No, you do not need to be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to be a bookkeeper. While CPAs are licensed professionals focusing on high-level tax strategy, auditing, and financial analysis, bookkeepers focus on day-to-day financial data entry, recording transactions, and managing accounts payable/receivable.
Accounting technicians and bookkeepers are not regulated in Canada. This means that you are not required to be registered with one of the provincial or territorial regulatory authorities to be authorized to practise as an accounting technician and/or bookkeeper in Canada.
Businesses rely on bookkeepers to maintain their financial records and ensure that financial reports are as accurate as possible. Many bookkeepers perform a combination of these tasks plus other basic accounting and/or auditing tasks without the need for a CPA certification.
The role of an accountant doesn't require you to complete any specific certification or achievement, such as the CPA designation. In the role, you may work with other senior-level financial experts or operate as part of a team of accountants to ensure proper practices.
Initially, bookkeepers and accountants take the same foundational accounting courses. However, accountants go on for further training and education, which results in differences in their roles, earnings expectations and career growth.
average bookkeeper salary
According to Job Bank, the average salary of a bookkeeper is $55,114 per year, which translates to $22.81 per hour. When you work in an entry-level position, you earn $38,730 per year.
You'll need 150 semester hours (225 quarter hours) which takes most people around five years. You'll need at least 120 semester hours (180 quarter hours) to sit for the CPA Exam. Passing all four sections of the CPA Exam takes between one and two years. You'll need at least one year of qualifying employment.
No, an accounting degree is not useless without a CPA; it opens many doors in corporate, government, and non-profit sectors (like financial analysis, management accounting, and internal audit), but a CPA is often essential for public accounting (especially auditing), high-level management roles (like CFO/Controller), and roles requiring public attestations, with the CPA providing a significant career boost, higher earning potential, and faster advancement, according to Bellevue University, Franklin University, Post University, and SuperfastCPA.
You don't need a certification to be a bookkeeper, but credentials like Certified Bookkeeper (CB) (from AIPB) or Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) (from NACPB) validate skills, build credibility, and can lead to better job opportunities, often requiring experience and passing exams on accounting fundamentals, software, and reporting. Other valuable options include software-specific certificates, like Intuit's, which show proficiency with tools like QuickBooks, making you more marketable, especially for remote roles.
Your Pathway to CPB Certification
Comparison between CA and CPA
It is difficult to determine which of these professions offers a higher salary, as the salary of a CA or CPA can vary greatly based on several factors. However, in general, CAs tend to earn slightly more than CPAs in India.
For small businesses, expect to pay anywhere from $300 to $2,000 per month. Freelance bookkeepers might charge $30 to $90 per hour. Online bookkeeping services often offer tiered pricing, starting from as low as $200 per month for basic services.
Bookkeeping is a less intensive way to get started in accounting, requiring less education but still teaching valuable and foundational skills. Bookkeepers can also get advanced credentials, like a bachelor's in accounting or CB/CPB certification.
Not Chasing Late Payments. Failing to Keep Relevant Receipts. Carelessness When Bookkeeping. Combining Business And Personal Expenses. Using Manual Accounting Systems.
Here are some non-CPA career options for you:
While all CPAs are accountants, not all accountants are CPAs. In fact, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and CPA licensure data, only about 50% of accountants in the United States are actively licensed CPAs.
It's never too late to become a CPA. In fact, you may find the process more manageable at this stage in life.
The accounting talent shortage in Canada is getting real. Even with big layoff headlines, Big Four candidates aren't flooding the market, and teams are still struggling to hire. CPA enrollment has dropped 30 to 40 percent, yet new grads are applying to thousands of roles without breaking in.
Many bookkeepers charge an hourly rate. This averages around $25 to $100 per hour. This all depends on things like their education, work experience, and the tasks they are expected to perform on the job, in addition to standard accounting functions.