Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
A bookkeeping service takes your receipts, bank feeds and invoices and turns them into books you can file from. Which provider to pick isn’t something this page can say, and no company’s prices, plans or reviews could be confirmed. So this is about how to judge any provider before you hand over your records.
What should a bookkeeping service actually deliver?
Start with the plain question: what will you have in your hands at the end of each month?
At minimum, a set of books that match your bank and card statements, sorted into the categories on your tax form, with a year-end summary you can hand to whoever prepares the return. Ask for that in writing and ask what “done” means each month.
The records themselves have to meet CRA rules, no matter who keeps them. The CRA says records must give enough detail to work out your tax, and its list of acceptable support includes sales and purchase invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements and cheques. Under the CRA’s rules on where to keep records and for how long, they stay available for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, at your place of business or residence in Canada unless the CRA gives written permission otherwise.
What questions should you ask before you sign up?
You can’t read a price from a brochure and know what you’ll pay, so ask direct questions.
| Ask about | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What’s included each month | Data entry, bank matching and reports are different jobs |
| Who does the work | A named person or a rotating team |
| Tax filing | Some providers keep books only, and others also prepare returns |
| GST/HST and payroll | Check that both are covered, or you handle them |
| Access to your data | You should be able to export your books if you leave |
| Where the records are kept | Six-year retention still applies to you |
Does hiring a bookkeeper change your tax bill?
Not by itself. Bookkeeping fees are a business cost, and the CRA lists accounting and legal fees among deductible professional fees. Fees tied to buying a capital asset are treated differently, since they become part of that asset’s cost.
What clean books change is how sure you are about the numbers. Try a rough check. A sole proprietor in Ontario with $60,000 of net income can run the self-employed tax calculator and see the expected income tax and CPP, about $14,603 in total on our 2026 numbers. Books that show $60,000 should land near that figure once you add up what you’ve taken in and spent. If the books your provider returns produce a very different figure, you’ve learned something before the deadline.
What do you still handle yourself?
Passing on the bookkeeping doesn’t pass on the deadlines. For the 2025 return, self-employed people have until June 15, 2026 to file, but any balance was due April 30, 2026. Dates for the 2026 return aren’t published yet, so check the CRA page in the new year.
If you’re registered for GST/HST, the CRA’s reporting deadlines page says monthly and quarterly filers file and pay one month after the period ends, and most annual filers have three months after year end. An individual with business income and a December 31 year end who files annually pays by April 30 and files by June 15. The GST/HST calculator shows the tax on a sale. In Ontario, $100 plus 13% HST is $113.
Employers also remit payroll deductions, and the payroll remittance calculator gives a sense of the amounts. If you’ve incorporated, use the corporate tax calculator for a rough corporate tax figure, noting that the Ontario small-business rate for 2026 is a blend derived from a day count, not a published rate.
When is it worth paying for bookkeeping?
When you hate it, or when your time earns more elsewhere. That’s the honest test. If your business has a few dozen transactions a month, a spreadsheet and an hour a week may do the job for nothing. If you’re chasing receipts every April, a service might be worth it just to stop the dread. Picture Jo, who runs a small landscaping outfit in Saskatoon and spends every Sunday night in winter hunting down fuel receipts. Handing that off could give back a few hours a month. What it would cost you can’t be said here, since fees weren’t something that could be confirmed.
What can you do to make any provider’s job easier?
Separate your business and personal spending from day one, using a dedicated account and card. Snap a photo of each receipt the day you get it. Send invoices promptly and note when they’re paid. A provider can only sort what you hand over, and a messy pile means more hours on the clock.
Where does this information come from?
Record rules and deadlines come from the Canada Revenue Agency pages on business records, business expenses and GST/HST reporting, read in October 2026. The HST example uses our own calculator. This site isn’t affiliated with the CRA or any provider named or unnamed.
Frequently asked questions
Is a bookkeeper's fee tax deductible?
The CRA lists accounting fees among deductible professional fees for a business, though fees on a capital purchase are added to the asset's cost.
Do I still keep my own receipts?
The six-year retention duty applies to your records, so agree in writing where they're stored and how you can get them.
Who files my GST/HST return?
That depends on the service, so ask. Filing is due monthly, quarterly or annually, depending on your reporting period.
Can I cancel and take my books?
Ask before signing. You should be able to export your data.
Are prices for these services listed here?
No. We couldn't confirm any provider's fees, so get a written quote.
- How Canadian income tax works: brackets and credits
How federal and provincial Canadian income tax stack up, what marginal and average rates mean, and how credits and deductions change your bill