Online Accountant for Vancouver’s Trades, Film & Tech Businesses
EverStone CPA serves incorporated Vancouver-area businesses online: corporate tax, bookkeeping and advice from a CPA, at a fixed fee agreed up front. Burnaby, Richmond and North Vancouver are served the same way.
Who we help here: Trades subcontractors, film and production companies, and tech and e-commerce founders who need BC’s two-tax GST/PST system handled without an office visit.
Nearby, EverStone also serves Surrey and Burnaby, including GST and PST filing for Burnaby small businesses.
Quick answer: Vancouver owners rarely need an accountant downtown — they need one who answers. EverStone works with incorporated Vancouver businesses entirely online: corporate tax, bookkeeping, GST and PST, and salary-versus-dividend planning, all at a fixed fee agreed before any work starts. Published fees start at $125 for a personal return and $325 a month for bookkeeping.
For GST/HST and PST returns on their own, see GST filing services for Vancouver small businesses.
Updated .
The engagement is the same for a Burnaby, Richmond or North Vancouver business as for one downtown; the service is the same either way.
GST filing services for Vancouver small businesses run on the same fixed fee as the rest of the file, on whichever reporting period the CRA has assigned you.
On this page
- A CPA who works entirely online
- Which return applies to you
- Why BC’s two-tax system needs closer tracking than most provinces
- Accounting & tax services for Vancouver-area businesses
- Built for project-based, seasonal and crew-driven businesses
- PST registration gaps that surface at the worst possible time
- Getting set up, without a trip downtown
- Working with a virtual small business accountant in Vancouver
- Real reviews from real clients
- Vancouver industries we work with most
- How working with a Vancouver business actually runs
- Common questions from Vancouver-area owners
A CPA who works entirely online
PST, GST and BC’s Employer Health Tax aren’t abstractions to us — they’re rules we apply every filing period. Unlike a traditional Vancouver accounting relationship, none of it needs an in-person meeting, whether you’re downtown, in a Burnaby studio or on a North Vancouver job site.
You work with a Chartered Professional Accountant year-round, by video, phone, secure email and e-signature, at a fee fixed before work starts. Having one firm tax accountant on the file means the person who prepares your return is the person who answers your emails.
Get My Fixed QuoteWhat Vancouver-area clients get
- Corporate tax (T2) & year-end statements
- Personal tax (T1) for owners & families
- Monthly bookkeeping & payroll
- GST and BC PST filed separately
- Subcontractor & crew-payment tracking
- 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 partnership | A T5013 partnership return where required, plus each partner’s own return |
| Employed with a side business | A T1 that reports both the T4 income and the T2125 business |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Should you incorporate? General information, not advice.
Why BC’s two-tax system needs closer tracking than most provinces
GST and PST are charged, registered and filed separately in BC, and PST catches more service businesses than owners expect.
Two separate taxes
BC charges 5% GST and 7% PST as separate taxes with separate registrations, unlike single-HST provinces. Miss the PST registration and the province can assess penalties regardless of GST.
PST on services, not just goods
BC PST also applies to certain software, telecommunication and related services, not just goods. Tech and production firms buying licences or services often owe PST they never registered for.
Corporate tax rate
BC taxes active small-business income at 2%, plus the 9% federal rate, one of the lower combined rates in Canada if the GST/PST filings behind it are clean.
Accounting & tax services for Vancouver-area businesses
Everything an incorporated Vancouver-area business needs, under one roof — delivered online.
Corporate Tax (T2)
T2 corporate returns and year-end statements for incorporated trades, production and tech businesses in the Vancouver area, with GST/PST and CRA correspondence handled as part of the file.
Personal Tax (T1)
Personal and self-employed T1 returns built around a tax-efficient salary-and-dividend split, for owners balancing project-based or seasonal income.
Bookkeeping & Payroll
Monthly bookkeeping and payroll that tracks crew payments, subcontractor invoices and job costs, so a trades or production business always knows its real margin.
GST / PST
BC’s two-tax system — 5% GST plus 7% PST — registered, filed and reconciled separately and correctly, including the service categories PST catches that owners often miss.
Business Advisory
Practical advice on cash flow, equipment financing and structure for Vancouver-area owners, from a CPA who understands seasonal and project-based revenue.
Fractional CFO
Fractional CFO support for growing production, trades or tech companies that need real forecasting and financing conversations, not just monthly bookkeeping.
Built for project-based, seasonal and crew-driven businesses
Many Vancouver-area businesses lack steady monthly revenue: trades bill by project, production companies staff up and down, and tech founders run lean between funding rounds. Generic bookkeeping templates fit poorly.
We build your books, GST/PST and payroll around how money moves: job costing for trades, crew and per-diem tracking for production, burn rate for tech, so your T2 reflects the real business.
Get My Fixed QuoteServing the Vancouver area, entirely online
100% online — video and phone meetings, secure email and e-signature.
Prefer to reach out directly?
info@everstonecpa.com · reply within one business day
(604) 832-1743 · Mon–Fri 9–5:30
PST registration gaps that surface at the worst possible time
Only need the sales tax side? Our GST filing services for Vancouver small business cover GST/HST and B.C. PST returns, place of supply and zero-rated exports, for Burnaby businesses as well as Vancouver ones.
The most common problem we see in Vancouver isn’t GST — it’s PST. BC’s provincial sales tax covers more transactions than most owners assume, and because the two registrations are separate, you can be compliant federally while under-registered provincially.
It shows up differently by business. A subcontractor who starts supplying materials as well as labour may owe PST on the goods portion. A production company that leases equipment, or a tech company that resells software licences, can owe PST on what looks like plain service billing.
None of this is exotic: PST just defines taxable sales and leases broadly. If an audit finds unremitted PST first, BC assesses penalties and interest going back several years.
We check what you sell, not just your industry, against BC’s PST rules, register you correctly the first time, and build PST into your invoicing and bookkeeping alongside GST. That is the standard for GST filing services Vancouver small business owners rely on: GST and BC PST registered, filed and reconciled as two separate taxes.
Getting set up, without a trip downtown
No trip downtown — the whole engagement runs online.
Send an enquiry
An email enquiry about your project-based or seasonal business. You get a fixed, written quote before anything begins.
Send your records securely
Send your records securely; we bring the books current and reconcile GST and BC PST against your contracts.
Stay compliant all year
We keep both filings on schedule, watch your PST registration exposure, and stay reachable all year.
Working with a virtual small business accountant in Vancouver
A Vancouver client and an Abbotsford client follow the same process, because the engagement is built to work at a distance. Records go by secure upload link, meetings are by video at a time that suits you, and returns are approved by e-signature.
For Vancouver businesses the difference is the mix of work: more e-commerce and marketplace GST questions, contractor-versus-employee classification, and when to stop drawing everything as salary. The provincial layer — PST, the BC small business rate, the Employer Health Tax once payroll grows — is daily work for us.
The same remote model serves owners throughout BC; see the province-wide view for BC small businesses.
Quick Method vs regular GST calculator · compare salary against dividends · our T2 deadline tool · work out the GST on an amount
Free tools for Vancouver owners: free CRA deadline reminders.
Real reviews from real clients
Rated 5.0 on Google across 26 client reviews.
“…He is very knowledgeable and has saved me tons in taxes by restructuring my group of companies — the best accountant I’ve worked with in the last 10 years, after switching from three different firms.”
“…We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.”
“…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!”
Vancouver industries we work with most
Vancouver’s owner-managed businesses lean to professional services, e-commerce, studios and residential trades, with uneven revenue, contractors rather than staff, and platform or inventory layers that complicate GST and PST. The questions repeat: when to incorporate, how to treat a contractor, whether PST applies to a bundled service. See our e-commerce accounting page for platform sellers and realtor accounting in Vancouver for personal real estate corporations.
How working with a Vancouver business actually runs
Everything is remote by design: you get a CPA who replies, not one who is close by. Consultations run by video or phone, documents move by secure upload, and signatures are electronic. Questions through the year bring no extra bill, because the fee is fixed before work begins, and the questions worth asking usually come before a decision.
EverStone handles the whole file, so whoever prepares your return also answers your emails. For Vancouver owners that removes travel and the hesitation to ask.
What a Vancouver client’s year looks like
Most Vancouver clients have a December year-end, so the corporate return is due six months later and the balance owing earlier. We keep books current, plan before year-end while decisions still count, and file the return as a confirmation, not a scramble. GST filings fall in between.
We work with owner-managed businesses across British Columbia. See accounting in British Columbia for the provincial picture, or how a virtual CPA engagement works.
Where the immediate need is a year end, Vancouver financial statements covers share capital by class, related-party disclosure and what an outside shareholder looks for.
For part-time senior finance support rather than compliance work, see fractional CFO support for Vancouver companies with investors.
Remote accounting
EverStone works with Vancouver businesses virtually. There is no premises in Vancouver, and nobody on the ground there. We work by video, phone, secure email and e-signature, and the CPA who answers your March question prepared your June return.
How a remote engagement works in British Columbia
Nothing here is unusual for a BC business, but the engagement still runs entirely remotely, because that is how the practice is built.
- Authorisation, not paperwork. You authorize us on CRA’s Represent a Client through your CRA My Business Account, a few clicks on your side, no forms in the mail. That is what lets us see your filings, balances and notices directly rather than asking you to forward them.
- Documents move by secure upload link. Bank statements, payroll records and year-end files are sent by secure upload link, never as email attachments. You can send from a phone.
- Signatures are electronic. Your T183 and engagement letter are signed in a browser. Nothing is printed, scanned or couriered.
- Meetings are video or phone. Year-end review, planning conversations and first enquiries all run this way, on your schedule rather than during a drive.
- Filing is electronic to the same place it always was. Returns are transmitted to CRA electronically; where a provincial return is administered separately, it is filed to that provincial authority the same way.
What is specific to British Columbia
BC corporations face two provincial layers: BC PST, separate from GST, and the employer health tax once payroll passes the exemption. Each has its own registration and calendar, and both are part of the engagement. WorkSafeBC is a third account new employers often find late.
If you are comparing firms first, what to ask an accountant in Vancouver before you sign is written for exactly that.
Current BC rates and thresholds are on the British Columbia tax facts page, each with its source and the date it was checked.
British Columbia questions we get
Do I need a BC accountant to file a BC corporate return?+
No. The designation is provincial, but the work is not tied to location; what matters is knowing the provincial layers.
Is PST handled as part of the engagement?+
Yes, where you are registered for it. PST is administered provincially and separately from GST/HST, which is precisely why it is the most commonly missed registration in BC.
Do you work with businesses outside Vancouver itself?+
Common questions from Vancouver-area owners
How much does an accountant cost in Vancouver?+
Can an accountant outside Vancouver file my corporate taxes?+
How do we exchange documents securely?+
Do you understand British Columbia tax rules?+
Do I need to meet my accountant in person if I’m based in Vancouver?+
Why does BC charge two sales taxes instead of one?+
Does PST apply to my software or production-services business, or just retailers selling goods?+
I do both labour and materials on construction jobs — does that change my PST obligations?+
I am in Vancouver — how do meetings actually work?+
See how corporate tax and sales tax work province-wide in our British Columbia accounting guide — provincial rates, GST/HST/PST and filing for British Columbia businesses.
Services in Vancouver
Two service pages go deeper for Vancouver: personal tax (T1) for incorporated owners in Vancouver, and accounting for Vancouver trades and construction businesses. Both are handled remotely.
If you employ anyone, payroll services in Vancouver covers employees in more than one province. If you charge sales tax, GST/HST filing in Vancouver covers place of supply for sales into other provinces.
Written for particular industries: tech startups in Vancouver and restaurants and hospitality in Vancouver.
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Vancouver businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Starting fees
Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins.
- Monthly bookkeeping, GST/PST 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 applicable tax
Specialized accounting