The best side hustles for accountants and bookkeepers in Canada are the ones small businesses and households already pay for: monthly bookkeeping, tax-season return preparation, and help with spreadsheets and software. You can also teach what you know through tutoring or courses. Before you take clients, know where the regulated line sits. Public accounting, such as audits and reviews, needs a licence. Paid tax preparation has its own CRA e-filing rules. And your employer may restrict outside clients.
This page is part of the side hustles by skill series. The main beginner guide is freelance bookkeeping, with your first bookkeeping client and bookkeeping rates. For the seasonal angle, read tax-season bookkeeping and tax prep gigs.
| Skill | Side hustle | Beginner guide |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly reconciliations | Freelance bookkeeping | Freelance bookkeeping |
| Personal returns | Tax-season prep | Tax-season gigs |
| Explaining debits and credits | Tutoring | Online tutoring |
| Spreadsheets and software | Automation | Zapier automation |
| Repeatable processes | Templates and courses | Notion templates |
What are the best side hustles for accountants and bookkeepers in Canada?
The best side hustles for accountants and bookkeepers in Canada are recurring monthly work, a seasonal tax bump, and teaching or products. The groups below follow that order.
Monthly bookkeeping for small businesses
Sole proprietors and small businesses often need someone to categorise transactions, reconcile accounts, and prepare GST/HST figures. Freelance bookkeeping covers the setup, and bookkeeping startup costs lists the software you may need. Cloud tools like FreshBooks TODO-AFFILIATE handle invoicing for your own practice.
Tax-season return preparation
Personal returns cluster between February and April. Tax-season gigs explains the options, from working for a seasonal firm to preparing returns for your own clients. If you prepare returns for a fee, see the CRA rules below.
Tutoring and teaching
Accounting students and CPA candidates look for help with specific courses. Online tutoring and online courses let you package that knowledge.
Spreadsheets, automation and templates
Small businesses pay to connect their tools. Zapier automation and Notion templates suit people who already build workflows. AI consulting is a newer angle for finance-minded freelancers.
What licensing and CRA rules apply to accounting side hustles?
Three rules matter most:
- Public accounting needs a licence. In Ontario, CPA Ontario says a Public Accounting Licence (PAL) is required if you’re the lead engagement person signing reports for any assurance engagement on financial statements, or for a compilation engagement a third party can reasonably be expected to rely on where the prescribed compilation report wording isn’t used. Practising public accounting without a PAL is prohibited under Ontario’s Public Accounting Act, 2004. Other provinces have their own rules. Bookkeeping and personal tax returns generally aren’t assurance work, but check your province before offering financial statements.
- Paid tax preparers must e-file. The CRA says that since January 1, 2024, tax preparers who accept payment to prepare more than 5 T1, T2 or T3 returns a year must file them electronically, with penalties of $25 for each paper-filed T1 or T3 and $100 for each T2 (CRA). Registered preparers use EFILE, which needs yearly renewal.
- Professional titles. Only CPA members can call themselves CPAs. If you’re not a member, describe your work as bookkeeping and don’t imply a designation.
If you work at a firm, read its policy on outside clients. Firms may restrict side work that competes with them.
How should accountants price side work?
Price monthly bookkeeping as a fixed fee per month based on transaction volume, and tax returns per return. The bookkeeping pricing guide explains the models.
Illustrative example
Assumed numbers, not market rates: a bookkeeper takes 4 small-business clients at an assumed $250 a month each, and spends an assumed 4 hours per client each month.
- Monthly revenue: 4 × $250 = $1,000
- Monthly hours: 4 × 4 = 16
- Effective hourly rate: $1,000 ÷ 16 = $62.50 before software and tax
What mistakes do accountants make with side hustles?
- Signing anything that looks like assurance. Know where the licensing line is in your province.
- Paper-filing client returns. Once you’re paid for more than 5, you must e-file.
- Competing with your employer. Check your firm’s policy first.
- Taking on tax season without capacity. April deadlines stack up.
- Skipping engagement letters. Put scope and fees in writing.
How is an accounting side hustle taxed in Canada?
Report it on Form T2125. Bookkeeping and tax prep are taxable services, so the $30,000 GST/HST small-supplier test applies (CRA); see GST/HST registration. You’ll know most of this already, but how much tax to set aside and home office expenses are good to share with clients too.
This is not tax, legal, or professional regulatory advice.
Which guides sit next to side hustles for accountants in Canada?
Freelance bookkeeping, record keeping for side hustles, side hustles for retired professionals, and side hustles for parents with admin experience. Useful for your own practice and to share with clients: bookkeeping tools for side hustles, CRA tax instalments, and how to invoice clients.
What are the common questions?
Do I need a licence to do bookkeeping on the side in Canada?
Bookkeeping generally doesn't need a public accounting licence. In Ontario, CPA Ontario says a PAL is needed to lead assurance engagements, and compilations a third party will rely on that don't use the prescribed report wording. Check your own province's rules.
Do I have to e-file returns I prepare for clients?
Yes, if you accept payment to prepare more than 5 returns a year. The CRA's mandatory electronic filing rule has applied since January 1, 2024, with penalties of $25 for each paper-filed T1 or T3 and $100 for each T2.
Can I call myself an accountant if I'm not a CPA?
Use care. Only CPA members can use the CPA designation, and public accounting is regulated. Describing your service as bookkeeping avoids implying a designation you don't hold.
What's the best side hustle for an accountant?
Monthly freelance bookkeeping gives recurring income, and tax-season return preparation adds a seasonal bump. Tutoring, automation work, and templates are other fits.
Do I charge GST/HST on bookkeeping services?
Once your taxable revenue goes over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters, you must register and charge GST/HST. Below that, registration is optional.
Which sources support this guide?
The rules, rates, and platform requirements in this guide are checked against these primary sources. Retail price ranges are labelled as ranges to verify locally, and they are not quotes.
- When is a Public Accounting Licence Required in Ontario? — CPA Ontario
- Mandatory electronic filing for tax preparers — Canada Revenue Agency
- EFILE for electronic filers — Canada Revenue Agency
- Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities — Canada Revenue Agency
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency