What support does my business need?
Accountant or bookkeeper?
A bookkeeper keeps your records up to date. An accountant uses those records to prepare your accounts and tax returns and to advise you.
The short answer
If you need your day-to-day records kept up to date, you need a bookkeeper. If you need accounts, tax returns and advice, you need an accountant. Some small businesses use both: a bookkeeper each week or month, and an accountant for accounts, tax and advice. Some accountancy firms do the bookkeeping too.
What each one does
| Bookkeeper | Accountant | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Records sales, costs and payments as they happen | Turns those records into accounts and tax returns |
| How often | Weekly or monthly | Varies: yearly accounts, quarterly VAT, and more often if you get monthly figures or advice |
| Typical work | Entering transactions, matching bank payments, chasing invoices, and often payroll and preparing VAT returns | Annual accounts, Corporation Tax or Self Assessment, VAT, tax planning, and often management accounts and forecasts |
| Advice | Limited to the records | Tax, structure and wider business advice |
A bookkeeper may help if
- Your records are often behind, or you spend evenings catching up.
- You send lots of invoices or have many transactions each month.
- Your accountant charges extra to tidy your records before they can start.
An accountant may help if
- You run a limited company, so you file accounts and a Company Tax Return every year.
- You are registered for VAT, or close to the threshold.
- You want advice on tax, pay or how to structure the business.
Using both
Some businesses use a bookkeeper for the regular work and an accountant for accounts, tax and advice. Good records from the bookkeeper usually make the accountant's work quicker. Ask your accountant whether they offer bookkeeping or can suggest a bookkeeper they work with.
What each costs
The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers says its associate members charge between £12 and £20 an hour, and its full members between £18 and £35 an hour.1 This is the institute's own guide, not a survey. For accountants' fees, see How accountancy fees work.
Sources
- ICB, "How much to charge". icbglobal.org. Checked 12 October 2026.