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Accounting firms in Canada usually offer six kinds of work: bookkeeping, tax returns, sales tax filings, payroll, financial statements and advice. Audits and reviews are a separate, regulated tier. What a particular firm sells is up to the firm, so ask for the list in writing before you sign.
What services do accounting firms offer to small businesses?
We can’t tell you what any one firm charges or sells, and we’re not going to guess. What we can do is describe the work itself, which stays the same from firm to firm.
| Type of work | What you get | Filing it supports |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping | Transactions recorded and reconciled | Everything else |
| Personal and business tax returns | T1 with business income, or T2 for a corporation | Returns due to the CRA |
| Sales tax | GST/HST return prepared and filed | One month or three months after the period |
| Payroll | Pay runs, remittances, T4 slips | T4s by the last day of February |
| Financial statements | Year-end statements, often with a report | Lenders, shareholders, the T2 |
| Advice | Tax planning, structure, pay mix | Decisions, not filings |
Not every firm does all six, and that’s fine. A lot of small practices skip payroll, and some bookkeepers don’t prepare tax returns at all.
Who can do an audit or a review?
This is where the rules have teeth. CPA Ontario says a public accounting licence is required for the lead person who signs an assurance engagement, which includes audits and review engagements. A compilation, where the accountant assembles statements from your records without checking them, is treated differently. A licence is needed for a compilation if a third party is expected to rely on it and the prescribed report wording isn’t used.
That matters when your bank asks for “accountant-prepared statements”. Ask what level of engagement they want. A compilation is cheaper and gives the lender the least comfort, a review gives more, and an audit gives the most. Other provinces have their own CPA bodies and rules, so check with the one that covers your accountant.
Which services are worth paying for?
That turns on where your time goes. If you’re spending Sunday nights on receipts, bookkeeping is the one to hand over. If you’re a salaried employee with a side business, you might only need a year-end tax return.
Corporate tax work is where a good accountant earns the fee. Here’s a worked case: a Canadian-controlled private corporation in Ontario with $300,000 of active business income. Our corporate tax calculator shows $35,088 of combined tax, an 11.7% average rate, and that’s for a calendar 2026 year. Ontario cut its small business rate on July 1, 2026, so the calculator blends the old and new rates by days. The blend isn’t a published figure, so your own result will differ with your year-end.
Planning around numbers like that is advice work, and most owners skip it until a bill arrives that they didn’t see coming and can’t explain to their partner. It’s also where you most need someone who knows your situation, because associated companies and passive income can change the answer.
What should you expect on payroll and sales tax?
If you hire, a firm or a payroll provider can run the deductions. You can preview a pay period yourself with the payroll remittance calculator. It shows what you hold back, what you add as the employer, and the total you send to the CRA. It leaves out workers’ compensation and other levies.
For sales tax, a quick look at the GST/HST calculator tells you a $100 sale in Ontario carries $13.00 of tax. Your bookkeeper should keep that $13 apart from revenue. If they don’t, ask why.
Can you deduct what you pay your accountant?
Often, yes. The CRA’s T2125 form for self-employed people has a line for professional fees that includes legal and accounting fees. A $2,000 deduction on $80,000 of net business income in Ontario cuts income tax by about $593 in our self-employed tax calculator, from $13,233.57 to $12,640.57. So the real cost is less than the invoice. That tool doesn’t include EI or business expenses, so use it as a rough guide.
The fee has to relate to earning business income. Personal tax return fees for an employee are a different question, and we haven’t covered them here.
What to ask before you hire a firm
Ask which of the six jobs above are included and which cost extra. Ask who does the work, a CPA or a junior. Ask how they’ll get into your CRA account, and say no to anything that involves sharing your password. The CRA’s Represent a Client service is the route for that, and you approve it yourself.
Ask what happens if the CRA writes to you next year, because some firms handle that inside the package and others bill it as a separate job at their usual rate, which is a nasty surprise if you didn’t ask. Get the answer in writing.
Where the numbers come from
The licence rules come from CPA Ontario. Filing dates and the T2125 line come from the Canada Revenue Agency, read in September 2026. The calculator figures use our 2026 federal and Ontario data. We found no official source for what firms charge, so there are no fees on this page.
Frequently asked questions
What does an accounting firm do for a small business?
Typical work is bookkeeping, tax returns, GST/HST and payroll filings, year-end statements and planning advice. Each firm decides which of these it sells.
Is a bookkeeper the same as an accountant?
Not necessarily. Bookkeepers record and reconcile transactions, and many don't prepare tax returns or sign statements.
Who can sign an audit in Ontario?
CPA Ontario says a public accounting licence is required for the lead person on an assurance engagement such as an audit or a review.
Can I deduct accounting fees?
Self-employed people report professional fees, including legal and accounting fees, on their T2125 when they relate to earning business income.
Do I have to give my accountant my CRA password?
No. The CRA's Represent a Client service lets you authorize a representative without sharing your login.
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Information only. This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax-Services.ca is an independent publisher: we don't prepare or file tax returns or offer tax services, and we have no connection with the CRA, Revenu Québec, any government or any company named on this page. Check the figures that matter with an official source or a qualified professional.