Accountant for Cambridge Manufacturers and Logistics Businesses
EverStone CPA works with owner-managed Cambridge businesses entirely online: corporate tax, bookkeeping, payroll, HST and plain-English advice from a Chartered Professional Accountant, at a fixed fee agreed first. Galt, Preston, Hespeler and North Dumfries are served the same way.
Who we help here: machine shops, parts suppliers, fabricators, packaging makers, warehouses, freight brokers and trucking firms that want one CPA for inventory, HST and shift payroll.
Quick answer: EverStone works with Cambridge businesses remotely: corporate tax (T2), personal tax (T1), bookkeeping, payroll and Ontario HST filing, all at a fixed fee agreed before work starts. Fees start at $125 for a personal return and $325 a month for bookkeeping.
Updated .
For a one-owner Cambridge corporation, bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 together usually run from $500 to $700 a month.
On this page
- A CPA for Cambridge manufacturers and logistics firms
- Which return applies to you
- What Ontario adds for a Cambridge business
- Accounting and tax services for Cambridge businesses
- Built for shop floors, warehouses and fleets
- Inventory, work in progress and job costing
- HST on inputs, exports and freight
- Payroll for shifts, drivers and busy seasons
- Year-end and the owner’s pay
- Getting set up, without a drive
- Remote accounting
- Common questions from Cambridge owners
A CPA for Cambridge manufacturers and logistics firms
Cambridge grew from Galt, Preston and Hespeler, where the Speed River meets the Grand. It sits on Highway 401 between Kitchener and the Greater Toronto Area. That location shapes the business mix: manufacturing plants, their suppliers, and the warehouses and carriers that move their goods.
Most are owner-managed, with a handful to a few dozen staff. One Chartered Professional Accountant knows your numbers year-round. Questions come by email, records by secure upload, and returns are e-signed.
Get My Fixed QuoteWhat Cambridge owners get
- Corporate tax (T2) & year-end statements
- Personal tax (T1) for owners & families
- Monthly bookkeeping & payroll
- Ontario HST filed & reconciled
- Inventory and job-cost reporting
- Fixed fees, confirmed up front
Which return applies to you
| If you are | You file |
|---|---|
| A sole proprietor | A T1 personal return with form T2125 for the business |
| An incorporated business | A T2 corporate return, with financial statement schedules |
| An owner-operator truck driver | A T1 with form T2125, or a T2 if the truck sits in a corporation |
| Sales tax where you operate | 13% HST, a single registration and a single return |
Source: Should you incorporate? General information, not advice.
What Ontario adds for a Cambridge business
Provincial rules that sit on top of the federal ones.
One sales tax, not two
Ontario charges a single 13% HST: one registration, one return, and input tax credits that recover the tax on materials and equipment. Exporters with zero-rated sales often sit in a refund position.
Corporate tax rate
Ontario taxes active small-business income at 2.2% after 30 June 2026 (3.2% before, prorated), plus the 9% federal rate, on a $500,000 business limit. Profit above it is taxed at the 26.5% combined general rate. Sources are on Ontario tax facts.
Employer Health Tax
Above the $1,000,000 Ontario payroll exemption, Employer Health Tax applies on top of CPP and EI. Associated employers share one exemption, so a second shift or sister company can push you over.
Accounting and tax services for Cambridge businesses
Everything an owner-managed Cambridge business needs, delivered online.
Corporate Tax (T2)
T2 returns, year-end statements, CCA on machinery and trucks, and the salary-or-dividend decision.
Personal Tax (T1)
T1 returns for owners, families and owner-operators on a T2125.
Bookkeeping
Monthly reconciliations with HST filing included, plus inventory and job-cost reports you can price from.
Payroll
Pay runs for shift and hourly staff, source deductions, records of employment, and T4 slips by the end of February.
HST Filing
HST filed and reconciled each period, with input tax credits claimed in full.
Controller and CFO
A monthly close, margin by product or lane, and cash forecasting.
Built for shop floors, warehouses and fleets
Cambridge has long been an industrial city: automotive assembly and its parts suppliers, metal fabrication, plastics, food processing and packaging. The 401 corridor adds distribution centres, warehouses, freight brokers and owner-operated trucking.
A job shop lives on quotes and machine hours, a warehouse on contracts and labour, a carrier on fuel and cost per kilometre. See manufacturer accounting in Waterloo Region and trucking and logistics accounting.
Get My Fixed QuoteServing Cambridge, entirely online
Email first, video when it helps, secure upload and e-signature.
Inventory, work in progress and job costing
For a manufacturer, inventory often moves year-end profit most. Materials, work in progress and finished goods are valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value, so obsolete parts are a tax question too. The year-end inventory count guide walks through it.
Job costing puts labour, materials and overhead against the right jobs, so you see which customers make money. New machinery is recovered through capital cost allowance by class, from the date it is available for use.
HST on inputs, exports and freight
A Cambridge plant pays HST on steel, tooling, fuel and equipment, and each credit needs an invoice with the supplier’s registration number. Sales to United States customers are generally zero-rated exports. See HST on exports.
Freight crosses provincial lines, so logistics firms meet the place-of-supply rules early. We code each sale correctly, so the HST return reconciles.
Payroll for shifts, drivers and busy seasons
Plants run shifts, warehouses add peak-season staff, and carriers mix employee drivers with owner-operators. Pay runs, remittances, ROEs and T4 slips are included with monthly bookkeeping.
A driver paid as a contractor may be an employee in the CRA’s view, as the contractor or employee guide explains. Owner-operators can start with accounting for truckers.
Year-end and the owner’s pay
The T2 is due six months after year-end, but the balance owing is due two or three months after it. The Ontario Business Registry annual return is due within six months of year-end.
We plan before the year closes: when a machine or truck goes into service, and whether you take salary, dividends or a mix. Where one owner holds several companies, associated corporations share one business limit. The salary vs dividends calculator shows the trade-off.
Lender-ready financial statements come from the same books. If the books are behind, bringing overdue books current comes first. Changing firms is covered on switching accountants.
Getting set up, without a drive
Online from the first email to the signed return.
Send an enquiry
Describe the business. You get a fixed, written quote first.
Send your records securely
Upload records securely and add us in My Business Account.
Stay current all year
Books, HST and payroll stay on schedule, and email questions are included.
Remote accounting
EverStone works with Cambridge businesses virtually. There is no Cambridge office, and nobody on the ground there. Email, video, secure upload and e-signature carry the whole engagement. For the provincial picture, see accounting in Ontario.
Nearby, the same service runs for Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Hamilton and Burlington.
Common questions from Cambridge owners
How much does an accountant cost in Cambridge?+
Can an accountant outside Cambridge file my corporate taxes?+
Do you work with Cambridge manufacturers and machine shops?+
Do you work with trucking and warehouse businesses?+
Does EverStone have a Cambridge office?+
Do you work with businesses outside Cambridge itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities and the guides behind this page.
Starting fees
Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins.
- Monthly bookkeeping, HST filing includedfrom $325 a month
- Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEsincluded in monthly bookkeeping
- Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together$500–$700 a month
- Corporate year-end and T2 returnfixed fee, quoted in writing
- Personal tax return (T1)from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500
- Catch-up bookkeepingfrom $2,200 per year of records
- Controller or CFO supportcontroller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month
- One-off advice call with a CPA$225 plus GST