What is monthly bookkeeping?
Monthly bookkeeping is a fixed routine: once a month, every account the business uses is matched to its statement, each transaction is coded, and the period is locked so the figures stop moving. You get statements that describe last month, not last quarter.
We finish the previous month by the 10th. You receive the statements, a receivables list and a short note in plain language: what came in, what went out, what looks off. A duplicated supplier charge or a deposit that never cleared shows up while it is a few weeks old and simple to fix.
What does Coquitlam Bookkeeping include in monthly bookkeeping?
- Every chequing account, credit card, credit line and processor matched to its statement
- Transaction coding against your chart of accounts, with the receipt or bill attached
- A monthly income statement, balance sheet and list of unpaid invoices by age
- GST collected and paid held in their own accounts, ready for GST and PST filing
- A written close note and a short list of questions, from the same bookkeeper each month
What software do you use for monthly bookkeeping?
QuickBooks Online or Xero holds the ledger. Dext captures receipts, whether you snap a photo after a showing or forward an email. Plooto handles supplier payments. Already on one of them? We keep it. Starting from scratch, we usually set up QuickBooks Online, with every subscription in your name.
For agents, we also work from the brokerage's commission statements each month. The bank deposit shows what landed; the statement shows the gross commission, the split and the fees taken off before it did.
What's the difference between a bookkeeper, a CPA and a tax preparer?
The bookkeeper keeps the ledger current all year, the CPA turns it into year-end financial statements and advises on structure and tax, and the tax preparer files the returns. Many owners use one CPA firm for the last two, and its fee depends on how clean the books arrive.
| Role | What they own | When | Typical cost (CAD) | Credential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Reconciliations, monthly statements, GST and PST returns, payroll | Every month | Monthly retainer; ours start at $500 to $750 per month CAD | CPB or equivalent experience |
| CPA | Year-end financial statements, adjusting entries, tax planning, PREC and HoldCo setup | Once a year, plus advice when needed | Commonly $2,000 to $6,000 a year for a small corporation, more with several entities | CPA |
| Tax preparer | Personal T1 returns with T776 rental schedules; corporate T2 returns | Once a year | Often $150 to $600 per personal return; the T2 is usually part of the CPA's year-end fee | CPA or an experienced preparer |
The CPA and tax-preparer figures are rough market ranges, not quotes. We are a bookkeeping practice, not a CPA firm. When the fiscal year ends, your CPA gets a reconciled file through our year-end preparation work, and we answer their follow-up questions ourselves.
What is not included in monthly bookkeeping?
The monthly close stops where tax work and regulated work begin. Left out:
- Filing corporate (T2) or personal (T1) income tax returns
- Audits, reviews or compilation engagements, which sit with a CPA
- Tax advice on presale assignments, flips or the sale of a rental. We keep the records; your CPA gives the advice
- Brokerage trust accounting, which belongs to the brokerage under BCFSA's trust account guidelines
No CPA yet? Ask, and we'll point you toward a sensible first conversation.
What does monthly bookkeeping cost in Coquitlam?
Monthly bookkeeping in Coquitlam starts at $500 to $750 per month CAD for one business with light volume. The tier then moves with three things: transactions per month, the number of entities, and whether payroll is part of the file.
| Tier | Monthly transactions | Monthly fee (CAD) | Typical shape |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steady | 0 to 50 | $500 to $750 | Monthly bookkeeping for single-entity businesses with straightforward transaction volume. |
| Considered | 50 to 150 | $800 to $1,200 | Monthly bookkeeping with payroll, AP, and quarterly review calls for businesses with more moving parts. |
| Bespoke | 150 or more | $1,250 to $2,000 | Holding companies, multi-entity structures, and fractional controller engagements. |
An agent with a PREC alone is a smaller file than an agent with a PREC, a HoldCo and two presales, because each entity is its own set of books with its own bank feed. Fees are plus applicable taxes. We quote after a 20-minute call and a short review of your accounts. Books that have fallen behind are brought current first through catch-up bookkeeping, quoted separately.
How does monthly bookkeeping work for Coquitlam realtors and investors with uneven income?
It runs on the same calendar whether the month brought three closings or none, and that sameness is what makes lumpy income readable. Coquitlam's condo and townhome market moves in bursts, so much of an agent's year can arrive in a few months. Closing slow months as carefully as busy ones shows how long a strong quarter's cash has to last.
For agents and investors we add a few steps to the close:
- Commission statements, not just deposits. When an agent works through a PREC, the brokerage pays the PREC rather than the agent personally, and on a team the brokerage pays each member separately (BCFSA PREC guidelines). We book gross commission, split, brokerage and desk fees, and GST from the statement, so the PREC's revenue is right even when the deposit is net.
- A set-aside line. Each close shows GST collected and an amount held back toward income tax, at a percentage your CPA sets. A big spring stops looking like spare cash by autumn.
- Presale deposits recorded as assets. Deposits on Evergreen Line towers in City Centre and Burquitlam can sit for years before completion. Each is booked to the right entity with the contract, receipts and key dates on file, so the CPA has the paper trail if a unit is later assigned or sold. Tax treatment is theirs to decide.
- Rentals tracked by unit. Rent, strata fees, property tax, insurance and repairs are coded per property, and larger repairs are flagged for the CPA to class as current or capital. The T776 at tax time becomes a summary rather than a project.
- Each entity in its own books. The PREC, the HoldCo and personally held rentals stay separate, and balances between them are reconciled every month.
Further reading
Start with the pillar, The Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping, which covers the close, sales tax, payroll and year-end.
- How much does bookkeeping cost in Coquitlam in 2026?: price bands, what moves the fee, and what cheap books cost at year-end.
- Bookkeeping for a personal real estate corporation (PREC) in BC: running PREC books month to month, and what the CPA will ask for.
- Rental property bookkeeping for Coquitlam condo owners: strata fees, repairs versus improvements, and getting ready for the T776.
A good fit if
- You are an agent, investor or owner-operator in Coquitlam or elsewhere in the Tri-Cities
- You run one to a few entities, such as a PREC, an operating company or a HoldCo with rentals
- You want one bookkeeper on your file and an answer by the next business day
Probably not the right fit if
- A once-a-year tax filing is all you're after
- You want advice on whether to assign, hold or sell a presale, which is a conversation for your CPA
- Your volume and budget sit below the Steady tier