A finance team in-house costs about $250,000 a year.
Bookkeeper, AP/AR specialist, payroll admin, controller, and a fractional CFO. Each one is a real salary, plus benefits, software, oversight, and the slow drag of managing people. We replace the whole stack, controller-led close and CFO advisory included, for about 90% less. Here's the honest math.
~90% cost savings · Same accountability · No HR overhead · Onboarded in 30 days
Works with the tools you already run
Where Saturn pulls ahead of In-House.
A fraction of in-house
Saturn
$220K–$340K+/year
In-House
Same coverage, controller-led close and CFO advisory included. About 90% less annual cost.
CFO advisory bundled
Saturn
Separate hire ($60–120K/yr)
In-House
Forecasting, 13-week cash, budget vs. actual, board and diligence reporting, in every Saturn plan. In-house = another role to recruit.
Firm continuity
Saturn
Turnover risk
In-House
Your bookkeeper doesn't quit. The firm shows up every Monday, vacation-proof.
The honest math.
| Feature | Saturn BPO | In-House Team |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Included | $60–80K/yr salary |
| AP / AR specialist | Included | $55–75K/yr salary |
| Payroll administrator | Included | $45–65K/yr salary |
| Controller + fractional CFO | Included (forecasting, weekly cash, 13-week forecast, board reporting) | $60–120K/yr |
| Benefits + payroll taxes (~25% loading) | Included | $55–85K/yr |
| Software stack (QBO, Bill.com, Gusto, etc.) | Included | $5–15K/yr |
| Tax filing (federal + state) | Included via tax partner | Hire a CPA separately ($3–10K/yr+) |
| Management time | Zero | 5–10 hrs/week |
| Turnover risk | Zero (firm continuity) | Hire / retain / replace cycle |
| Vacation coverage | Built-in | You scramble |
| Total annual cost | Custom quote, far below in-house | $220K – $340K+ |
| Scale up or down | Same month, just change tier | Hire / fire cycle |
Credentialed by the people who set the rules
QuickBooks ProAdvisors
Xero Advisors
NACPB Certified Bookkeepers
Which one is right for you?
We'd rather you pick the right partner than the wrong one. Here's where each genuinely wins.
Pick Saturn BPO when...
- You want controller-led close and CFO advisory without hiring 3-4 people
- You want forecasting, 13-week cash, and board-ready reporting without a separate fractional-CFO hire
- Your current bookkeeper left and you don't want to recruit again
- You're scaling fast and need finance capacity that flexes with you
- You want predictable monthly cost instead of fixed payroll overhead
- You'd rather spend management bandwidth on growth, not on running a finance team
Hire in-house when...
- You're a $20M+ business where a dedicated team is unambiguously the right model
- You already have a CFO who specifically wants their own team reporting to them
- Your industry is so niche that no outsourced firm has the playbook
- You're acquisitive and need finance people in the deal room daily
- Confidentiality requires every detail stay inside the building (rare, but valid)
Hiring in-house is around $0K a year.
A fractional CFO, controller, and the books underneath, for a fraction of building it in-house. Size what a full finance team would really cost you, instantly.
See what an in-house team really costs.
Pick what you'd hire: bookkeeper, controller, or a full CFO-led finance team. See the loaded annual cost and how much of it we take off the table.
- Loaded in-house cost, bookkeeper to CFO
- Potential savings range, instantly
- Honest US salary benchmarks
- No email required to use
Sample result · Full finance team
In-house, loaded
$0K/ year
Potential savings with Saturn
up to 0%vs. building it in-house
Same coverage, a fraction of the cost
Illustrative. Run yours in the calculator →
This is the finance team you'd hire if you had the time to hire one.
Fast month-end close
Controller-run month-end close, targeting the 10th when your records are complete and access is in place.
Controls that hold
Internal controls, approvals, and audit-ready records. Nothing slips.
Forecast, not hindsight
13-week cash, budget vs. actual, KPIs. See what's coming, not just what happened.
Books to board, one team
Bookkeeping, controller, and CFO under one roof. Income tax filed via our partner.
Run the math on your specific business.
Thirty minutes. We'll size what Saturn would cost for your operation, controller close and CFO advisory included, and you can compare it apples-to-apples against the in-house hire you've been considering. If in-house genuinely wins for your stage, we'll tell you so.
Run the math on my businessNo contract. No high-pressure follow-up. If we're not a fit we'll say so.