Question 1

How much does bookkeeping cost in Vancouver?

Accepted Answer

Two numbers set the market in Metro Vancouver: roughly $40–$70/hour for a freelance bookkeeper, and $2,000–$3,500/month for a part-time in-house hire once you add payroll cost, software, and the time you spend supervising. Outsource Bookkeeping charges $500/month flat for unlimited transactions, or $350/month if you run under 50 transactions a month. Both sales tax returns BC requires — the GST return to CRA and the PST return to the BC Ministry of Finance — are inside that price rather than billed as a separate engagement.

Question 2

Does Vancouver use HST or GST + PST?

Accepted Answer

GST + PST. BC reversed its move to HST after the 2011 referendum, so a Vancouver business collects 5% federal GST and 7% provincial PST separately. They go to two different governments through two different systems: GST through CRA, PST through eTaxBC at the BC Ministry of Finance. Two registrations, two returns, two sets of records. This is the single biggest difference between bookkeeping in Vancouver and bookkeeping in Toronto, and it is the part an Ontario-trained bookkeeper is most likely to get wrong.

Question 3

Can I use a virtual bookkeeper if my business is in Vancouver?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and BC's tax setup is part of why it works. Both returns that matter to you are already electronic — GST through CRA's portal, PST through eTaxBC — so there is nothing a bookkeeper sitting in a Vancouver office can file that a remote bookkeeper cannot. What actually matters is whether whoever keeps your books has your bank feeds, your QuickBooks Online or Xero file, and a fixed monthly close. We work with Vancouver clients that way and send reports by the 10th.

Question 4

What bookkeeping services do Vancouver small businesses need?

Accepted Answer

Monthly bank and credit-card reconciliation, a GST return filed with CRA, a PST return filed with the BC Ministry of Finance, accounts payable and receivable tracking, payroll journal entries posted from your payroll provider's reports, reconciliation of your CRA source-deduction remittances and any BC Employer Health Tax instalments, monthly P&L and Balance Sheet, and a year-end package your accountant can work from. All of it is inside the flat $500/month, delivered by the 10th.

Question 5

Do you serve businesses in Burnaby, Richmond, and Surrey?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and each of those cities has its own page on this site. We work across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley — Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, Langley, Abbotsford, North and West Vancouver, Port Moody, Maple Ridge — plus Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna, and Kamloops. The tax treatment is identical everywhere in BC because PST is provincial, so the rate and the delivery date do not change based on where in the province you are.

Question 6

How does BC's PST affect my bookkeeping?

Accepted Answer

More than most owners expect, because PST does not behave like GST. There are no input tax credits on the PST side. PST you pay on business purchases is not recoverable — it is part of the cost of the item, so it belongs in the expense or asset account, not in a tax receivable. A bookkeeper who codes BC PST the way they would code Ontario HST will quietly overstate your receivables and understate your expenses all year, and your accountant finds it at year-end. On the sales side, taxable versus exempt categorization has to be right at the invoice level, because that is what the PST return is built from.

Question 7

Does BC have a payroll tax for Vancouver employers?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the BC Employer Health Tax, administered by the BC Ministry of Finance and completely separate from your CRA payroll remittances. Employers under the BC payroll exemption threshold owe nothing; above it, a notch rate phases in before the full rate applies, and registered charities and non-profits are assessed differently. The threshold is the thing to watch: a Vancouver business that adds a few salaries can cross it mid-year without noticing. We track your BC payroll total against the current threshold and reconcile your EHT instalments alongside your CRA remittances so the year-end number is not a surprise.

Question 8

What are bookkeeping rates in Vancouver for 2026?

Accepted Answer

The rate table further up this page has the current Metro Vancouver figures. The thing that moves the number in Vancouver rather than in Calgary or Toronto is scope: BC requires two sales tax returns instead of one, so anyone billing hourly bills for two filings, and many flat-rate providers treat PST as an add-on line. When you compare quotes, ask what happens to the price when the PST return is due. Ours does not change — $500/month covers both returns, or $350/month under 50 transactions.

Question 9

What is the best bookkeeping service in Vancouver?

Accepted Answer

There is no single best one, but there are four questions that filter the field fast for a BC business. Does the provider file the PST return themselves or hand it back to you? Do they code PST paid on purchases as a cost rather than a recoverable credit? Do they know your PST reporting period may not match your GST reporting period? And will they commit to a date for your monthly reports? Outsource Bookkeeping answers yes to all four: both returns filed, PST treated correctly, and reports in your inbox by the 10th.

Question 10

Do I have to charge BC PST on software or SaaS?

Accepted Answer

Often, yes — and this catches Vancouver tech companies out. BC treats software and telecommunication services as taxable, including subscription software delivered over the internet to a BC customer. That is different from the GST question, and it is also different from most other provinces. It means a Vancouver SaaS business can owe PST on its own domestic revenue and pay PST on the tools it subscribes to. Rules on out-of-province sellers and on what counts as taxable software are specific, so we set your tax codes up against your actual product and billing before the first return rather than after it.

Question 11

When does a Vancouver business have to register for BC PST?

Accepted Answer

If you sell or lease taxable goods in BC, sell software or telecommunication services to BC customers, or provide taxable services related to goods — repairs, maintenance, installation on tangible property — you generally need a PST number from the BC Ministry of Finance. Registration is a separate step from your CRA GST number and does not happen automatically when you incorporate. Most straight professional services are exempt, which is why a Vancouver consultancy may need only GST while a Vancouver trades business needs both. We check which side of the line you fall on and handle the registration if you need one.

Question 12

Do my GST and PST returns have the same filing deadline?

Accepted Answer

Not usually, and that is a common source of late filings. CRA assigns your GST reporting period based on revenue, while the BC Ministry of Finance assigns your PST reporting period separately — so a Vancouver business can easily end up filing PST monthly and GST quarterly. BC PST returns are due the last day of the month after the reporting period ends. Running two calendars manually is where owners slip; we track both against your books so neither one comes due unnoticed.

Question 13

Is an online bookkeeper right for my Vancouver business?

Accepted Answer

For most Vancouver small businesses, yes. If your banking, invoicing, and receipts are digital — or could be — nothing about BC filing requires a bookkeeper in the room. You are also not paying for Lower Mainland office space through your invoice. An in-person bookkeeper still makes sense if you handle real volumes of paper or cash that genuinely cannot be scanned. Everything else — reconciliation, the GST return, the PST return, monthly reports — works the same remotely. Onboarding is a short video call, secure access to your QuickBooks Online or Xero file and BC bank feeds, and a review of how PST is currently coded in your file.

Question 14

Do you offer bookkeeping for startups in Vancouver, BC?

Accepted Answer

Yes — a good share of our Vancouver work is early-stage, from Gastown software companies to Mount Pleasant agencies. Startup books in BC have their own traps: getting PST registration timing right when your first product is software, keeping SR&ED-eligible costs identifiable in the chart of accounts, splitting contractor from employee correctly before you have a payroll provider, and having clean records ready for a first raise. Flat $500/month keeps the cost predictable while volume grows, and your accountant gets a CRA-ready year-end package.

Question 15

Do you do cloud bookkeeping for Vancouver small businesses?

Accepted Answer

Yes — cloud bookkeeping is the whole model. We run your books in QuickBooks Online or Xero, connect your BC bank and credit-card feeds, and capture receipts digitally, so the file updates continuously instead of once a quarter. You can log in any time to see profit, cash position, and what is currently sitting in GST payable and PST payable — two separate balances in BC, which is exactly why they are worth watching between filings. Reports are delivered by the 10th.

Question 16

What does small business bookkeeping in Vancouver include?

Accepted Answer

Monthly bank and credit-card reconciliation, GST filed with CRA, PST filed with the BC Ministry of Finance, accounts payable and receivable tracking, payroll journal entries posted from your payroll provider plus reconciliation of CRA source-deduction remittances and BC Employer Health Tax instalments, and monthly Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow reports — with a CRA-ready year-end package for your accountant. One flat $500/month price, and the second BC return is not an extra.

Service	Vancouver Rate
Flat-rate monthly bookkeeping — Standard (Outsource Bookkeeping)	$500/month
Flat-rate monthly bookkeeping — Starter, under 50 transactions/mo	$350/month
Freelance hourly bookkeeper — Metro Vancouver	$40–$70/hour
Part-time employee bookkeeper — Metro Vancouver	$2,000–$3,500/month
BC PST return — filed with the Ministry of Finance	In the plan, not an extra
GST return — filed with CRA	In the plan, not an extra

Bookkeeping Services Vancouver.

Get a free quote for Vancouver

Two tax authorities. One flat price.

Two tax accounts, kept apart

PST coded as cost, not credit

Reports by the 10th

Different neighbourhoods, different PST questions.

Everything your Vancouver bookkeeper handles for you.

Reconciliation & BC Tax Codes

GST Return Filed with CRA

PST Return Filed with the BC Ministry of Finance

Payroll Entries & BC EHT Reconciliation

Monthly Financial Reporting

Year-End Package for Your Accountant

Tech, film, real estate, trade — all of Vancouver.

Nothing in a BC filing happens in person.

Freelance Hourly Bookkeeper

Part-Time In-House Bookkeeper

Outsource Bookkeeping (Remote)

Vancouver Bookkeeping Rates — What Do They Cost?

BC PST is not a second HST.

Two registrations, two portals

No input tax credits on PST

Your two filing calendars may not match

Software and telecom are taxable in BC

Most professional services are exempt

Services related to goods are taxable

Goods brought into BC can still carry PST

BC Employer Health Tax runs alongside

Vancouver bookkeeping questions answered.

Same two returns, everywhere in BC.

Talk to a bookkeeper serving Vancouver.