Bookkeeping for Maple Ridge businesses

The books feed every filing that follows: the T2 or T2125, the GST/HST return and its input tax credits, the CCA schedule and the CRA instalments.

One person, two entities, one bank card

A corporation is a separate legal person, but in an owner-operated business it rarely acts like one. Groceries go on the business card by mistake. A supplier is paid personally because the company account was short. Cash comes out when needed at home. None of that is unusual or fatal, but every instance lands in the shareholder account. The question is whether each is identified as it happens or found eleven months later. Separating business and personal finances covers the practical setup.

The shareholder account is a balance, not a bin

Unreviewed, the shareholder account becomes a catch-all nobody can explain. Reviewed monthly it is simple: personal card spending raises what the owner owes, business costs paid personally reduce it, and wages or dividends are booked as such. A year-end balance owed to the corporation triggers the shareholder loan rules, so keep it small and explained.

The vehicle, and the log that decides it

Most Maple Ridge owner-operators drive one vehicle for everything, and the deduction depends on a log kept during the year: date, destination, purpose and distance. It supports either a company vehicle with a personal-use benefit or a personal vehicle with business kilometres reimbursed. A year-end estimate supports neither, and the log is the document reviewers ask for most. Vehicle deductions covers both routes.

Reimbursing yourself properly

Owner-operators often pay business costs personally — parking, materials, tools, home internet. Record an expense claim with receipts and reimburse it by traceable payment; the deduction is supported and the shareholder account stays clean. Taking cash to cover it does neither. Petty cash and owner reimbursements sets out a workable process.

Receipts, and what an image has to show

The CRA accepts readable, complete electronic records kept for the required period, so a phone photo of the whole receipt is generally enough. A statement line is not: it shows the amount, not what was bought. Photograph receipts at purchase and attach them to the transaction; one not captured within a day rarely is.

GST and PST on a small BC ledger

BC has two sales taxes, tracked separately. GST at 5% applies to most sales, and GST paid is generally recovered as an input tax credit. PST at 7% has its own registration and returns, and PST on business inputs is generally a cost. Filing GST from unreconciled books is the most common reason small businesses amend returns.

How the work runs remotely

EverStone is a fully virtual, one-CPA firm with no Maple Ridge office. Bank feeds arrive electronically, receipts by phone, and the shareholder account is reviewed monthly. The same CPA decides personal versus business items and prepares both returns, so the answer is consistent.

Keeping the books accurately and knowing what they mean are different jobs, and it is worth being deliberate about whether books are still the binding constraint.

For Maple Ridge GST filing, the scope and the fixed-fee approach are the same.

Where the same file also needs our Maple Ridge tax-return page and CFO support in Maple Ridge, that is handled in one engagement.