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Keen bookkeeping for a small Canadian business comes down to three habits: record every sale and expense as it happens, keep the paper or scan behind each entry, and close the books each month. The CRA expects you to keep records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, so what you skip now costs you later.
If you searched for a firm called Keen Bookkeeping, we can’t tell you anything about it. We haven’t verified any provider, price or service, so this page is about how to do the work well, and how to pick and check help if you want it.
What should a bookkeeper actually keep for you?
A bookkeeper keeps your money story in order. Sales, bills, payroll, bank and card statements, and sales tax all end up in one set of books that matches what the bank shows. The accountant then uses that set to prepare your return.
The CRA says records can be paper, electronic or both, and they have to stay organized. We found no software requirement on the CRA page. What matters is that a stranger could follow a number from the books back to a receipt.
Take Jo, who runs a small landscaping outfit in Kelowna. A $480 invoice from a fuel supplier should show up in three places: the supplier’s bill, the bank or card line that paid it, and one entry in the books under vehicle costs. If one of the three is missing, the entry is weak.
Which deadlines does good bookkeeping serve?
Late fees often start with missing paperwork. These are the corporate dates that lean on your books.
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| T2 return | Six months after year end |
| Corporate tax balance | Two months after year end, or three for many small CCPCs |
| Records | Keep for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to |
| Late-filing penalty | 5% of unpaid tax plus 1% a month, up to 12 months |
Put numbers on that. A company with a December 31 year end has until June 30 to file the T2, and records for that year need to stay around until the end of 2032. If it owed $10,000 and filed four full months late, the penalty would be 5% plus 4%, so 9%, or $900, before interest.
Payroll and sales tax have their own schedules. The payroll remittance calculator and the GST/HST calculator show what those amounts look like, and your books should reconcile to both.
What does one missed expense cost?
Say a British Columbia CCPC earns $300,000 of taxable income. Our corporate tax calculator gives $33,000 of tax, or 11.0%. Now say the books missed a $5,000 legitimate expense. With it recorded, income is $295,000 and tax is $32,450. The missed entry cost $550.
That’s not huge. A few of those in a year is, and the missing receipt is what makes them hard to claim after a review. Sloppy books rarely lose you one big deduction. They lose a dozen small ones.
How do you pick and check a bookkeeper?
We can’t quote fees or rank firms, so here’s what to ask instead. Which software will my books live in, and will I own the login? Who reconciles the bank accounts, and how often? Will you file the GST/HST return, or hand me the numbers? Who fixes it if a return is assessed wrong?
Ask to see a sample monthly report. And check that you can see your own books at any time, because a bookkeeper you can’t audit is a risk. Talk to two or three, and compare what each one covers as well as the price. We didn’t confirm any professional’s credentials or fees for this page.
Doing it yourself is fine for a very small company with a few dozen transactions a month. Once payroll or several bank accounts come in, help pays for itself.
What should you do when a receipt goes missing?
It happens to everyone. Ask the supplier for a copy of the invoice, check whether your card or bank statement shows the payment, and write a short note on the entry saying what it was for and why the original is gone. A bank line alone doesn’t prove what you bought, but it beats nothing. Then fix the habit that lost it, whether that’s a photo of every receipt the day you get it or one folder you always use.
A simple monthly routine
- Match every bank and card line to a receipt or invoice.
- Tag each expense so it lands in the right category.
- Set aside the GST/HST you collected, and note what you can claim back.
- Record payroll and remittances.
- Write down what you paid yourself, including any dividends, which the dividend tax calculator can model.
Self-employed and not incorporated? The self-employed tax calculator works from the same figures, though it leaves EI out.
Where this information comes from
Deadlines, penalties and record rules come from the Canada Revenue Agency pages on balance-due day, penalties, keeping records and the 2026 business deadlines, read in September 2026. The British Columbia example uses the CRA rate pages. We’re an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
How long must I keep business records?
Six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, unless the CRA has agreed you can destroy them sooner.
Do I need special software?
No. The CRA accepts paper, electronic or both, as long as the records are organized and you can trace each entry to a document.
Is Keen Bookkeeping a recommended firm?
We haven't verified it or any other provider, so we make no claim about its services or fees.
What should I ask a bookkeeper?
Which software they use, who owns the login, how often the bank is reconciled and who handles the GST/HST filing.
Can I do my own books?
For a small company with few transactions, yes. Payroll and several accounts make outside help worth pricing.
- 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