Suma vs an outsourced bookkeeper plus off-the-shelf software
Many Hong Kong companies hand their records to a bookkeeper who keeps them in an off-the-shelf accounting package. Suma takes a different route: software built around how your business works, with a partner CPA firm reviewing and filing what it produces. This page compares the two models, not any named firm, so you can choose the one that fits.
Disclosure: Suma wrote this page and is one of the two options it compares. It describes the bookkeeping model in general terms, not any named firm, and every Hong Kong legal requirement links to the official page it came from. Checked on .
At a glance
| Topic | Suma | Outsourced bookkeeper |
|---|---|---|
| Who keeps the records | Your business works in a Suma app built around its own workflows. Ordinary code, not AI, posts the ledger entries, and asks you once when a match is not certain. | The bookkeeper enters your transactions from the documents you send, in a software package they or you subscribe to. The legal duty to keep sufficient records stays with your business.[1] |
| How current the books are | Where a bank account is connected, a payment that lands in the feed is matched against your rules and posted as it arrives, so the ledger stays current between reviews. | As current as the last batch of documents the bookkeeper processed. How often that happens depends on the provider and the agreement. |
| What the owner sees day to day | Your own app, with an assistant that answers questions about your books in plain language. The assistant reads and suggests; it cannot post to the ledger. | The reports the bookkeeper sends, plus whatever views the chosen software gives you directly. |
| Year end: the audit | The ledger is kept reconciled during the year, and our partner CPA firm, W. M. Sum & Company, provides professional review, licensed CPA sign-off and statutory filing. | The bookkeeper hands the year's records to your auditor. A Hong Kong company's financial statements are audited every year unless the company is dormant, whoever keeps the books.[3] |
| Year end: profits tax | Our partner CPA firm prepares, signs and files the return from the books Suma keeps. | Varies by provider: some bookkeepers prepare the tax computation, others leave the return to your auditor or tax representative. |
| Keeping the records for 7 years | Every entry records its source and reason and is retained for seven years. | Depends on the provider's practice and on who holds the software subscription. The duty to keep records for at least 7 years stays with your business either way.[1] |
| Fit to your workflow | Custom development is central to Suma: we scope and build the workflow, report or capability your business needs. | Your process fits the software package and the bookkeeper's routine. |
| Price | Depends on your records, workflows and custom requirements, and is set in a proposal after a call. | Pricing varies by provider and by transaction volume. This page quotes no figure because no provider's own published price is cited here. |
What Hong Kong law asks, either way
- Section 51C of the Inland Revenue Ordinance requires every person carrying on a business in Hong Kong to keep sufficient records, in English or Chinese, of income and expenditure, and to retain them for not less than 7 years. Failing to comply without reasonable excuse carries a maximum fine of $100,000.[1]
- The records the IRD names include books of account recording receipts and payments, and the vouchers, bank statements, invoices and receipts that support them.[1]
- Section 373 of the Companies Ordinance requires a company's accounting records to disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, its financial position and financial performance, and section 377 requires them to be preserved for 7 years after the end of the financial year they relate to.[2]
- Audit of financial statements is required for all companies, including those within the reporting exemption, except dormant companies.[3]
The guides go further: Bookkeeping requirements for Hong Kong companies and Does your Hong Kong company need an audit?.
When an outsourced bookkeeper is the better choice
- You want to hand the bookkeeping off entirely and have no need for a day to day view of your numbers.
- Your process already fits an off-the-shelf package, and you need no custom workflow or report.
- Your transaction volume is very low, so a periodic catch-up by a bookkeeper keeps the records complete.
- You already work with a bookkeeper you trust, and the arrangement meets your year-end deadlines.
Where Suma fits
Suma fits a business that wants its books current between year ends, a view of its own numbers day to day, and software shaped around how it already works, with a partner CPA firm reviewing and filing what the software produces.
Suma's price depends on your records, workflows and custom requirements, so it is set in a proposal after a call.
Book a callSources
- Inland Revenue Department: Record keeping Checked on
- Companies Registry: Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), Part 9, Accounts and Audit (PDF) Checked on
- Companies Registry: FAQ on accounts and audit Checked on
General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Confirm the current requirements with the IRD, the Companies Registry or a licensed practitioner.