Accountant for Coquitlam and Tri-Cities businesses
EverStone CPA is a British Columbia accounting firm serving small businesses in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody remotely, from Abbotsford. Corporate tax, bookkeeping, payroll, GST and PST come from one Chartered Professional Accountant, at a fixed fee agreed in writing before any work begins.
Who this suits: builders and trades working the new streets of Burke Mountain and the towers along the Millennium Line, realtors selling across the Tri-Cities, and the restaurants and shops of City Centre, Austin Heights and the Port Moody waterfront.
Quick answer: A Coquitlam owner does not need an accountant on the Lougheed Highway. They need one who knows BC’s separate GST and PST, the $500,000 small business limit and WorkSafeBC, and who replies to email. EverStone works with Tri-Cities businesses entirely online. Published fees start at $100 for a personal return and $300 a month for bookkeeping.
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The engagement is the same for a contractor in Port Coquitlam, a realtor in Westwood Plateau or a café owner in Port Moody. The CPA is in Abbotsford either way, and the work runs by email, video and a secure upload link.
One CPA for the Tri-Cities, working remotely
Coquitlam sits where the Fraser, the Pitt and the Coquitlam rivers meet the mountains, and its businesses reflect that mix. Some build houses on the hillside. Some sell condos near the SkyTrain. Some run kitchens and storefronts for the families who moved into both. The filings they share are BC’s: a T2 or a T1 with T2125, a GST return, a separate PST return, and payroll with CPP, EI premiums and WorkSafeBC.
Every file is handled by one Chartered Professional Accountant, not a rotating team. You email first, meet by video when it helps, and send documents through a secure upload link. The fee is fixed before anything starts.
Email or bookWhat Tri-Cities owners get
- Corporate tax (T2) & year-end statements
- Personal tax (T1) for owners & families
- Monthly bookkeeping & payroll
- GST and BC PST filed separately
- T5018 slips for subtrade payments
- 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 |
| A realtor with a PREC | A T2 for the corporation and a T1 reporting the salary or dividends it pays you |
| An employer | Source deductions remitted through the year, then T4 slips by the end of February |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Should you incorporate? General information, not advice. Rates are on the BC tax facts page.
Accounting and tax services for Coquitlam businesses
Each service has its own page written for the Tri-Cities.
Corporate tax (T2)
The T2 with Schedule 50, the small business deduction and the balance-due dates, for incorporated Coquitlam companies. Quoted after a free consultation.
Personal tax (T1)
Returns for owners and families, including rental suites, RRSP planning and dividends from the company. Personal returns from $100.
Bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping from $300 a month, with GST and PST filing included and the ledger kept ready for year-end.
Payroll
Pay runs, remittances, T4s, vacation pay and WorkSafeBC reporting for crews, kitchens and shop staff.
Construction contractors
Progress billing, holdbacks and T5018 reporting for builders working Burke Mountain and the town-centre sites.
Trades
Electricians, plumbers and HVAC companies working from Port Coquitlam yards: vans, tools, PST on installed materials.
The five industries that shape Coquitlam’s books
Most owner-managed businesses in the Tri-Cities fall into five groups, and each meets the tax system at a different point.
Construction contractors. Burke Mountain has been built out street by street, and denser projects keep rising near the SkyTrain stations. That work runs on progress draws, holdbacks and subtrades, so T5018 slips and cut-off at year-end decide the tax result. See contractor accounting in Coquitlam.
Trades. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and finishing companies run out of the industrial areas of Port Coquitlam and serve the whole northeast sector. Their questions are vehicles, CCA on tools, and PST on materials they install. See trades accounting in Coquitlam.
Realtors. Presales near the stations, resales on Westwood Plateau and detached homes in Ranch Park all produce commission income that arrives unevenly. Many realtors here work through a personal real estate corporation. See realtor accounting in Coquitlam.
Restaurants. Korean restaurants along North Road, family places in Austin Heights and the breweries and bistros of Port Moody all close a till every night and run payroll through card tips. See restaurant accounting in Coquitlam.
Retail. Independent shops around City Centre, Maillardville and Port Coquitlam’s downtown carry stock, collect two sales taxes and count inventory at year-end. See retail accounting in Coquitlam.
Two sales taxes, and the one owners forget
BC charges 5% GST and 7% PST as separate taxes with separate registrations. GST goes to the CRA and comes back as input tax credits. PST goes to the BC Ministry of Finance and, on most business purchases, is simply a cost. A Tri-Cities business can be fully up to date on GST and still be missing a PST registration it needs.
The gap shows up in predictable places. A trades company that installs fixtures pays PST on the materials it builds into a home. A shop selling goods must collect PST at the till. A restaurant collects it on liquor but not on the meal. We check what you actually sell against the PST rules before the first return, not after an audit letter. The BC PST guide sets out the basics.
When the company outgrows the small business rate
An active Coquitlam company pays BC tax at 2% on income up to the $500,000 business limit, plus federal tax on top. Above the limit, the BC rate is 12%. The limit is shared across associated corporations, so a builder with a second company for a development project does not get a second limit. Passive investment income inside the company can also grind it down. These are planning questions for before year-end, when decisions can still change the T2. Current rates are on the BC tax facts page.
The other common question is how to pay yourself. Salary creates RRSP room and CPP; dividends do not. The salary versus dividends calculator is a fair first look, and the answer gets settled on the year-end file.
Getting started without a drive down the Lougheed
The whole engagement runs online, from first email to filed return.
Send an enquiry
Tell us what the business does and what you need. A fixed, written quote comes back before anything begins.
Authorise and upload
You authorise EverStone in My Business Account and send records through a secure upload link.
Stay on schedule
GST, PST, payroll and the year-end are filed on time, and deadline reminders arrive by email.
Common questions from Coquitlam-area owners
How much does an accountant cost in Coquitlam?+
Do you have a Coquitlam office?+
Do you work with businesses in Port Coquitlam and Port Moody?+
Can you take over from my current accountant mid-year?+
Do I need WorkSafeBC coverage once I hire?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Coquitlam businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Running a business in the Tri-Cities?
Get GST and BC PST, payroll and the year-end handled by one CPA who works remotely. Email enquiry, fixed quote, no drive required.
Remote accounting from Abbotsford
EverStone works with Coquitlam businesses virtually, from a base in Abbotsford. There is no Coquitlam premises and nobody on the ground there. Meetings run by video and paperwork moves by secure upload link and e-signature. The person who answers your email in March is the one who prepared the return in June. For the provincial picture, see accounting in British Columbia.
Talk to a CPA about this
One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation.