Bookkeeping Cost Per Month in Canada: Fees and What Drives Them

How much do bookkeepers charge per month in Canada, and why is there no standard price?

The CRA and the other official sources this page uses do not set or publish a bookkeeping fee, so a monthly price is a quote for a defined amount of work, not a standard rate. This page gives no dollar range for that reason: a figure with no official source would be a guess about someone else's market. What the CRA does set is how much work a business creates: the records it must keep, the returns it must file and how often.

A flat monthly figure tells you nothing until the quote names what it assumes: the accounts and transactions a month, the GST/HST period, the payroll runs and whether the books are current. Two quotes with the same figure can cover different work, and the lower one may leave out catch-up, the GST/HST return or the T4s.

A case is not simple when the business has employees, files GST/HST monthly, has books months behind, is a corporation with owner pay and a shareholder loan, or has Quebec filings. Two cases most often need a professional's help: a quote you cannot compare with another, and books already months behind, where each quote prices the rebuild differently. Before asking for quotes, gather monthly transaction counts for each account, the GST/HST period, headcount and pay frequency, the software in use, and how many months are behind.

What drives the monthly fee: transactions, accounts and how messy the books are?

Volume and condition of the records drive much of the work behind the fee, because each transaction needs support and a place in the books. The CRA lists original documents such as sales invoices, receipts, bank deposit slips and contracts, and generally requires records to be kept for a minimum of six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to.

A GST/HST registrant also needs sufficient documentary evidence before claiming an input tax credit, so a missing receipt can put the credit at risk. What adds work:

• More accounts: each bank, card and payment-platform account has to be matched to the books.
• More transactions: each one is coded and tied to an invoice or receipt.
• Missing or incomplete receipts: someone has to chase them; see what a receipt must show.
• Personal and business money in one account: it has to be separated first; see business costs paid personally.
• Foreign currency or marketplace payouts: see US-dollar sales and marketplace payouts.
• Owner pay: dividends, salary and the shareholder loan account need their own entries.

How much does GST/HST filing frequency add?

Each reporting period needs its own return built from the books, so a monthly filer has twelve returns a year, a quarterly filer four and an annual filer one. The CRA assigns the period from revenue, generally the previous fiscal year's, so check the period shown in the GST/HST account before pricing the returns. A registrant may be able to choose a more frequent one.

Source: RC4022, which also lists revenue to leave out, such as exports and exempt supplies. Monthly and quarterly returns are due 1 month after the period ends; most annual filers have 3 months after the fiscal year-end. A sole proprietor with a December 31 year-end and business income pays by April 30 and files by June 15 of the following year.

An annual return does not always mean one payment a year: an annual filer whose net GST/HST reaches $3,000 may have to pay quarterly instalments. Ask whether the quote tracks them.

A small supplier does not have to register, so no GST/HST return is due unless it registers anyway. The test counts worldwide taxable sales, zero-rated sales included, with all of a sole proprietor's businesses and associates: a small supplier stays within $30,000 in a single calendar quarter and over four consecutive quarters. Taxi and commercial ride-sharing drivers must register even below it. See when to register for GST/HST. A quote should say which period it assumes and whether the bookkeeper prepares the return or files it.

What does payroll add for a team: remittances, T4 slips and records?

Payroll adds a second calendar: every pay run creates amounts to withhold, and the employer must remit them on a schedule set by the size of its withholdings. The CRA sorts employers into four remitter types, which set how often deductions must be sent.

The CRA generally bases the type on withholding from two calendar years back, but the regulation lets a small employer qualify for quarterly remitting on either of the two preceding years, with a perfect compliance record over the previous 12 months. Headcount alone does not tell you the schedule. Late remittances carry penalties, and a corporation's directors can be personally liable for unremitted deductions (Income Tax Act s. 227.1); see late payroll remittance.

An employer's records must show the hours each employee worked and the amounts withheld for CPP, EI and tax, and include each employee's Form TD1 and every slip and return filed. T4 slips are due by the last day of February following the calendar year to which the slips apply, or the next business day if that is a Saturday or Sunday (T4001). A quote should state the number of employees, pay runs a month, whether the bookkeeper calculates the pay or only records pay prepared elsewhere, and who files the T4s. The same line can mean very different work for a team of 4 paid monthly and a team of 4 paid weekly.

In Quebec, employers send QPP, QPIP and provincial income tax deductions to Revenu Québec (T4001). See Quebec corporation accounting cost.

What does the software and who holds the file change?

The software and the file holder change what is billed and what you can reach, not the CRA's rules, which stay with the business. Records must be kept at the business's place or residence in Canada unless the CRA gives written permission. Records kept outside Canada and accessed electronically from Canada are not considered kept in Canada, but the CRA may give permission to keep electronic records outside Canada, on terms it sets in writing, so ask where the data is stored. The six years retention period applies whoever keeps the file.

Ask each quote:

• Whose account holds the books, and does it stay yours if the bookkeeper leaves?
• Who pays the subscription, and is it in the fee? See choosing accounting software.
• Can you export the full file on request, and where is the data stored?
• What CRA access does the bookkeeper need? The CRA offers three levels: view only, view and update, and delegated authority.

What is in a quote, and what is billed extra (catch-up, year-end, T2 support)?

A quote is comparable only when it lists the filings and the state of the books it assumes. Ask about each line.

Is a flat monthly bookkeeping fee fair? Compare the quote line by line

The total cannot tell you: two quotes at different prices may cover different work. A low monthly price that leaves out GST/HST filing, payroll or catch-up is not the same product as a higher one that includes them.

1. Write your own scope: accounts, transactions a month, GST/HST period, payroll runs and months behind.
2. Mark what each quote includes against that scope, and mark every gap.
3. Compare prices before tax.
4. Ask how the fee is built, whether flat for any volume, hourly or tiered by transactions or employees, and what makes it rise: more transactions, another account, a new employee, a monthly GST/HST period.
5. Ask whether catch-up and year-end work are inside the fee, and get any separate price in writing.
6. Ask what you receive each month; see what a bookkeeper should do each month.

A fee that rises when your work has not changed is a reason to ask what changed in the scope. Who does what is covered in bookkeeper, accountant or CPA.

Is it cheaper to pay monthly, quarterly or only at year end?

No source ranks them, and a smaller bill is not always a lower cost. The CRA's calendar does not depend on how often your bookkeeper works: monthly and quarterly GST/HST periods and payroll remittances fall due whether or not anyone has updated the books. A visit every quarter, or only at year end, can leave a monthly return, a remittance or a GST/HST instalment falling due between visits. The trade-offs are in year-end only or monthly bookkeeping.

Does a bookkeeping fee carry GST/HST or provincial tax?

A bookkeeper's fee can carry GST/HST. The CRA says most services supplied in Canada are subject to GST/HST and lists accounting services as a taxable example. The rate follows the place of supply and runs from 5% to 15% depending on the province (CRA rates). A bookkeeper who is a small supplier does not have to register, so a quote may show no tax. Compare prices before tax.

A GST/HST registrant can generally recover tax paid on purchases for its commercial activities as an input tax credit. To support the claim, the bookkeeper's invoice must show their GST/HST number once it reaches $100.

Provincial tax differs:

• British Columbia: BC planned PST on accounting services, which its accounting services page says include bookkeeping, from October 1, then paused the plan. Order in Council 408/2026 added an exemption for accounting services from October 1, so PST does not apply to the fee while it stands. The page body still reads as if the tax applied, and BC can change this, so check the PST page on the day you sign and ask the bookkeeper to state in writing whether PST is on the quote. See BC PST on services.
• Quebec: Quebec has its own sales tax, QST, at 9.975%, run by Revenu Québec, which also generally administers the GST/HST there (RC4022). A Quebec quote should say whether QST is added.
• Elsewhere: ask the quote to show every tax added.

What should I send to get an accurate quote?

Send what lets the bookkeeper count the work before pricing it.

• Bank, card and payment-platform statements for the last three months, showing the transactions per account
• The list of accounts, and any foreign-currency account
• Your GST/HST registration status, reporting period and last filed return
• Payroll: number of employees, pay frequency, remitter type and last year's T4 summary
• The accounting software in use, and who can log in
• The date the books were last reconciled, and how many months are behind
• Last year's financial statements and tax return, and the year-end date
• Owner pay: salary, dividends, and money moved between you and the business
• Your province, and any Quebec filings

Example

These examples use Canadian dollars. The amounts are illustrative, not market rates. In the first two, assume no associates and the same taxable sales in the previous fiscal year.

A consulting corporation with one account

An Ontario consulting corporation has one owner, one bank account and one credit card, about 40 transactions a month and sales of C$180,000 a year. It files HST quarterly. At that size the CRA assigns an annual period, so quarterly filing is a choice the quote should confirm. The quote should name monthly reconciliation of the account and card, the four HST returns a year and the year-end package for the accountant.

A shop with a team

An Alberta shop has 3 employees whose withholdings, about C$5,000 a month in each of the past two years, put it on the regular remittance schedule (the CRA sets the type from past withholding, not headcount), about 300 transactions a month, sales of C$600,000 and GST filed quarterly by choice, since the CRA assigns an annual period at that size. Its sales do not set the work. The 300 transactions, 3 employees, 12 payroll remittances a year and T4 slips do. That is why its quote is higher than the consultant's.

Books that stopped 14 months ago

A BC corporation has a December year-end. Its books stopped after August of year 1, and it is now October of year 2. A bookkeeper quotes C$300 a month for the ongoing books.

• Year 1: the books stop in August and the December year-end passes with no statements.
• Year 2: the T2 for year 1 was due six months after that year-end, in June, and may now be overdue. If the corporation is registered, GST/HST returns for the missed periods may be overdue too.
• Today: C$300 a month covers keeping the books from here. It leaves out the 14 months behind. The first question is whether the rebuild is priced once, apart from the monthly fee, and whether it covers the returns that may be overdue.

Different for you?

• You hold a quote you cannot compare: list your accounts, transactions, GST/HST period and payroll against the table above, then take the list to bookkeeping help for a written scope.
• Your books are months behind and each quote prices them differently: start with catching up on overdue books, then talk the rebuild through with bookkeeping help, priced apart from the monthly fee.
• A return or remittance may be overdue, or a previous accountant left filings unfinished: see catching up on unfiled corporate returns, late payroll remittance and when an accountant misses filings or stops responding. The returns are built from the books, so current books come first: bookkeeping help.
• You are a sole proprietor or freelancer: there is no T2 or shareholder loan; see bookkeeping apps for the self-employed and accountant for a self-employed return.
• You want the accountant's fee for the T2: see T2 return cost.
• You are not sure you need a bookkeeper at all: see doing your own books or hiring a bookkeeper and year-end only or monthly bookkeeping.
• You need to know who does what: see bookkeeper, accountant or CPA.
• Your business is in Quebec: see Quebec corporation accounting cost.