How much does bookkeeping cost in BC? 2026 prices for small businesses
What a bookkeeper really costs in BC in 2026: in-house wages and payroll costs, hourly help, monthly bookkeeping services and software, with a calculator.
In short
- The median wage for a bookkeeper in the Lower Mainland is $28.85 an hour (Job Bank, wages updated November 2025).
- A full-time in-house bookkeeper at that wage costs about $5,260 a month once vacation pay and the employer share of CPP and EI are added, before any benefits, software or desk space.
- Part-time help at 10 hours a week costs about $1,390 a month on the same basis.
- A monthly bookkeeping service puts the work, the software and the review into one fixed fee. Ours start at $349 a month.
The honest answer to "how much does bookkeeping cost" is that it depends on how many transactions you have, how messy they are, and who does the work. This guide puts real 2026 numbers on each option a BC small business has: doing it yourself with software, hiring a bookkeeper, paying someone by the hour, or using a monthly bookkeeping service. Every figure comes from a public source, and we show the arithmetic.
Option 1: an in-house bookkeeper
Job Bank, the federal government's labour market service, reports a median wage of $28.85 an hour for bookkeepers (NOC 12200) in the Lower Mainland and Southwest region, with low and high wages of $20.00 and $45.00. The BC-wide median is $28.00 (Job Bank wage report, reference period 2023 to 2024, updated November 19, 2025).
The wage is not the cost. As an employer in BC you also pay:
- Vacation pay: at least 4% of wages once an employee has worked for you for a year.
- Your share of CPP: 5.95% of pensionable earnings above the $3,500 basic exemption, up to $74,600 in 2026.
- Your share of EI: $2.28 per $100 of insurable earnings in 2026, up to $68,900.
- WorkSafeBC premiums, which depend on your industry rate.
- BC Employer Health Tax, but only if your total BC payroll is over $1 million. Below that it is zero.
| 10 hours a week | 20 hours a week | Full time, 37.5 hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wages (52 weeks) | $15,002 | $30,004 | $56,258 |
| Vacation pay (4%) | $600 | $1,200 | $2,250 |
| Employer CPP (5.95%) | $720 | $1,648 | $3,273 |
| Employer EI (2.28%) | $356 | $711 | $1,334 |
| Total per year | $16,678 | $33,564 | $63,115 |
| Total per month | $1,390 | $2,797 | $5,260 |
Our arithmetic from the Job Bank median and the 2026 CPP and EI rates. Excludes WorkSafeBC premiums, benefits, statutory holiday pay, software, equipment, training and the time it takes you to manage and review the work.
$1,390per month for an in-house bookkeeper
Wages, 4% vacation pay and 2026 employer CPP and EI. Compare: Essentials $349, Growth $749 a month.
An in-house bookkeeper makes sense when you have enough daily work to fill the hours: a high volume of invoices, purchasing, payroll or inventory that someone needs to handle in the office. The risks are concentration (one person knows how the books work) and cover for holidays and sick days.
Option 2: an hourly bookkeeper
Independent bookkeepers usually bill by the hour. Their rate is higher than an employee's wage, because they pay their own software, insurance, training, holidays and the hours they cannot bill. The useful question is not only the rate, but the hours: ask for an estimate of hours per month for your volume, and what happens when a month takes longer.
Hourly billing works well for small, steady books. It becomes unpredictable when you are behind, when a sales tax return is due, or when the bookkeeper is fixing the same problem every month.
Option 3: a monthly bookkeeping service
Monthly or "virtual" bookkeeping services charge a fixed fee for a defined scope, usually based on how many transactions you have. Searches in BC for "monthly bookkeeping services" and "virtual bookkeeping services" both started rising this year, according to Google Trends. The fee normally covers the work, the software and a review, so you can compare it directly with the monthly totals above.
| Plan | Price | Who does the work | Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| AxLedger | $39 | You, with AI suggestions | Bank matching and rules, bills read from PDFs, GST/HST, PST and QST support |
| Essentials | $349 | Our bookkeepers | Up to 100 transactions, up to 3 bank and card accounts, monthly close, GST/HST returns prepared |
| Growth | $749 | Our bookkeepers | Up to 400 transactions, bills and invoice follow-up, GST/HST, PST and QST returns, year-end package |
| Scale | From $1,490 | Our team, with a senior accountant | Several companies and currencies, management reports |
Full details on our pricing page. Scope and price are confirmed in writing before we start.
Option 4: do it yourself with software
Doing your own books with good software costs the least in cash and the most in your time. It suits a business with few transactions and an owner who enjoys it. The two things to budget for are your hours (a few each month, more before a return is due) and a review before year-end, because mistakes in tax codes and unreconciled accounts are expensive to fix later.
The cost of your own time
Put a number on your hours. If you spend 8 hours a month on the books and value your time at $75 an hour, that is $600 a month, more than our Essentials plan, and it is often evenings and weekends. The bigger cost is what does not get done: unreconciled months, unclaimed input tax credits and a scramble before each return.
Signs you have outgrown doing it yourself
- You are more than one month behind on reconciling.
- You collect both GST and PST, or sell into other provinces.
- Your accountant sends a long list of questions at year-end, or adjusts a lot of entries.
- You have staff, or plan to hire.
- You cannot say, within a few days of month-end, how much cash you made last month.
Three BC examples
| Business | Monthly volume | Likely fit |
|---|---|---|
| Consultant in Vancouver, one bank account and one credit card, GST only | About 40 transactions | AxLedger on your own, or Essentials if you would rather not do it |
| Café in Burnaby with card sales through a payment processor, GST and PST, five staff | About 300 transactions | Growth: PST returns, bills from suppliers and payroll-related entries |
| Contractor group with two companies and a US dollar account | 500 or more transactions | Scale, quoted for the volume and both companies |
Your quote depends on your actual volume and scope. The free health check is where we measure it.
What actually drives the price
- Transactions per month. Every bank and card line has to be matched, categorised and checked. This is the biggest single driver.
- Number of bank and card accounts, and how many currencies.
- Sales tax. A BC business that charges GST and PST, or sells into other provinces, has more returns and more tax codes to get right.
- Bills and invoices. Entering bills, paying suppliers and chasing customers is extra work beyond reconciliation.
- Payroll and staff, which add remittances, slips and year-end forms.
- How far behind you are. Catch-up work is quoted separately; see our guide to catch-up bookkeeping.
How to compare quotes
- Ask what is included: reconciliation, sales tax returns, bills, invoice follow-up, month-end close, year-end package.
- Ask how they count transactions and what happens if you go over.
- Ask who reviews the work, and whether you can see who changed what.
- Ask whether you keep your software, or have to move. Moving is a cost too.
- Ask how quickly the month is closed, and what they need from you to hit that date.
Questions
How much does a bookkeeper make in Vancouver?
Job Bank reports a median of $28.85 an hour for bookkeepers in the Lower Mainland and Southwest region, with low and high wages of $20.00 and $45.00 (reference period 2023 to 2024, updated November 2025).
How much does a full-time bookkeeper cost an employer in BC?
At the median wage, about $63,000 a year, or $5,260 a month, once 4% vacation pay and the 2026 employer CPP and EI contributions are added. Benefits, WorkSafeBC, software and space are extra.
How much do monthly bookkeeping services cost?
It depends on transactions and scope. Axanium plans are $349 a month for up to 100 transactions and $749 a month for up to 400, with software included.
Is bookkeeping subject to PST in BC?
Not at the moment. The planned PST on accounting and bookkeeping services was paused on September 18, 2026.
Sources
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