How much does an Accountant charge?

What is an Accountant? 

Regardless of whether it’s a solo freelancer or a huge multinational firm, every business needs to manage its accounts. Put simply, an accountant manages a company’s financial records. This involves a complex range of duties including tracking revenues and expenses, offering financial consultations, and ensuring your company meets regulations. 

While some large businesses can afford to employ salaried accountants, not everyone has that luxury. If you’re self-employed, a freelancer or a small business, you might not have the time or understanding of the US financial system to manage your own accounts. Hiring an accountant can help you to keep your financial records in order, freeing up more time to focus on your business.

What’s the average cost of an Account? 

Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their accountancy fees! The cost of hiring an accountant can range from $150 - $400 per hour, depending on the size of your business and the services you require. It also depends on if you want to pay your accountant by the hour, monthly, or per annum. To give you a general idea, we've calculated the average hourly rate of accountants across Canada:

Factors influencing cost

The key factors that influence the cost of an accountant are: 

• The size of your business

• The service you require

• Length of time (One-time service versus ongoing service) 

The size of your business

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to accountancy fees. The main reason for this is because businesses vary so dramatically in size. As a ballpark figure, a small business can expect to spend the following on their accounting services every year: 

Average yearly spend on accounting for small businesses - $1,000 - $5,000 

This depends on whether you need to hire someone for a one-time service or an ongoing basis, and the type of service you require. 

The service you require 

Accounting encompasses a huge range of services, from tax returns to financial regulation. If you’re not sure what your business needs to lift it off the ground or drive revenue, accountants will often offer a free initial consultation to determine where your money would be best spent. 

Length of time 

You can choose a one-time or ongoing accountancy service depending on the nature of your business and the service you require. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that a one-off-service won’t be as expensive as hiring an accountant for a monthly service. The frequency of the service required will also depend on the type of job you need them to do. For example, some jobs, such as tax return preparation, only need to be carried out every so often. 

How to save money with an Accountant 

Keeping track of your finances is tricky when you’re running a business, especially if you don’t have a background in finance or the Canadian financial regulation system. If you’re considering handling your finances yourself, remember that hiring an expert to do it properly can save you money in the long run. Here are 3 reasons why: 

• Avoid tax penalties - If you’re not up to speed with recent changes in regulations for business taxes, it could be very easy to fill out your taxes incorrectly (or not fill them out at all!) which could result in you having to pay hefty tax penalties. Hiring an accountant ensures you won’t incur any unnecessary costs.

• Helps you to save - Your accountant will know your financial ingoings and outgoings right down to the very last detail. By keeping track of where your money is going, they’ll be able to advise you on where you can cut costs. 

• Plan for the future - Your accountant will be able to assist you in planning for the future using the insights they’ve gained from tracking your financial records. They’ll be able to offer expert advice on how to boost your performance and grow your business, whether you’re wanting to increase your revenue or scale globally. 

Get help balancing the books  - find an Accountant on Bark.