Accountants for Canadian SMEs.
A complete finance function for Canadian small and mid-sized businesses: bookkeeping, GST/HST returns, T2 Corporation Tax, T4 and T5 issuance, and CPP/EI payroll remittances. CRA-compliant, ASPE-trained.
Federal plus provincial, getting both layers right.
Accountants for Canadian SMEs work two layers at once. Federal obligations run through the Canada Revenue Agency: GST or HST returns, payroll source deductions, T4 and T5 slips, and the T2 corporate return six months after the year end. Provincial sales tax and corporate tax then stack on top, differing by province.
Canada's 1.2 million small businesses operate within a layered compliance regime, federal (CRA) and provincial, each with its own filings, deadlines and quirks. While the Canada Revenue Agency administers GST and harmonised HST in most provinces, Quebec has its own QST regime via Revenu Québec, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have separate provincial sales taxes, and Manitoba has RST. Getting the right sales tax in the right jurisdiction is half the operational work.
On top of indirect tax, Canadian corporations file annual T2 returns within six months of the year-end (with the payment due in two or three months depending on size). Small business rates of 9–12% federally apply to active business income below the small-business limit; the general rate of 15% applies above. Provincial corporate income tax stacks on top, anywhere from 8% to 16% depending on the province and year.
Payroll is administered through Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) contributions, with provincial parallels in Quebec (QPP, QPIP). T4 statements of remuneration go to employees and the CRA by the last day of February. T5 statements of investment income, including dividends paid to shareholders, go out on the same deadline.
Accountaire handles all of this. We work in QuickBooks Online Canada (the dominant platform), Xero, and FreshBooks. We file via CRA My Business Account using direct-file authorisations, monitor provincial sales-tax registration thresholds across all provinces, and produce ASPE-compliant statutory accounts for year-end.
Most of our Canadian clients fall into two groups. Owner-managed corporations should start with small business accounting for 5 to 50 employee firms, and cross-border sellers with accounting for online brands, because Canadian sellers shipping south inherit the US nexus rules as well. Indirect tax across both regimes is covered on our VAT, GST and tax compliance page, payroll on our multi-jurisdiction payroll page, and the ledger itself usually runs in QuickBooks Online. The sales tax side is covered in full in our GST/HST filing guide for Canada, including registration thresholds, filing frequency, input tax credits and the penalty arithmetic on a late period. Canadian engagements are built from our directory of accounting services, with the GST/HST and payroll elements sized to the province you operate in.
What do accountants for Canadian SMEs file, and when?
The federal cycle we plan against. Provincial filings sit alongside and vary by province.
| Filing | Goes to | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| GST/HST return | CRA | Monthly, quarterly or annually by revenue |
| Payroll source deductions | CRA | Monthly for most employers, accelerated above thresholds |
| T4 slips and summary | CRA and employees | By the last day of February |
| T5 slips for dividends and investment income | CRA and recipients | By the last day of February |
| T2 corporate return | CRA | Six months after the year end |
| Corporate tax balance | CRA | Two months after the year end, three for qualifying CCPCs |
| Provincial sales tax returns | Provincial authorities | By province, where registered |
Built for Canadian businesses.
Federal plus provincial, every service calibrated to the Canadian regime.
Canadian cloud bookkeeping
Daily QuickBooks Online or Xero bookkeeping with ASPE-compliant coding, bank reconciliation, and receipt capture.
Canadian payroll
CPP/EI calculations, T4 issuance, provincial deductions, ROE processing on terminations.
GST/HST & PST
Quarterly or annual GST/HST returns. PST/RST/QST in applicable provinces. Input tax credits tracked.
T2 Corporation Tax
Annual T2 return preparation with small-business-rate calculation, capital cost allowance, instalment scheduling.
Management accounts
Monthly ASPE-aligned reporting suitable for bank-loan covenants and board review.
CFO-as-a-Service
Strategic finance for Canadian growth-stage businesses, including SR&ED claim planning.
Canadian compliance, handled.
The filings, portals and deadlines we own for every Canadian client.
- CRA Business Account authorisationWe register as your authorised representative through CRA My Business Account. Submissions and correspondence flow through this channel.
- GST/HST quarterly or annual returns Filed via CRA My Business Account on your registered cycle. Input tax credits reconciled. Place-of-supply rules applied for inter-provincial transactions.
- Provincial sales tax (PST / RST / QST) Registration and filing in British Columbia (PST), Saskatchewan (PST), Manitoba (RST), and Quebec (QST via Revenu Québec). Combined federal-provincial registration handled.
- T2 Corporation TaxAnnual return filed within six months of year-end. Payment due two or three months after year-end depending on size. Small business deduction applied where eligible.
- T4 statements of remuneration Issued to employees and filed with CRA by last day of February. Employer Health Tax (Ontario) and equivalent provincial taxes coordinated.
- T5 statements of investment income Issued to recipients of dividends, interest and royalties. Filed with CRA on the same February schedule.
- CPP, EI and provincial deductions Monthly or quarterly source-deduction remittances. Quebec parallel system (QPP, QPIP) handled where applicable.
- SR&ED tax credit claims Scientific Research & Experimental Development claims for qualifying technology and product development. Form T661 prepared and filed with T2.
What Canadian clients tell us they value.
CRA procedure & ASPE-aware.
Trained on Canadian Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (ASPE) and CRA tax procedure. Province-by-province sales tax expertise.
QuickBooks Canada specialists.
QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor certified, the Canadian SME default. We also support Xero and Wave for smaller operations.
5-day month-end. 4-hour SLA.
Contracted SLAs in your engagement letter. Books closed by the 5th business day; queries answered within four business hours.
CAD-priced. Fixed monthly fees.
Local CAD pricing. From CAD 680/month. No hourly billing. SR&ED claim preparation supported on Professional and Enterprise tiers.
"Switched from a downtown Toronto firm. Same quality of reporting, half the cost, and the books actually close on the 5th. Their handling of HST and Ontario EHT is the smoothest I've experienced."