fine on the responsible officer of 10 BCV, i.e. 4.4 million soums at a BCV of 440,000 soums (in effect from September 1, 2026); for micro-firms and small enterprises — 3 BCV (Article 175 of the Code of Administrative Liability);
• accounting errors and a missed inventory count — a fine on officers of 3–7 BCV, and 7–10 BCV for a repeat within a year (Article 175¹ of the Code of Administrative Liability);
• VAT shown on an invoice by a non-VAT payer — a fine of 20% of the VAT amount shown, plus payment of that amount to the budget (Article 225 of the Tax Code);
• late payment interest — 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate for each day of delay (Article 110);
• a return generated by the tax authority that is not checked and corrected within five days is deemed filed as generated (Article 81).

How the price is calculated

A preliminary estimate can be given after you answer a few questions; the exact price comes after a diagnostic, whose duration depends on the state of the books. The sequence is as follows:

• Request: legal form, tax regime, type of activity, number of documents and employees, foreign trade.
• Diagnostic: opening balances, returns already filed, discrepancies in the personal account, the state of the accounting database.
• Proposal: scope of work, procedure, price and the terms for revising it.
• Contract and handover of the books under a transfer certificate.

What the result includes

• returns filed on time and taxes calculated;
• an up-to-date accounting database and document archive;
• a monthly summary of taxes and deadlines;
• answers to questions and support with tax authority requests.