Choosing an accountant in Surrey, and what to ask first

Why Surrey is a different search

The sheer number of firms is the problem. A search for an accountant in Surrey returns everyone from storefront tax preparers to the local office of a national practice, and the price range is wide enough that the cheapest and most expensive options are often the wrong ones for the same reason: nobody with experience of your business is actually working the file.

The businesses that define Surrey have specific accounting needs. A construction corporation has subcontractors whose status has to be right, T5018 slips to file, WorkSafeBC clearance letters to collect and holdbacks to account for. A trucking company has equipment financing, fuel and per-diem claims. A realtor’s income arrives in lumps, and the decision about incorporating through a personal real estate corporation depends on numbers most preparers never 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 pay subcontractors, ask how the firm decides who is a contractor and who is an employee, how it tracks payments for T5018 reporting through the year rather than reconstructing them in February, and how it treats holdbacks at year-end. A firm that does construction work will answer in one breath.

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?

The decisions that save tax happen during the year: how you are paid, whether a bonus is accrued, whether equipment is bought before or after the year-end. Ask whether a call in July is included or billed, and whether the person who answers will be the person who 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

List what each includes: T2, year-end statements, GST and PST, payroll and T4s, T5018 slips if you have subcontractors, the owner’s T1, and questions through the year. In Surrey the lowest quote very often excludes the slips and the questions, which is where the real work is.

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 from Abbotsford, and Surrey owners rarely need to visit.

Book a free consultation See the fixed fees

For Surrey specifically: the Surrey accounting page, 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, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, Mission and the Fraser Valley.