How much does bookkeeping cost in Ontario?

Bookkeeping cost in Ontario: the short answer

Sora’s published price for monthly bookkeeping starts at $50 per month. The published note reads: “For minimal transactions. Monthly pricing is based on transaction volume.” That starting price is for a business with very few transactions. A business with more activity should expect a higher monthly price, and Sora quotes it from the volume.

No government source publishes a standard bookkeeping fee for Ontario, so this guide does not give a market range for other firms. Prices vary by provider and by the work involved. The sections below explain what moves a quote up or down, so you can compare quotes on the same basis.

What drives the price of bookkeeping

Transaction volume is usually the largest factor. Every sale, deposit, bill, card charge and transfer has to be recorded and matched to a source document. A sole proprietor with a handful of deposits a month needs far less work than a shop with hundreds of card payments.

Several other factors add work. The number of accounts matters, because each bank account, credit card, loan and payment processor has to be reconciled. Payroll adds employee records, remittances and year-end slips. Inventory adds counts and costing. Sales tax adds returns and records that support input tax credits. Several entities, or foreign currency, add more again.

The state of your records matters too. Clean, categorized books that arrive on time cost less to maintain than a shoebox of statements with missing receipts.

How much does a bookkeeper charge: catch-up work versus monthly

Bookkeepers generally price ongoing monthly work and backlog work differently. Monthly work is predictable: the same accounts, the same cut-off date and a regular routine. Catch-up work depends on how many months are behind, how complete the statements are and how many transactions need to be researched.

A catch-up project is usually quoted after the provider has seen what exists, for example how many months and which accounts. Ask for the catch-up and the monthly fee to be stated separately, so you know what continues once you are current.

If you are behind, do not wait for the next filing deadline to start. CRA generally expects you to keep supporting records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, so missing statements are easier to request now than later. A guide on catching up on late filings is available on this site.

DIY, software, bookkeeper or accountant

Doing it yourself costs your time rather than a fee. It can work when transactions are few and you are disciplined about monthly reconciliation. The risk is a slow build-up of unreconciled items, discovered when a return or a lender needs the numbers.

Accounting software organizes the records and often imports bank transactions, but it does not decide how a transaction should be treated. Someone still has to review categories, reconcile accounts and handle exceptions. Software is a tool you pay for either way, whether you use it yourself or your bookkeeper does.

A bookkeeper keeps the books current: recording, categorizing and reconciling. An accountant generally prepares tax returns, reviews the books at year end, and advises on structure and planning. Many owners use both: a bookkeeper through the year and an accountant for filing and advice. Sora offers both bookkeeping and accounting services, and you can ask how the two fit together for your situation.

What a monthly bookkeeping engagement should deliver

Whatever the price, you should know what the monthly fee covers. At a minimum, the work should include recording income and expenses against supporting documents and reconciling each bank and card account to its statement. CRA requires records of all your transactions to support your income and expense claims, and says records must be kept organized.

It should also include a review of customer and supplier balances, a list of missing receipts or unexplained items, and a summary you can read, usually a profit and loss statement and a balance sheet. If you have employees or are a GST/HST registrant, ask whether payroll records and sales tax records are part of the monthly scope or priced separately.

For each month, you should receive a clear cut-off date, a list of what the bookkeeper still needs from you, and an answer when a transaction is unclear. A fee that depends on transaction volume works best when both sides agree on what counts as a transaction.

Questions to ask before you choose

Ask how the price is set: by transaction count, by account or by a flat fee, and what happens when your volume changes. Ask what is excluded, such as payroll, sales tax returns, catch-up work or year-end adjustments. Ask which software is used and who owns the file, and whether you keep access if you leave.

Ask who files your returns and how the books are handed to your accountant. When the bookkeeper and the accountant share the same file, year-end preparation usually needs less back-and-forth. To compare quotes fairly, gather twelve months of statements and a short list of your accounts, employees and tax registrations first.