What is included in monthly bookkeeping and tax compliance services?
General information as of 26 October 2026
A monthly retainer works best when both the business and its accountant know what will be delivered, what information is needed, and who must act. The engagement proposal—not the package name—should define the service.
Define the work before setting the fee
Depending on the agreed scope, a retainer may include transaction recording, bank reconciliations, supporting schedules, management reports, and preparation or filing of applicable tax returns.
Payroll, SSS/PhilHealth/Pag-IBIG reporting, SEC submissions, annual income tax returns, financial-statement preparation, registration changes and historical clean-up should be expressly identified as included, separately priced or excluded. A monthly fee should also explain how quarterly and annual work is treated.
These are examples of possible deliverables, not a representation that every service is included in our standard engagement.
Separate preparation, filing and payment
A useful responsibility schedule identifies:
- Who supplies source documents and by what cut-off date.
- Who prepares and reviews the books and returns.
- Who approves the figures and authorizes submission.
- Who funds and makes tax payments.
- Who retains filing acknowledgments and payment evidence.
- How missing records, disputed classifications and late instructions are escalated.
Preparing a return, submitting it and paying the tax are distinct steps. BIR RMC No. 87-2024, interpreting RR No. 4-2024, addresses electronic filing and the applicable filing/payment arrangements. The correct facility and any permitted exception should be checked for the taxpayer; an accountant's spreadsheet is not proof of filing or payment. [1]
Keep the compliance assessment current
Section 232(A) of the NIRC requires relevant bookkeeping records from covered taxpayers. A retainer supports that work, but its document cut-off dates do not replace statutory deadlines. [2]
Review the scope when activities, registration, tax elections, revenue, employees, branches or systems change. The required returns and supporting reports must follow the taxpayer's actual circumstances, rather than a checklist copied from another business.
Fees and scope can be sized to transaction volume, tax types, reporting frequency, record quality, systems and complexity. Identify government charges and agreed out-of-pocket expenses separately, and agree how work beyond the limits will be authorized.
Understand the assurance boundary
Bookkeeping and tax preparation, by themselves, do not express an independent audit opinion or assurance conclusion. PSA 200 describes the separate objectives and ethical requirements of a financial-statement audit. [3]
If the same practice is being considered as auditor, it must separately assess independence and the applicable restrictions on non-assurance services. Some service combinations are prohibited, particularly for public-interest audit clients. Client approval or using different personnel does not automatically make a prohibited service permissible. [4]
A practical next step: Ask for a written scope, responsibility schedule, reporting timetable, exclusions and treatment of annual work before accepting a proposal. This gives both parties a clear basis for delivery and accountability.
Disclaimer: This article describes possible engagement arrangements, not a service quotation, fixed package or guarantee of compliance. The signed engagement governs deliverables and responsibilities, subject to applicable law and professional standards. Services remain subject to acceptance, conflict and independence assessments. It does not authorize a bookkeeping provider to act as an independent auditor where the applicable rules prohibit that arrangement.
Sources and technical references
- BIR RMC No. 87-2024, particularly Q&A 1: filing/payment arrangements under RR No. 4-2024. Later advisories and taxpayer-specific mandates must also be checked.
- RA No. 10963, Section 71, amending NIRC Section 232(A): bookkeeping records.
- PSA 200, paragraphs 3–5, 11 and 14: audit objectives, assurance and ethics.
- PRC/BOA Resolution No. 48, s. 2025: adoption of the 2024 Code, with Philippine amendments; PRC official accountancy standards index; Code Part 4A, including Sections 400 and 600 and Subsections 601 and 604. IESBA final NAS pronouncement and publisher explanation supports the general discussion of prohibitions. Philippine adoption, amendments and effective dates govern applicability; this article does not determine eligibility for a particular combined engagement.