Contractor accountant in Burnaby
Burnaby construction runs on two tracks: concrete-and-glass towers rising around Metrotown, Brentwood and Lougheed, and steady renovation and rebuild work on the older houses of the Heights, Edmonds and the slopes above the Fraser. Both bill in ways an ordinary ledger handles badly. EverStone looks after incorporated contractors in Burnaby remotely, from Abbotsford.
Quick answer: An incorporated Burnaby contractor has to handle T5018 subcontractor reporting, holdbacks on both sides of the ledger and WorkSafeBC clearance letters. It also pays PST on materials installed into real property, owes GST on progress billings, and faces the personal services business question if most work comes from one general. EverStone handles all of it remotely at a fixed fee.
For a one-owner Burnaby trades corporation, bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually run $450–$650 a month as a bundle. Bookkeeping alone starts from $300 a month, with GST and PST filing included. The year-end covers the T2 with Schedule 50, the CCA schedule, the small business deduction and T4 or T5 slips for the owner’s pay. See the published fees.
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T5018 slips when you pay subtrades
A business whose main activity is construction reports what it pays subcontractors for construction services on T5018 slips. The return is due six months after the end of the reporting period. The CRA matches the slips against what each subcontractor reports, so a missing business number or a wrong amount becomes someone’s problem later.
Tower projects can involve dozens of trades over a single year. Collecting each subtrade’s legal name, address and business number before the first payment, and splitting labour from materials on entry, makes the year-end slip run routine. The T5018 subcontractor tracker is a simple way to keep the list.
The slips work in the other direction too. A Burnaby subtrade paid by a general contractor will see its own receipts reported on a T5018. The revenue on its T2 or T2125 should reconcile to those slips, after allowing for holdbacks and timing. A mismatch is one of the simplest things for the CRA to spot.
Holdbacks sit on both sides of the ledger
BC builders’ lien rules have owners and contractors retain part of each progress payment until the lien period passes. A subtrade on a Burnaby tower therefore has earned revenue it cannot yet collect. A general contractor holding back from its own subtrades has costs it has incurred but not yet paid. Both belong in the period they relate to.
Leaving holdbacks receivable out understates revenue; leaving holdbacks payable out overstates margin. On long projects both run at once, and only a schedule by job keeps them straight. See the construction holdbacks guide.
WorkSafeBC and the clearance letter
WorkSafeBC is separate from payroll and the CRA: its own registration, its own premiums and its own reporting. For a contractor, the less obvious part is liability for others. If you hire a subcontractor who is not in good standing, you can be held responsible for their unpaid premiums. A clearance letter, checked before payment, is the protection. Owner-operators should also decide whether to buy personal optional protection for themselves. See WorkSafeBC registration in BC.
PST on the materials you install
When a contractor supplies and installs materials into real property — drywall, cabinets, fixtures, flooring, windows — the contractor generally pays PST on those materials when buying them, rather than charging it to the customer. That PST is a job cost, not a recoverable tax. Contractors who also sell goods without installing them, such as appliances or supplies, may need to charge PST on those sales.
The split decides how a quote should be priced and how the purchases are coded. Mixed contracts, common in renovation, need the distinction made line by line. The BC PST guide covers the rules.
GST is due when you invoice
GST on a progress billing is generally payable on the earlier of the invoice date and the payment date. A contractor that invoices at month-end and is paid sixty days later has already owed the GST for a full reporting period. Deposits on renovation work bring GST forward in the same way. Input tax credits on materials, equipment and subtrade invoices offset the tax, which is why every subtrade invoice needs the GST number on it.
Tower work, one general and the PSB question
Many Burnaby trades corporations work almost entirely for one or two general contractors on large residential towers. That is commercially normal. But when an incorporated contractor looks like an employee of a single customer — set hours, the customer’s tools, no other clients — the CRA can treat the corporation as a personal services business. That removes the small business deduction and most expenses. Owning tools, carrying risk on price and working for more than one general all help. The PSB risk assessment walks through the factors.
Job costing, or a year you cannot explain
Without job costing, a contractor sees profit once a year and cannot say which jobs produced it. Coding labour, materials, equipment time and subtrades to each job as invoices arrive shows margin while a project is still running. It also feeds work-in-progress at year-end, so revenue on a job that spans two fiscal years lands in the right one. Vehicles and equipment need a log and a CCA schedule; see the vehicle log.
Equipment is where cash and tax pull apart. A new excavator, a crane rental commitment or a fleet of vans changes the CCA claim, the loan payments and the lender’s view of the balance sheet at once. Deciding to lease or buy before year-end is a conversation worth having first.
Fully virtual, based in Abbotsford
EverStone is a one-CPA firm based in Abbotsford, serving Burnaby contractors entirely online. There is no Burnaby office and no local staff. Invoices, subtrade paperwork and clearance letters come in through a secure upload link, questions go by email first, and a video call is booked when it helps. Nobody has to leave a site for a meeting. For the provincial context, see construction accounting in BC.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working remotely with small businesses and incorporated owners across British Columbia. Updated . About the firm · Send an enquiry
What an incorporated contractor has to get right
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| T5018 slips | Construction payers report subcontractor payments to the CRA |
| Holdbacks | Receivable and payable holdbacks belong in the period earned or incurred |
| WorkSafeBC clearances | Unpaid premiums of an uncleared subtrade can become yours |
| PST on installed materials | Paid on purchase and carried as a job cost |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Construction and trades accounting. General information, not advice.
Burnaby contractor questions
Do I have to file T5018s?+
Who pays PST on cabinets I supply and install?+
Why do I need a WorkSafeBC clearance letter?+
When is GST due on a progress billing?+
I work for one general contractor. Is that a problem?+
Do you work with contractors outside Burnaby?+
Related services and local guides
The rest of what we do for Burnaby businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Fees are fixed and agreed in writing before the work starts; the published fee page shows the starting points.
Incorporated trade in Burnaby?
Get the T5018s, the holdbacks and the personal services business question handled by one CPA, at a fixed fee agreed up front.
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.
