Choosing an accountant in Surrey, and what to ask first

Why Surrey is a different search

Surrey has too many firms. Searches return storefront preparers to national offices, and the cheapest and priciest can fail alike: nobody experienced in your business does the work.

Surrey businesses have specific needs. Construction needs correct subcontractor status, T5018 slips, WorkSafeBC clearances and holdbacks. Trucking needs equipment financing, fuel and per diems. A realtor’s lumpy income makes the personal real estate corporation decision depend on numbers few preparers ask for.

Underneath all of it, BC charges GST and PST separately, and payroll above the exemption threshold attracts the Employer Health Tax. Surrey files get reviewed. The firm you choose should already be doing the work that survives a review.

The questions that separate firms

1. How do you handle subcontractors and T5018 slips?

If you use subcontractors, ask how the firm classifies workers, tracks T5018 payments year-round instead of in February, and handles holdbacks. Construction-savvy firms answer instantly.

Start with the credential. CPA members and public accounting firms in British Columbia are listed in CPABC’s member and firm directories; a minute there confirms that the person and the firm you are talking to are who they say they are.

2. Who does the work, and who signs it?

In a high-volume practice the person you meet is a salesperson for the engagement. Ask who prepares, who reviews and who signs, and whether that changes from year to year. The answer you want is one name, and the same name next year.

3. Is the fee fixed, in writing, before work starts?

Ask for the number before anything begins, in an engagement letter, and ask what would change it. Transaction volume, the state of the books, the number of filings and payroll are fair answers. An hourly rate is not.

4. Can I reach you between year-ends?

Tax savings come from in-year decisions: pay, bonus accruals, equipment timing. Ask whether July calls are included and whether the person answering knows your file.

5. Do you keep GST and PST tied out separately?

They are separate taxes with separate rules, and PST is where trades, equipment rental and retail businesses get caught. Ask how PST is reconciled to your sales records and how often the two returns are checked against the books.

6. What does switching involve?

Authorisation with the CRA, a file request to your previous firm, and work continues from the last filed year-end. Mid-year is fine, and a backlog is quoted separately so the cost of clearing it is visible before you commit.

How to compare two Surrey quotes

Compare inclusions: T2, statements, GST and PST, payroll and T4s, T5018s, the owner’s T1 and year-round questions. Low Surrey quotes often omit slips and questions, the real work.

Then ask what would make the fee change and whether you would hear about it before or after. A fixed fee that grows quietly is not fixed.

Red flags worth walking away from

• A quote given before anyone has asked how many subcontractors you pay or how many transactions you run.
• T5018 slips and clearance letters treated as an add-on, or not mentioned for a construction business.
• A fee described as an estimate, or tied to an hourly rate.
• PST folded into GST, or not mentioned for a business that sells goods or rents equipment.
• Nobody will name the person who prepares and reviews your file.

Where to start

A free thirty-minute conversation about what the business does and what is filed now ends with a fixed fee in writing. The work runs online, and Surrey owners rarely need to visit.

Get My Fixed Quote See the fixed fees

For Surrey specifically: accountant services in Surrey, accounting for Surrey contractors, Surrey realtors, T5018s, holdbacks and WorkSafeBC at year-end and how switching works.

Choosing somewhere else? The same questions, with the local specifics, for Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley, Maple Ridge, Aldergrove, Vancouver, Victoria, Mission and the Fraser Valley.