Bookkeepers near you

Owners of very small businesses often start by doing their own books, and with simple banking and few transactions that can work. It stops working when the volume grows, when sales tax or payroll enters the picture, or when the time spent is worth more elsewhere. The usual sign is not a dramatic failure but drift: reconciliations fall behind, receipts pile up, and nobody can say what the business earned last quarter.

The division of labour between a bookkeeper and an accountant is mostly one of level. The bookkeeper maintains the record, the accountant interprets it, prepares the year-end statements and returns, and advises. Many accounting firms offer both, which has the advantage of one point of contact; independent bookkeepers are often closer to the daily detail of the business. Either can work, provided both sides agree who reconciles what, who files the sales-tax returns and who owns the software subscription and the data in it.

There is no licence to practise bookkeeping in Canada, and no protected title, so anyone may offer the service. What is restricted is assurance work. A bookkeeper may not audit or review your financial statements, and in Quebec the restriction reaches further: the Ordre des CPA du Québec reserves audit, review and compilation engagements that are not intended exclusively for internal administration to members holding a public accounting permit, and prosecutes illegal practice. A Quebec business that needs statements for a bank or an outside party should be clear about who is producing them.

Dealing with the tax authority on your behalf is also formalized. A bookkeeper who files returns or discusses your account needs to be authorized as your representative, at a level of access you choose and can cancel; sharing your own sign-in credentials instead is not the intended route. Since these rules differ by province and change over time, treat this page as general information, not legal or tax advice, and confirm anything that matters with the regulator or the tax authority.

Bookkeeping is not only about producing statements; it is about being able to prove them afterwards. The Canada Revenue Agency's general rule is that records and supporting documents must be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, and that they must be kept at your place of business or your residence in Canada unless the agency gives written permission to keep them elsewhere. Some categories, such as records concerning the share registry or the acquisition and disposal of property, are kept indefinitely, and different periods apply where a return was filed late or an objection is outstanding.

That has a practical consequence in the age of cloud software. Decide at the start who holds the subscription, who can export the data, and what happens to the file and the attached documents if you change bookkeepers. Make sure the account is in the business's name with the owner as administrator, and that the bookkeeper's access can be removed without losing the history. A bookkeeper who resists that is a risk to the business.