China bookkeeping your head office can actually read

Yes. The Accounting Law requires every enterprise established in China to keep accounting books from the date of establishment, prepare financial statements and file them with the tax authority. There is no small-company exemption from bookkeeping itself — only simplified filing thresholds for certain taxes.

No. A licensed bookkeeping agency (代理记账机构) can maintain your books and file on your behalf under a written engagement. That is usually the right answer below roughly 60–80 transactions a month; above that, a part-time or full-time in-house accountant plus our review layer is more economical.

Yes, and we do it in a fixed sequence: we request the handover pack (ledgers, vouchers, tax filings, bank tokens, invoice system credentials), run a two-hour health check, and give you a written list of what is missing or misstated before we accept the engagement. You decide whether to proceed after seeing that list.

The tax authority marks the entity as abnormal, invoicing is suspended, and the legal representative may be restricted from leaving China or from being appointed a director elsewhere. Remediation means back filings for every missed period, late-payment surcharges of 0.05% per day, and fines of up to RMB 10,000. Filing nil returns is always cheaper than filing nothing.

We deliver a monthly pack in English with a PRC GAAP-to-IFRS (or US GAAP) bridge, a commentary on variances against budget, and a cash and tax calendar. Most groups drop our statements straight into their consolidation tool; we can also work in your chart of accounts if you send the mapping.

A fapiao is the official tax invoice. Chinese companies deduct expenses only with a valid fapiao, and customers expect one for every payment. Since the rollout of fully digitalised e-invoices, issuance is online through the tax platform — but the rules on what may be issued, to whom, and in which category still decide how much of your cost base is deductible.

All foreign-invested companies are required to have their annual financial statements audited by a licensed Chinese CPA firm for as long as the foreign-investment regime applies to them; in practice this means every WFOE and JV. Banks, bidding processes and parent-company consolidation add their own requirements. Our retainer includes audit preparation; the audit fee itself is quoted separately, from around RMB 6,000.

Yes. We run split payroll (China-source and overseas-source income), apply the treaty position where one exists, and manage the monthly IIT withholding. For foreign employees we also coordinate work permit and residence permit renewals, which must be tracked separately from payroll or the right to work lapses quietly.

It covers monthly bookkeeping, quarterly VAT and surtax returns, quarterly CIT prepayment and the annual reconciliation, IIT withholding, bilingual financial statements, the annual business licence report, and email or WeChat questions during working hours. It does not cover payroll processing, social insurance and housing fund filing, fapiao volume beyond the ordinary band, statutory audit fees, backlog reconstruction, or on-site collection at your office. Every engagement letter lists inclusions and exclusions line by line, and any add-on is quoted and approved before we perform it — there is no surprise invoice at year end.