Calculator
Outsource or hire for busy season: run your own numbers
Compare the cost of a seasonal hire with outsourced preparation, using your own figures. Every field starts empty, nothing is pre-filled, and the arithmetic is shown line by line.
Outsource or hire for the season
Run your own numbers
Enter your figures — including the per-return price you are comparing — and see both costs side by side. Every field starts empty, and the arithmetic is shown line by line.
Seasonal hire
returns × hours per return × hourly costOutsourced preparation
returns × price per returnDifference
Enter all four figures to compare.Your review and signature time applies either way, so it sits outside both lines.
Simple arithmetic on the figures you enter, for your own planning. Our per-return prices are on the pricing page.
The arithmetic
Three lines, nothing hidden
The calculator multiplies the figures you enter. It adds no assumptions of its own.
| Line | Formula |
|---|---|
| Seasonal hire | returns × preparer hours per return × loaded hourly cost |
| Outsourced preparation | returns × price per return |
| Difference | seasonal hire − outsourced preparation |
Getting the inputs right
What to include in each figure
Returns this season
Only the returns you would hand over — the ones your team prepares from scratch today.
Preparer hours per return
Average preparation time before your review. Your review and signature time applies either way.
Loaded hourly cost
Wage plus payroll tax, benefits, a software seat and recruiting, spread over the hours worked. Published US wage data is in our bookkeeper hourly rate answer.
Outsourced price per return
The per-return price you are comparing, from any provider's rate card — ours is on the pricing page.
Related answers