The short version: a bookkeeper records what happened — an accountant interprets it, files on it and advises. Most businesses need both, but not at the same time, not on the same cycle, and not at the same price.
The cycle is continuous — daily or weekly entry, closing monthly. Bookkeeping is the foundation everything else stands on.
The cycle is longer and episodic — quarterly reviews, an annual tax season, a specific decision. Accountants are specialists you consult; bookkeepers are a function that runs.
Done-for-you bookkeeping runs $75–$400 a month at published 2026 entry prices; freelance bookkeepers charge $25–$75 an hour. CPA time is a different order of magnitude — commonly $150–$450 an hour in 2026 surveys. That gap is the argument for clean books: every hour your CPA spends untangling a messy ledger is billed at CPA rates for bookkeeper work.
Bookkeeper first, almost always. Books are needed continuously from day one; filings come later and are built from the books. When tax season arrives, a CPA who receives a reconciled ledger with source documents linked to every transaction works faster, asks fewer questions, and bills fewer hours.
Kai records your documents daily in QuickBooks, Xero or another platform — yours, or one we manage for you — and a person signs every monthly close. Flat monthly pricing, quoted in writing.
Generally no — tax filing belongs to a CPA, enrolled agent or equivalent licensed professional in your jurisdiction. A bookkeeper's job is to hand that professional a reconciled, documented ledger so the filing is fast and defensible.
For filings, statutory statements and strategic advice, yes. But clean books change the economics: a CPA working from a reconciled ledger with linked source documents typically bills materially fewer hours than one who has to reconstruct the year first.
In virtually every jurisdiction, businesses must keep records sufficient to support their tax filings — organized source documents and books that agree with the bank. Accurate bookkeeping is how you meet that obligation; the specific retention rules vary by country, so confirm details with your accountant.
