How Much Does HOTWORX Studio Accounting and Payroll Cost?

The Short Version: 
If you’re running a HOTWORX studio, you've got three prices to know, each billed per studio. Payroll from our sister company Whirks starts at $125 a month for a single studio. Bookkeeping from Patrick Accounting is $300 a month. Adding tax to your bookkeeping brings that to $425 a month in place of the $300. Bundle all three and you've got payroll, books, and tax under one roof. Pricing is per studio entity, multi-studio owners get lower per-studio rates, and current Whirks payroll clients skip the onboarding fee entirely.

If you own a HOTWORX studio, you already know the model is different from a regular gym or a regular small business. You've got a low headcount, a high build-out cost, franchise fees and royalties flowing out every month, and a franchisor who wants reporting on a schedule.

So, when you call around for an accountant, you get one of two frustrating answers. Either they don't understand the franchise model at all, or they quote you a vague "it depends" and never give you a straight number.

We understand that you’re trying to grow membership, keep your studio running efficiently, and maybe open a second or third location without your back office turning into a mess. You just want to know what it will cost.

At Patrick Accounting, we already work with HOTWORX studios, so we know your franchise fees, your royalties, and your vendor categories on day one. In this article, we’ll walk you through what payroll, bookkeeping, and tax cost for a HOTWORX studio, what's included at each level, what makes your number move, and how to figure out which setup fits where you are right now.

What Does HOTWORX Studio Payroll Cost?

Payroll runs through Whirks, our sister company that handles payroll, HR, and employee benefits, and it starts at $125 a month for a single studio. That's the rate for most single-location owners. As your team grows past a dozen or so employees, or once you're running multiple locations, the pricing shifts to fit a bigger operation. Whirks lays out the full breakdown for HOTWORX owners in their own pricing article, which is the best place to pin down your exact number.

For the base rate, you get bi-weekly or semi-monthly payroll, direct deposit, federal and state tax filings, new hire reporting, workers' comp integration, an employee self-service portal, and a dedicated payroll specialist who knows your account.

That last part is what matters to most of our clients. When you call, you're not starting over with a stranger.

Year-end items like W-2 and 1099 filing are handled at year-end for a separate fee, so it's worth asking Whirks what those run for your studio.

What Does HOTWORX Studio Bookkeeping Cost?

Bookkeeping from Patrick Accounting is $300 per month for a single studio.

That covers monthly bank reconciliation, transaction categorization, and a monthly Profit and Loss statement and Balance Sheet so you can see how your studio is doing. It also includes the HOTWORX-specific work a generic bookkeeper wouldn't know to do: franchise fee reconciliation, a standardized chart of accounts, franchise reporting by the 5th of each month, and a dedicated accounting specialist who understands what a HOTWORX P&L should look like.

What Does Full-Service Accounting With Tax Cost?

If you want bookkeeping and tax handled together, that bundle is $425 a month, which replaces the $300 bookkeeping fee rather than stacking on top of it.

It includes everything in the bookkeeping tier, plus your annual tax return (Form 1120S for an S-corp or Form 1065 for a partnership), K-1 preparation for the owners, sales tax preparation if your studio needs it, tax planning and advisory during the year, and year-end close and adjustments. This is where most studio owners land, because one team handles the whole back office and nothing falls through the cracks between your bookkeeper and your tax preparer in April.

What Are the Three HOTWORX Financial Service Packages?

Here's how the three prices work side by side. Each is billed per studio entity.

Bundle all three for the best value. Payroll is billed by Whirks and starts at $125/mo for a single studio; see the Whirks HOTWORX pricing article for full payroll tiers. Bookkeeping and tax are billed by Patrick Accounting, PLLC. Pricing is per studio entity, and multi-studio owners qualify for lower per-studio rates.

Why Is HOTWORX Studio Accounting Priced This Way?

You might notice these prices are cleaner and more predictable than what you'd get from a general accounting firm. That's on purpose, and it comes down to one thing: We already know the model.

A generic accountant starts from zero. They have to learn what a franchise royalty is, figure out how your franchise fees should be categorized, build a chart of accounts from scratch, and guess at what your franchisor wants in a report. All of that learning curve gets billed to you, usually as a higher fee or as hours spent asking you questions you shouldn't have to answer.

Because we already serve HOTWORX studios, we skip that. Your chart of accounts is already standardized. Your franchise fee reconciliation is already a defined process. Your reporting goes out by the 5th because we do it every month for studios like yours. That predictability is what lets us price it the way we do, and it's what keeps your number the same each month instead of a surprise.

What Makes Your HOTWORX Accounting Cost Go Up or Down?

The prices above are your starting point, but a few things move your actual monthly number.

• How many studios you own. Pricing is per studio entity, but your per-studio bookkeeping rate drops as you add locations. Past three studios, bookkeeping goes to $275 a month per studio, and past 10 it goes to $250 a month per studio. You also get one relationship covering everything instead of juggling separate vendors per location.

• How complex your tax situation is. A single-entity S-corp with clean books is straightforward. Multiple entities, multi-state operations, or a more involved ownership structure add work, and that can affect where you land.

• Whether you need sales tax handled. Some studios need sales tax preparation and some don't. It's included in the tax bundle when your studio requires it.

• Whether you owe an onboarding fee. If you're already a Whirks payroll client, your onboarding fee is waived. If you're brand new to us, onboarding is $600 to set your books and systems up correctly from the start, plus back work if your books need cleanup before we can bring them current.

Is the Bundled Payroll, Books, and Tax Package Worth It?

For most HOTWORX owners, yes, this bundled payroll, books, and tax package is worth it... and here's why:

The gap where money and time get lost is the handoff between people. When payroll is at one company, your bookkeeper is at another, and your tax preparer only shows up in the spring, nobody owns the full picture. Your tax preparer inherits a year of books they didn't touch and has to clean up before they can even start. That cleanup costs you, either in fees or in a return that misses planning moves you could have caught in October.

When payroll, books, and tax sit with one team, your numbers stay accurate all year, your tax planning happens while there's still time to act on it, and your year-end close isn't a scramble. That's why the bookkeeping and tax bundle is marked as best value. It isn't the cheapest single line item, but it's usually the lowest total cost once you count the time and the surprises you avoid.

Ready to Simplify Your HOTWORX Studio Finances?

You came here looking for a straight answer on what HOTWORX studio accounting and payroll actually cost, and now you've got real numbers: $125 a month for payroll, $300 a month for bookkeeping, or $425 a month to bundle bookkeeping and tax together.

The whole reason you're looking at this is that running a studio is enough work on its own without your back office becoming a second job. That's what we're here to take off your plate. At Patrick Accounting and Whirks, we already know the HOTWORX model, your franchise fees, and your franchisor's reporting schedule, so you're not paying us to learn on your dime.

If you're ready to see what this looks like for your studio, schedule a call with our team. And if you're a current Whirks payroll client, remember your onboarding fee is already waived.

Frequently Asked Questions About HOTWORX Accounting Pricing

Does the price change if I own more than one HOTWORX studio?

Yes, and it works in your favor on bookkeeping. Pricing is per studio entity, but the per-studio bookkeeping rate drops as you grow: $275 a month per studio past three locations, and $250 a month per studio past 10. You also keep one relationship across all entities instead of managing separate vendors per location.

Is there a setup or onboarding fee?

If you're already a Whirks payroll client, the onboarding fee is waived. If you're new to us, onboarding is $600, plus back work if your books need cleanup to get current.

Who bills me for what?

Whirks bills your payroll, and Patrick Accounting bills your bookkeeping and tax. You've got one team across both, so it's still one relationship to manage.

Do I have to move my payroll to Whirks to get bookkeeping?

Keeping payroll and accounting under one roof is how we keep your reporting accurate and your back office simple, and it's how the onboarding fee gets waived. It's the setup we recommend for exactly that reason.

What tax return is included in the bundle?

The bookkeeping and tax bundle includes your annual 1120S return for an S-corp or 1065 for a partnership, K-1 preparation for owners, sales tax preparation if needed, tax planning and advisory, and year-end close.