Bookkeeping Services in Canada: Prices Compared (2026)
Most Canadian bookkeeping and accounting firms do not publish a price. You book a call, describe your business, and a number arrives a few days later. That makes comparing them close to impossible, so this page does the comparison the other way around: every firm below has a price on its own website, and we read each one on October 15, 2026. Firms that only quote are listed at the end so you know which calls to expect.
One rule for reading the table: the monthly bookkeeping price almost never includes the corporate tax return. The column that matters for an incorporated business is the one that says whether the T2 is in the price, separate, or not offered at all.
Published prices, side by side
| Provider | Published starting price | What the starting price covers | Corporate T2 | Payroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| taxifi (Ottawa, serves all of Canada) | $199/month DIY (AI-run); $299/month Core (accountant-reviewed). CAD. | DIY: daily AI bookkeeping, cash-basis, a year-end package for your tax preparer. Core: an accountant reviews and signs each month, HST filed, advisory included. | Separate: from $1,000/year, prepared and filed by an accountant (CRA EFILE) | $49/month + $10 per employee |
| Avalon Accounting (Victoria, BC) | $350/month Launch; $510 Focus; $680 Foundation; $1,720 Scale. One-time setup fees extra. | Launch: setup, a monthly bookkeeping review and a quarterly CPA meeting. Focus adds monthly reconciliation, GST and PST filings. | Included in Launch, Focus and Foundation (annual statements and the corporate return) | Advice at Launch; payroll and T4 support at Scale |
| Outsource Bookkeeping (Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver) | From $500/month flat on its Ottawa and Vancouver pages; $800/month flat on its Toronto and Calgary pages. | Unlimited transactions and CRA filings, by its own description. | Not stated on the pricing pages | Not stated |
| Enkel (Vancouver, serves all of Canada) | From $1,000/month (the page’s own metadata says $949). Annual prepay saves 10%. | Monthly statements, receivables and payables tracking, expense automation, sales-tax filings, year-end support for your CPA. | Not offered — Enkel states it is not a CPA firm and does not file year-end tax | From $250/month |
| Zenbooks (Ottawa, serves all of Canada) | $1,000–$2,500+/month Peace of Mind; $1,500–$4,000+ Enlightened; $4,000–$8,000+ Nirvana. | Monthly bookkeeping, compliance filings, monthly statements, a monthly senior-accountant Q&A and year-end close. | Not stated on the package cards; a tax-only package is quoted | From $107/month, sliding scale |
| LiveCA (online, serves all of Canada) | $1,250/month Basic; $1,800 Standard; $3,000 Premium. “Typically $1,250–$4,500, with the average customer paying $2,400.” | Basic: “bookkeeping and tax essentials handled.” Standard adds payroll, bill pay and invoicing. | Included in Basic | Included from Standard |
| Bench (US-based) | $199/month Bookkeeping Light (revenue under $250K); $399 Bookkeeping; $649 Bookkeeping + Tax. Prices are not labelled with a currency and Bench bills in US dollars. | Bookkeeping with year-end financials ready for a tax preparer; Light is the same service for smaller businesses. | Bench’s tax plans are US business returns; a Canadian T2 is not on its pricing page | Not included |
| ConnectCPA (Toronto) | Essentials, Scaling and Custom are priced per month, but the amounts are published as images on its page, not as text. | Essentials: core bookkeeping, payroll, financial statements, sales tax and government representation. | Included in every package | Included |
Every price above was read from the provider’s own pricing page on October 15, 2026, before tax; the exact wording is quoted where a range or condition applies. Prices change — the links in Sources go to each page. taxifi’s prices are the ones on our pricing page.
Firms that quote instead of publishing
Three well-known providers had no price on their sites on the same day: QuickBooks Live (Intuit Canada’s pricing page mentions that you can “add professional bookkeeping services” and gives no figure), Sapere (Toronto; a consultation is the only path to a number) and Ottawa Bookkeeping (a books review sets a fixed scope first). None of this says anything about their quality. It does mean you cannot compare them without a call, and that the price you get may depend on what you said on it.
Why the same word costs $199 or $2,400
“Bookkeeping” in these price lists covers four different products, and the gap between them explains most of the spread.
- Who touches the books. A service run by software and reviewed by nobody (taxifi DIY, Bench Light) is priced like software. A service where a bookkeeper works your file monthly sits around $400–$800. A service where an accountant reviews and signs the month (taxifi Core, LiveCA, Zenbooks, Avalon) costs more because the accountant is the product.
- Cash or accrual. Cash-basis books, which is what taxifi keeps on purpose, are cheaper to automate and reconcile. Accrual books with receivables, payables and inventory need judgment every month, which is why Enkel and Zenbooks start four figures higher.
- What is filed. HST returns, payroll remittances, T4s and the T2 are each separate work. Some prices include some of them. Only Avalon, LiveCA and ConnectCPA include the corporate return in a monthly price; taxifi prices it separately from $1,000 a year; Enkel does not offer it.
- Volume. Most firms tie the price to monthly transactions, which is why ranges run to “+”. Outsource Bookkeeping is the exception with a flat unlimited rate.
The ranges, for calibration
A 2026 survey by Outsource Bookkeeping, which runs its own firm, puts outsourced monthly service in Canada at $300–$2,000 a month with most small businesses paying $400–$800, hourly bookkeepers at $30–$90, and Ontario specifically at $35–$85 an hour or $400–$1,500 a month. For Ottawa it gives $450–$1,200 a month. Read those as the market a quote-only firm is pricing against: if a call ends with a number inside those bands, it is ordinary; outside them, ask what is different about your file.
What is usually not in the monthly price
- The T2 corporate return. The single most common surprise. Ask for the year-end price in writing before you compare monthly fees; a $400 bookkeeper plus a $2,500 year-end is $900 a month, not $400.
- Catch-up. Months of unreconciled books are billed hourly or scoped separately almost everywhere, including at taxifi, where the catch-up is priced before you commit.
- Payroll. Usually a per-employee add-on; Enkel and Zenbooks publish theirs, taxifi’s is $49 plus $10 per employee.
- Software. Many firms require you to carry a QuickBooks Online or Xero subscription on top. taxifi runs its own ledger, so there is no second bill.
- Setup. Avalon lists one-time setup fees on every package; others fold them in or waive them for annual plans.
Six questions that make quotes comparable
- Is the corporate T2 included, separate, or not offered? What does it cost?
- Who reviews the month — software, a bookkeeper, or an accountant — and who signs the filings?
- Cash or accrual? If accrual, what is the month-end close date?
- Which filings are included: HST, payroll remittances, T4s, T5s?
- What is the catch-up price for the months already behind, and is it capped?
- Is a software subscription required on top, and who pays for it?
Where taxifi sits
On the table above, taxifi has the lowest published Canadian starting price ($199, matched only by Bench’s US-dollar Light plan) and the lowest price at which an accountant reviews and signs the books ($299). The T2 is separate, from $1,000 a year, and every price is on one page with the bundle discount shown. The honest limits: the $199 plan is AI-run, cash-basis books with no accountant review and no filing; it suits an owner who wants clean, current numbers and already has a tax preparer. If you want the filings done and signed, Core at $299 is the comparison to make against the $1,000-and-up tier at the other firms.
The prices are on the page. The number for your business takes one call.
Daily AI bookkeeping from $199 a month, accountant-reviewed from $299, T2 from $1,000 a year — confirmed for your file on a 20-minute call.
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Common questions
How much does bookkeeping cost in Canada per month?
Among firms that publish a price, the starting points on October 15, 2026 ran from $199 a month (taxifi DIY, AI-run) and $350 (Avalon Launch) through $500–$800 (Outsource Bookkeeping) to $1,000 and up (Enkel, Zenbooks) and $1,250 (LiveCA). A 2026 industry survey puts the typical outsourced monthly service at $400–$800 for a small business. The corporate tax return is usually extra.
Is $199 a month for bookkeeping realistic?
Yes, for a specific product: software that categorizes and reconciles your bank and card feeds daily, keeps cash-basis books and produces a year-end package for a tax preparer, with no accountant reviewing the month. taxifi’s DIY plan and Bench’s Light plan are both priced there. If you want an accountant to review and sign each month and file your HST, the published floor is taxifi Core at $299; most firms that include an accountant start at $1,000 or more.
Does the monthly bookkeeping price include my corporate tax return?
Usually not. Of the eight providers with published prices, three include the T2 in a monthly package (Avalon, LiveCA and ConnectCPA), taxifi prices it separately from $1,000 a year, Enkel does not offer it, and the rest do not say on their pricing pages. Always ask for the year-end price in writing before comparing monthly fees.
Why don’t most accounting firms publish prices?
Because most price by the file: transaction volume, accrual complexity, how far behind the books are and which filings are needed all change the work, and a published number invites comparison on price alone. The trade-off falls on the buyer, who cannot compare firms without a call with each. Firms that do publish, including taxifi, usually publish a starting price per tier and confirm it on one call.
What is the difference between a bookkeeper’s price and an accountant’s?
A bookkeeper records and reconciles transactions; in Canada that work is unregulated and typically costs $35–$85 an hour or $400–$800 a month outsourced. An accountant reviews the books, signs the filings and takes professional responsibility for them, which is why packages with an accountant in the loop start higher. Most incorporated businesses need both, which is the bill a done-for-you service combines.
Does AI bookkeeping change the price?
It changes the cost of the recording and reconciling, which is the part that used to be billed by the hour. That is why an AI-run, cash-basis plan can be priced at $199 and why an accountant-reviewed plan can be priced at $299 instead of $1,000 and up. It does not change the price of judgment: the T2, tax planning and catch-up on messy books are still accountant work and are priced as such.