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Bookkeeping records what happened in a business. Accounting turns those records into reports and tax figures. Accountancy is just the name of the profession that does the second job. Say you sold $2,000 of work in Ontario: the bookkeeper enters it, and the accountant decides what it does to your tax bill.
Where does bookkeeping end and accounting begin?
Bookkeeping is the daily habit. Sales, bills, payroll and bank payments get entered, matched to statements and filed with their receipts. Done well, it’s dull and complete. Dull is the goal.
Accounting starts when someone uses that record. It means preparing financial statements, working out tax, filing returns and advising on choices such as how to pay yourself. A bookkeeper who is good at the first job may or may not offer the second. That’s why you should ask, and ask before the work starts, not at tax time.
| Job | Bookkeeping | Accounting |
|---|---|---|
| Enter sales and expenses | Yes | Reviews them |
| Match to bank statements | Yes | Checks the result |
| Sales tax and payroll remittances | Often | Sometimes |
| Financial statements | Sometimes drafts | Yes |
| Corporate or personal tax return | Rarely | Yes |
| Tax planning advice | No | Yes |
The split is a rule of thumb. We couldn’t confirm what each job is legally allowed to do in each province, so ask your provincial body if a title matters for your work.
Is accountancy something different?
Not as a task. It’s a word for the profession and the field of study, the way medicine is the field a doctor works in. When a page says “accountancy services” it usually means accounting done by a qualified accountant.
What does a month of bookkeeping actually look like?
Picture Sam, who runs a small renovation outfit in Hamilton. Every Friday Sam spends half an hour on the same short routine. Photograph the week’s receipts, tag each one to a job, enter the invoices sent out, and check that the bank balance matches the books. At month end there’s a short list of unpaid invoices and a figure for sales tax collected.
None of that is clever. It’s the routine that lets an accountant do their work in an hour instead of a week, which is where the savings come from.
What does the accountant do with your books?
Take a company with $100,000 of profit in Ontario. The corporate tax calculator gives $26,500 of tax if it’s taxed at the general rates, and $11,696 if it qualifies as a small business company under a 2026 blend of the Ontario rate. That second figure is our own derived estimate, because Ontario cut its small business rate on 1 July 2026, so a calendar year straddles the change.
Look at the gap, $14,804. No bookkeeper can close it. The gap turns on whether the company is a Canadian-controlled private corporation, on how much profit it earns and on which companies it’s linked to, and that’s where an accountant earns their keep. Our tool ignores several of these, including shared limits between related companies.
If you don’t have a company, the self-employed tax calculator gives a rough view. It leaves out EI, and its deductions lower income tax without lowering CPP, so treat it as a first estimate.
Which do you need first?
Almost everyone needs bookkeeping first, since accounting depends on it. A sole proprietor with a few clients might keep a simple record alone and pay an accountant once a year. A business with payroll, sales tax and several bank accounts usually wants a bookkeeper each month.
Payroll is a good test. On $3,000 paid every two weeks in Ontario, the payroll remittance calculator puts the employer’s total at $961.03 per pay, made of tax, CPP and EI held back plus the employer’s own CPP and EI. Miss a remittance and that’s on your record. It’s the sort of monthly chore worth handing off.
If sales tax is the main concern, the GST and HST calculator shows the tax on a price. It’s $260 of HST on $2,000 in Ontario, or $100 of GST in Alberta.
Do you need a bookkeeper, an accountant, or both?
Often both, at different speeds. The bookkeeper works weekly or monthly. The accountant shows up once or twice a year, and sometimes in between when you’re about to make a big decision, such as buying a van or paying yourself a dividend instead of a salary. If you’re only budgeting a few bucks a month for help, start with bookkeeping and ask the accountant to review the books once a year. Our guide to choosing a tax preparer has questions that work for either role.
Mistakes that make the year end painful
Mixing personal and business spending is the most common. Not far behind is losing receipts. The CRA says most business records need to be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, so one lost box can mean an awkward audit. The CRA also says records can be paper, electronic or both, so a tidy folder of scans works fine as long as you back it up.
Some owners also wait until the return is due to open the books. By then the transactions have blurred together. Ten minutes a week costs less than a weekend in March.
Have a look at how to pick bookkeeping services when you’re ready to hire, and remember that we haven’t checked any firm’s fees or claims.
Where we got these figures
Corporate rates come from the CRA‘s corporation tax rates page for 2026, and the six year record rule from its record keeping guidance. The payroll and sales tax examples come from our own calculators, which use 2026 CPP, EI, federal and provincial data. This site isn’t connected to the CRA or any government.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?
Bookkeeping records transactions. Accounting uses those records to produce statements, work out tax and give advice.
What does accountancy mean?
It's the name of the profession and the field of study behind accounting. In practice a page that says accountancy services means accounting.
Do I need both a bookkeeper and an accountant?
Many businesses do, especially with payroll and sales tax. A very small sole proprietor may keep simple books and pay an accountant once a year.
How long must I keep business records?
The CRA says generally six years from the end of the last tax year the records relate to.
Who is allowed to prepare my tax return?
We couldn't confirm the rules for each province, so we don't say. Ask your provincial body if the title matters for your work.
- Self-employed taxes in Canada: income, CPP and GST
How tax works when you are self-employed in Canada: reporting income and expenses, paying both halves of CPP, instalments and when to register for GST