Accountant for Beaumont trades and professional practices

Trades and industrial service work

Electricians, plumbers, HVAC crews and finishers make up the largest group of Beaumont files. Others contract to industrial and energy service sites, where payment terms run long.

Where construction is the main activity, payments to subcontractors go on T5018 slips. WCB-Alberta coverage has to be in place before crews start. Trucks and tools belong in the right capital cost allowance class.

Job costing shows each project’s margin, and GST is charged on progress billings as issued. Our contractor accounting page covers the detail, and energy services accounting covers the industrial side.

Incorporated professionals: structure and the PSB question

Consultants, engineers and health practitioners often incorporate once income passes what the household spends. The corporation files the T2 and AT1, and the owner decides what to draw.

A one-person corporation with a single employer-like client can be a personal services business and lose the small business deduction. We check the contract terms before that becomes a reassessment. See incorporated professionals and when incorporating starts to pay.

Family members who genuinely work in the practice can be paid a reasonable salary; our guide to paying your spouse a salary explains what makes it hold up.

Payroll for a crew or a clinic

Alberta has no provincial payroll tax. Payroll for a Beaumont crew or clinic means federal source deductions, CPP and EI, WCB-Alberta reporting and Alberta general holiday pay. We run the pay, remit on the CRA schedule, and file T4 slips by the end of February.

Paying yourself and planning the year end

Incorporated owners face one question each year: salary, dividends or a mix. Salary builds RRSP room; dividends skip payroll. We model both with the salary vs dividends calculator.

Planning happens before year end: bonuses, equipment purchases, and instalments, which run to Alberta as well as the CRA. The T2 is due within six months of year end. For a Canadian-controlled private corporation claiming the small business deduction, the balance is generally due within three months.

The deadline calendar lists the dates. If the books are behind, bringing overdue books current comes first.

Remote accounting

EverStone works with Beaumont businesses virtually. There is no Beaumont office, and nobody on the ground there. Questions are answered by email, meetings run by video, and paperwork moves through secure upload and e-signature. For the provincial picture, see accounting in Alberta.