What is actually included in a Thai bookkeeping fee, and what almost never is?
A standard monthly fee covers the bookkeeping entries and the monthly filings: the VAT return (PP 30) if you are registered, the withholding tax returns (PND 1, 3 and 53), and the social security return. The annual work is almost always quoted separately, and it is the annual work that surprises people: the statutory audit, the annual corporate return PND 50, the half-year estimate PND 51, and the financial statements filed with the DBD.
Last reviewed 21 September 2026
What the monthly fee normally covers
- Entries into the company’s books from the documents you hand over.
- PP 30, the monthly VAT return, if the company is VAT registered. Due the 15th of the following month, or the 23rd by e-filing.
- PND 1, PND 3 and PND 53, the withholding tax returns, due within 7 days of the month end, extended by 8 days for internet filing.
- The monthly social security return for your employees.
- A monthly report of some kind. What is in it, and whether it is in English, varies more than anything else on this list.
That is the labour. You are also buying a statutory role, and it is worth knowing what it is before you compare two prices.
The statutory role you are also buying
The Accounting Act B.E. 2543 requires every registered company to provide a ผู้ทำบัญชี, a bookkeeper who holds qualifications prescribed by the Director-General of the DBD (section 19). That person is a named individual, not the firm. They must be a member of the Federation of Accounting Professions, they notify the DBD of each business whose accounts they keep through the e-Accountant system, and since 1 January 2026 one bookkeeper may take on no more than 100 financial statements per calendar year.
What is almost never included
| Item | Why it sits outside |
|---|---|
| The annual audit | A separate engagement with a licensed CPA. Always quoted on its own. |
| PND 50, the annual corporate return | Due within 150 days of the year end. Sometimes inside an annual package, rarely inside a monthly fee. |
| [PND 51](/answers/pnd-51-half-year-tax), the half-year estimate | One filing a year, in August or September, and the one most often left out of a "tax filings" line. |
| The DBD financial statement filing | Prepared in the DBD’s prescribed format and uploaded as XBRL through DBD e-Filing, with the shareholder list บอจ.5. Preparing the XBRL is real work and is often a separate line. |
| Payroll | Running the payroll is not the same as filing PND 1. See what payroll firms charge. |
| Catching up prior periods | Books that arrive incomplete are a project, not a monthly service, and are usually billed as one. |
| VAT registration, company changes, visa and work permit work | Different categories entirely. |
The five questions that make two quotes comparable
- Does this fee include PND 50 and PND 51, or are they billed at the year end?
- Who files the financial statements with the DBD, and is preparing the XBRL inside this fee?
- Which named person will be our ผู้ทำบัญชี, and how many companies do they currently carry?
- Is the audit inside this, or a separate engagement with a separate firm?
- What happens to the fee when we cross the transaction volume you have quoted for, and by how much?
Those five questions are the whole difference between a quote you can compare and a quote you cannot. What firms actually charge, and what pushes the number up, is on the bookkeeping cost page. If you would rather have three firms answer the five questions in writing, that is what the request form is for.
Related questions
- What happens if you file PP 30 late?
- Who is legally responsible if my accountant files something wrong?
- Do I still need a Thai accountant if I use Xero or QuickBooks?
Sources
- Accounting Act B.E. 2543, sections 8, 11 and 19 (Thai, full text)
- DBD, Business Accounting Supervision Division: bookkeeper qualifications and duties
- DBD e-Accountant system (bookkeeper registration)
- DBD e-Filing: preparing financial statements as XBRL
- Revenue Code section 83, VAT return filing (Revenue Department, English)
- Revenue Department: baseline filing deadlines for PND 1, 3, 53, PP 30 and PND 50
This is general information about how a filing works, not accounting or tax advice for your company. Confirm anything that matters against the official notice or with your accountant. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.