Quick answer
Our monthly bookkeeping plans start at $199 a month — $228.85 with Newfoundland and Labrador’s 15% HST1 — and the price follows the size of the business, not its postal code. The local difference is mostly payroll: every employer in the province registers with WorkplaceNL, and larger payrolls also pay the provincial payroll tax.2,3 Books that track payroll properly make both straightforward.
What will bookkeeping cost my St. John’s business?
| Plan | Monthly fee | Including HST | Transaction volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $199 | $228.85 | Up to 75 transactions per month |
| Growth | $299 | $343.85 | Up to 200 transactions per month |
| Pro | $399 | $458.85 | Up to 400 transactions per month |
Every plan includes the same monthly work; the tiers are about size. Add payroll for $69 a month plus $10 per employee. A monthly client’s corporate tax return (T2) starts from $799. All of it is plus HST, and all of it is on our pricing section.
For a GST/HST registrant, the HST on those fees is normally recoverable: CRA describes input tax credits as the way a registrant recovers tax paid on expenses for its commercial activities.4
Why does payroll matter more in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Every Canadian employer deducts CPP contributions, EI premiums and income tax from pay.5 Newfoundland and Labrador adds two provincial obligations that read from the same payroll numbers:
| Obligation | Who | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Federal source deductions | Every employer | CPP, EI and income tax deducted and remitted to CRA5 |
| WorkplaceNL | All employers doing business in the province2 | Assessments based on assessable earnings,2 reported each year on the Annual Employer Statement by February 286 |
| Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax | Employers whose annual remuneration in the province exceeds an exemption threshold3 | A payroll tax administered by the provincial Department of Finance3 |
The payroll tax only applies above the threshold, and the province publishes the current threshold and rate on its payroll tax page. For a growing employer, the useful habit is knowing year-to-date remuneration at any point in the year — which is what reconciled payroll in the books gives you.
Has the HST rate in Newfoundland and Labrador changed?
Not recently. It rose from 13% to 15% on July 1, 2016,7 and CRA’s rate table still lists the same rate for the province today.1
CRA generally expects records to be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to,8 so a catch-up job today rarely reaches back to the old rate. The more practical question in a catch-up is whether HST was recorded separately on each purchase, because that is what an input tax credit claim is built from.
What does the provincial registry expect of a business?
- Corporations file an Annual Return. The province says a corporation must file one to maintain its corporate status, and that not filing will eventually lead to involuntary dissolution or cancellation after three years.9
- There is no provincial business-name registry. The Registry of Companies says Newfoundland and Labrador does not currently have legislation governing a business name registry.10
An Annual Return is not a financial filing, but it is one more date that is easy to lose in a busy year. It belongs on the same calendar as your HST periods and your T2, which a corporation generally files within six months of its year end.11
Is bookkeeping cheaper in St. John’s?
Job Bank’s November 19, 2025 wage update puts the median hourly wage for accounting technicians and bookkeepers on the Avalon Peninsula below the national median.12,13 A wage is what an employee is paid, though, not what a firm charges, and our own prices are the same in every city.
Who does the work is also worth a look. The province’s Act reserves public accounting for licensed public accountants, and its definition of a public accountant does not include someone who engages only in bookkeeping.14 So the bookkeeping and an audit or review are different jobs, done under different rules — see bookkeeper vs accountant.
Who are the businesses around St. John’s?
Small, for the most part. Statistics Canada’s business counts show that more than half of the province’s business locations with employees have fewer than five, and about three in four have fewer than ten.15
For a seasonal business — tourism, hospitality, construction — a flat monthly fee keeps the bookkeeping cost level through the quiet months, while payroll changes with the season. We work with owner-operated businesses in St. John's, Mount Pearl, Paradise, Conception Bay South, Torbay, Portugal Cove–St. Philip's, Logy Bay–Middle Cove–Outer Cove and the communities around them, with a St. John’s-based bookkeeper as the regular contact.
Frequently asked questions
Is HST charged on bookkeeping in St. John’s?
Our fees are plus HST at Newfoundland and Labrador’s rate of 15%.1 A GST/HST registrant can generally recover it as an input tax credit.4
Does a small employer pay the provincial payroll tax?
Only an employer whose annual remuneration in the province exceeds the exemption threshold. The Department of Finance publishes the current threshold and rate.3
Do I need to register a business name with the province?
The province’s Registry of Companies says Newfoundland and Labrador does not currently have legislation governing a business name registry.10 Corporations are a different matter, and file an Annual Return.9
Do you work with businesses outside the city?
Yes — across the Northeast Avalon, including Mount Pearl, Paradise, Conception Bay South, Torbay, Portugal Cove–St. Philip's, Logy Bay–Middle Cove–Outer Cove. Most of the work happens online.
Sources
- GST/HST calculator (and rates), Canada Revenue Agency. Accessed .
- Register My Business, WorkplaceNL. Accessed .
- Health and Post Secondary Education Tax (Payroll Tax), Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Finance. Accessed .
- Input tax credits, Canada Revenue Agency. Accessed .
- Get ready to make deductions, Canada Revenue Agency. Accessed .
- Annual Assessment, WorkplaceNL. Accessed .
- Harmonized Sales Tax, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Finance. Accessed .
- Where to keep your records, for how long and how to request the permission to destroy them early, Canada Revenue Agency. Accessed .
- Annual Returns, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Government Services. Accessed .
- About the Registry, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Government Services. Accessed .
- When to file your corporation income tax return, Canada Revenue Agency. Accessed .
- Bookkeeper in Newfoundland and Labrador: Wages, Job Bank (Government of Canada). Accessed .
- Bookkeeper in Canada: Wages, Job Bank (Government of Canada). Accessed .
- Chartered Professional Accountants and Public Accountants Act, SNL 2014 c. C-10.1, House of Assembly, Newfoundland and Labrador. Accessed .
- Canadian Business Counts, with employees, June 2026 (Table 33-10-1174-01), Statistics Canada. Accessed .
This article is general information about how things usually work in Canada, current as of the date it was last updated. It isn’t advice about your own tax or accounting position, which depends on facts we haven’t seen.