Turn your expected hours of bookkeeping or year-end work into a low and high fee range, plus fixed costs such as software or a separate T2 fee.
Use this estimator before you ask firms for quotes, so you know whether a proposal is in a reasonable range for the work involved. Pick who does the work, enter the hours you expect and add fixed amounts such as an accounting software subscription or a flat fee the firm charges per T2 return or per slip.
Formula. Low estimate = hours x low hourly rate + fixed amounts. High estimate = hours x high hourly rate + fixed amounts.
Worked example (illustrative). A consulting corporation with clean, reconciled books needs about 8 hours of year-end work from a blended team. At $110 to $200 an hour that is $880 to $1,600, plus $600 of fixed items such as a year of software, for a range of $1,480 to $2,200. If the books arrive unreconciled and the firm needs another 12 hours, the range climbs to $2,800 to $4,600.
Limits. The hourly ranges in the menu are placeholders to show how the arithmetic works, not survey data or market rates. Rates vary by city, firm size, season and complexity; replace them with the rates on your own quotes. Many firms quote fixed fees instead of hours: divide a fixed quote by your hours estimate to compare. Add GST/HST or GST plus QST to the fees, because accounting services are taxable. See the fee estimate guide.
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