Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
The cost difference between basic and full-service bookkeeping comes down to scope, and no official source publishes a fee for either. Prices vary by firm, so the useful question is what each package covers, and what you’d be left doing yourself.
What is basic bookkeeping, and what is full service?
There’s no legal definition of either, which is why the price gap looks so random. In general, a basic package records your transactions and matches them to the bank. A full-service package adds the work around it: payroll, GST/HST returns, month-end reports, sometimes handing the file to your accountant at year end.
Whether a firm may do the second group of jobs depends on where you live. In British Columbia, CPABC says basic bookkeeping needs no public practice licence, but preparing GST/PST returns, tax forms and financial statements for others does. Other provinces have their own rules, so ask any provider what they’re allowed to do where you live.
What should each package cover?
Use the table as a checklist when you get quotes. Every “no” is a job that lands on you or on a second provider.
| Job | Basic, usually | Full service, usually |
|---|---|---|
| Enter and categorize transactions | Yes | Yes |
| Bank and card reconciliation | Often | Yes |
| GST/HST return | Ask | Often |
| Payroll and remittances | Rarely | Often |
| Monthly reports | Ask | Yes |
| Year-end file for the accountant | Ask | Often |
“Usually” is a rule of thumb, not a rule. Read the written scope, not the package name.
Which one does your business need?
If you’re a sole proprietor with a few dozen transactions a month and no staff, basic is probably enough. You can file your own GST/HST return, and the GST/HST calculator will check your numbers. On a $2,000 purchase in Ontario the HST is $260, and that’s $260 you can usually claim back as an input tax credit if you’re registered.
Once you have employees, the maths changes. The payroll remittance calculator shows what you hold back from pay and what you add as the employer, and a missed remittance is the kind of mistake that a full-service package exists to catch. If you’re incorporated, the year-end work feeds a T2 return, and the corporate tax calculator shows roughly what that return will produce.
Take Priya, who runs a two-chair salon in Winnipeg with one part-time stylist. Her sales are mostly card payments, so basic bookkeeping covers the daily grind. The day she adds a second employee and a monthly GST/HST filing, she’s the person who benefits from the bigger package, since payroll and sales tax are where a late fee costs more than the bookkeeping saved.
What does a bookkeeper’s fee do to your tax bill?
Less than the invoice suggests. The CRA lets sole proprietors deduct accounting fees for help keeping records and for preparing income tax and GST/HST returns. In the self-employed tax calculator, $80,000 of net income in Ontario means $22,126 of income tax and CPP. Knock $1,500 of fees off the income and it’s $21,597, so the fee costs about $971 net. Your own result will differ, and the tool leaves out GST/HST and EI.
What goes wrong with cheap bookkeeping?
Records that don’t hold up. The CRA’s Keeping Records guide says to keep business records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, and it accepts paper, electronic or a mix. If your bookkeeper leaves and you can’t get your data out, you have a problem no discount fixes. Ask, before you sign, who owns the files and how you get a copy.
Also ask how errors get fixed. A good answer is a dated correction, not a quiet overwrite. And ask who you call when the CRA sends a letter, because that’s the moment a cheap package shows its limits. Some providers answer it for free, some bill by the hour, and some won’t touch it at all.
What should a quote spell out before you say yes?
Five things, in writing: the list of jobs, how often they happen, the price and what triggers extra charges, who does the work, and how you can leave. A fixed monthly fee with a clear list is easier to budget than an hourly rate that drifts. If a quote only says “bookkeeping”, send it back and ask for the list. Even a few extra bucks a month is fair when the scope is clear.
How we checked the figures
Record-keeping and deduction rules come from CRA pages read in September 2026. The licensing point comes from CPABC. Tax figures come from this site’s calculators, which use 2026 rates. No confirmed fee data for bookkeeping in Canada exists in an official source, so none is given here.
Frequently asked questions
How much does bookkeeping cost in Canada?
We couldn't confirm a figure from an official source. Ask for written quotes that name the work included.
Is bookkeeping fee tax deductible?
The CRA lets sole proprietors deduct accounting fees for advice on records and for preparing income tax and GST/HST returns.
Do bookkeepers need a licence?
In British Columbia, CPABC says basic bookkeeping needs none, but tax filings and financial statements for others do. Check your own province.
How long do I keep my books?
The CRA says generally six years from the end of the last tax year the records relate to.
Can I switch from basic to full service later?
Usually yes. Ask the provider how it hands over files and what it charges to change scope.
- 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