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When you hire a bookkeeper, you still own the books. The CRA expects business records to be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, no matter who typed them in. As for the fee, there’s no official source for typical Canadian rates, so this page doesn’t quote one. It shows you what drives the price and what to ask before you sign.
What does it cost to hire a bookkeeper?
Nobody publishes a rate card that holds across the country, and any ballpark figure you see online comes from a firm selling something, so it changes. What can be said is what moves a quote up or down.
Volume comes first, and it’s easy to underestimate. Forty bank transactions a month is a different job from four hundred. Then the state of the books: a clean year with every receipt in a folder costs less to work on than a backlog of two years with missing statements. Payroll, sales tax returns and a year-end package for your accountant all add hours.
Ask for the quote in writing, and ask whether it’s hourly or fixed. A fixed monthly fee sounds tidy, but check what happens when your volume doubles. Hourly suits cleanup work, where nobody knows how long it will take. Whichever you pick, get the list of tasks in the same email as the number, because a low price that leaves out payroll and sales tax returns is only a low price until the first filing date arrives.
Which jobs do you actually need done?
Bookkeeping means recording and sorting what happened: sales, bills, payroll, bank matching. It isn’t tax planning, and it isn’t your tax return. Some bookkeepers offer more, but ask for each piece by name. The table shows the jobs that most often land on a bookkeeper’s desk and the rule behind each one.
| Job | What to ask | Rule behind it |
|---|---|---|
| GST/HST returns | Who files, and how often? | Register when taxable sales pass $30,000 over four consecutive quarters |
| Payroll | Who sends deductions to the CRA? | Employers remit source deductions on a schedule set by the CRA |
| Record keeping | Where do copies live? | Keep records six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to |
| Year end | Do you hand over a finished file? | Your accountant needs tidy books to file the return |
Do you need a bookkeeper or an accountant?
Often both, at different times. A bookkeeper keeps the day-to-day record: what came in, what went out, what’s owed. An accountant reviews that record, files returns and advises on structure and tax. If your finances are simple, a bookkeeper for the monthly work and a one-off visit to an accountant at year end can be plenty. If you’re about to incorporate or hire staff, bring the accountant in earlier. Either way, the neater the books, the shorter the year-end meeting.
A worked example with sales tax
Say you run a small shop in Ontario and sell $45,000 of taxable goods in a year. That’s over $30,000, so you can’t stay a small supplier. At 13% HST you collect $5,850 from customers. That money isn’t yours, and it has to sit apart from your takings.
Good bookkeeping tracks that $5,850 as a liability from the day each sale happens. If it’s mixed into revenue, you find out at filing time that the cash is gone. You can test your own numbers with the GST/HST calculator, and see what a margin looks like on the profit margin calculator.
If you pay staff, the payroll remittance calculator estimates what you send the CRA each period.
Mistakes that cost more than the fee
The most common one is handing over a shoebox and hoping. A bookkeeper can only record what you can prove. Scan receipts as you go, and give read access to your bank and card accounts.
Second, losing control. Keep your own logins. If the relationship ends, you want to walk away with your data, not wait for a file.
Third, assuming the bookkeeper is watching your thresholds. The CRA’s page on who needs to register for GST/HST says that if you exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, you have to charge tax on the sale that took you over. Cross it gradually across several quarters and the change comes at the end of the month following the quarter. Ask them outright who monitors that.
And fourth, skipping the question about mistakes. What happens if a return is filed late because of their error? There’s no standard rule on who pays interest or penalties, so get the answer in the contract. If you work for yourself, the self-employed tax calculator shows what your profit could cost you at tax time. A corporation can try the corporate tax calculator.
What should you hand over on day one?
Bring twelve months of bank and card statements, your last filed return, your GST/HST number if you have one, and a list of regular bills. If payroll is in the picture, add your payroll account details and the dates of your last remittances. Then agree on a rhythm, say a monthly check-in, so surprises don’t pile up until tax time.
Where this information comes from
The $30,000 small supplier limit and the registration timing come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s GST/HST registration pages, read on 11 October 2026. The six year record rule comes from the CRA’s page on where to keep your records and for how long. The 13% Ontario HST rate is the one used in our GST/HST calculator for 2026. Fees are not official figures anywhere, which is why none appear here, and this site has no link with the CRA.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a bookkeeper charge in Canada?
We couldn't confirm a standard rate from any official source. Get two or three written quotes that list the tasks, and compare the tasks as well as the price.
Is a bookkeeper the same as an accountant?
No. A bookkeeper records and sorts transactions. An accountant usually prepares year-end statements and tax returns, though some people do both jobs.
How long do I keep my business records?
The CRA says six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, unless it gives written permission to destroy them earlier.
When must I register for GST/HST?
When your taxable sales pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Pass it in one quarter and you register from the day of the sale that crossed it.
Who is responsible if the books are wrong?
You are, as the owner. Ask the bookkeeper what they cover if they make an error, and get the answer in writing.
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