Choosing a Bookkeeper in Hong Kong: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Sign
For a small Hong Kong company, the bookkeeper is the person whose work you rely on without seeing it, until the auditor asks a question nobody can answer, or the profits tax return is due and the books aren't. Choosing one is mostly about asking the right questions before you sign.
Bookkeeping itself is not a licensed activity in Hong Kong, so qualifications and ways of working vary widely. Here are ten questions that separate them.
Ten questions to ask
1. How often will my books be updated?
Monthly, or once a year? Monthly books give you current figures and a quiet year end; once a year is cheaper but means a reconstruction after the year end. Know which you're buying. See: Monthly vs once-a-year bookkeeping.
Tip: Ask for the cut-off: "by when will last month be in the books?"
2. How do you get my bank transactions?
A direct bank feed, monthly statements you upload, or a box of paper? Feeds are faster and complete; statements work for banks without a feed. Either way, every account should be reconciled to the statement balance. See: Bookkeeping with a bank that has no feed.
Tip: Ask how they handle a bank that has no feed, and how often each account is reconciled.
3. Who actually does the work, and who checks it?
Software, a junior, a qualified accountant, or a mix? Automation is fine for speed, but someone with judgment should review every entry before it counts.
Tip: Ask who reviews the entries and what happens to anything ambiguous.
4. What exactly does the fee include?
Most bookkeeping fees depend on volume: the number of transactions, bank accounts or currencies. Look for what's extra: the profits tax return, extra bank accounts, foreign currencies, payroll, year-end work. See: Certanta pricing.
Tip: Ask for the price at your volume, and what makes it go up.
5. Will I be able to see my books?
Between updates, can you look at your figures yourself, or do you wait for an email? Live access to statements, the ledger and the documents behind them saves a lot of back-and-forth.
Tip: Ask for a demo of what you'll see as a client.
6. How do you handle foreign currencies?
If you bank or trade in more than one currency, ask how balances are converted, where the rates come from, and how transfers between your own accounts in different currencies are recorded. See: Multi-currency bookkeeping.
Tip: Ask what happens to a USD receipt converted to HKD in a different account.
7. What will you need from me, and how will you ask?
Receipts, invoices, explanations of payments. A good process asks specific questions, about specific transactions, soon after they happen, not a list of fifty at the year end. See: Lost a receipt?.
Tip: Ask how missing receipts are chased, and how you answer.
8. Will my books be ready for the auditor?
In Hong Kong a company's financial statements are generally audited each year, by a practice unit (a registered CPA practice) that is independent of the company (Companies Ordinance, section 393). Your bookkeeper should hand the auditor a reconciled ledger, schedules and the documents behind each line. See: Audit-ready books.
Tip: Ask what the auditor receives at the year end, and in what form.
9. Who tracks the deadlines?
The profits tax return, the accounts for shareholders, the employer's return: ask which dates the bookkeeper tracks for you, and which stay your job. See: Profits tax return deadlines.
Tip: Ask who prepares the profits tax return, and who files it.
10. Can I take my books with me?
Your books are your company's records, and you must keep them for at least seven years (Inland Revenue Ordinance, section 51C). Ask in what form you can get them: the ledger and statements in Excel or PDF, and the source documents.
Tip: Ask what you'd receive if you moved to another bookkeeper.
Warning signs
- No reconciliations. If bank balances in the books aren't regularly agreed to the statements, errors stay hidden until the audit.
- Everything at the year end. Books written up once a year from a pile of paper are slower and dearer to audit.
- A suspense account that never clears. Unexplained items parked "for later" are a sign that questions aren't being asked.
- Vague pricing. If you can't work out next year's fee from your own volume, expect surprises.
- No access. If you can only see your figures when someone sends them, you will always be a month behind.
How Certanta answers the ten questions
- Updates: monthly bookkeeping keeps the books current all year; an annual package suits quiet companies.
- Bank data: daily feeds from Airwallex and other connected fintech accounts; monthly statement upload for traditional banks; every account reconciled.
- Who checks: AI classifies each transaction, and a human bookkeeper signs off every entry before it posts.
- Fees: published, by transaction volume, with the profits tax return included on monthly plans. See pricing.
- Access: a client portal with live statements, the general ledger with documents, a monthly management pack and an AI assistant you can ask about your books, included with bookkeeping.
- Currencies: 35 currencies, with own-account transfers matched leg to leg.
- Receipts: photo, PDF or email, in any language, marked company-card or director-paid; one to-do list for questions and missing receipts.
- Audit: the ledger, schedules and documents ready for your auditor, with read-only auditor access to the portal.
- Deadlines: tracked in your portal and marked off when filed.
- Your records: statements and the ledger download as PDF or Excel at any time.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose a bookkeeper in Hong Kong?
Ask how often the books will be updated, how bank transactions are collected and reconciled, who reviews the work, exactly what the fee includes, whether you can see your books between updates, how foreign currencies are handled, how receipts are chased, whether the books will be ready for the auditor, who tracks the deadlines, and in what form you can take your records with you.
Does a bookkeeper in Hong Kong need a licence?
Bookkeeping itself is not a licensed activity in Hong Kong. The company's auditor, by contrast, must be a practice unit (a registered CPA practice) that is independent of the company, under section 393 of the Companies Ordinance.
Should my bookkeeper update the books monthly or once a year?
Monthly suits companies that want current figures, have investors or a bank asking for management accounts, or have more than a few hundred transactions a year. Once a year can suit a quiet company, but the year end then involves reconstructing the year.
What should a bookkeeping fee include?
Ask what drives the fee (usually transactions, bank accounts or currencies) and what is extra, such as the profits tax return, additional bank accounts, foreign currencies, payroll and year-end work.
What are the warning signs of poor bookkeeping?
Bank balances that are not regularly reconciled to statements, books written up only at the year end, a suspense account that never clears, pricing you cannot predict from your own volume, and no way to see your own figures between updates.
Can I get my records if I change bookkeeper?
You should be able to. Your company must keep its records for at least seven years (Inland Revenue Ordinance, section 51C), so ask in advance in what form you would receive the ledger, statements and source documents.
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Open the demo See pricingThis article is general information for Hong Kong companies choosing a bookkeeper, as at 27 October 2026. It is not legal, tax or audit advice.