Contractor accountant in Coquitlam
Coquitlam has spent years building uphill and building up: detached homes and townhouses across Burke Mountain, and mid-rise and tower sites near the Millennium Line stations in Burquitlam and City Centre. Builders and general contractors working those projects deal with draws, holdbacks, subtrade slips and GST on new housing. EverStone handles that accounting remotely, from Abbotsford.
EverStone is a CPA for incorporated contractors and a Coquitlam small-business accountant.
Quick answer: A Coquitlam construction contractor files T5018 slips for subtrade payments and tracks holdbacks as their own receivable and payable. It charges GST on progress draws when invoiced, pays PST on materials built into real property, and keeps WorkSafeBC clearances on file. EverStone handles all of it remotely. For a one-owner contracting corporation, bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 usually run $450 to $650 a month.
For an incorporated contractor, the usual bundle of monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements runs $450 to $650 a month, fixed in writing. Bookkeeping on its own starts from $300 a month. The year-end covers the T2 with Schedule 50, the CCA schedule for trucks and equipment, the small business deduction, T5018 slips, and T4 or T5 slips for the owner’s pay.
Building on the hillside: phases and progress draws
Burke Mountain was built phase by phase, and a contractor working there often has several homes at different stages at once. Each home or each contract is its own job. Draws are invoiced as stages complete, and the ledger has to show which draw belongs to which job. Without that, a profitable home and a losing one blend into a single average that hides both. Steep lots add costs that never show up on flat sites: retaining walls, rock removal, extra excavation. Those costs belong to the job that caused them, so the margin on that job is honest. A contractor bidding the next phase needs those numbers more than anyone.
T5018 slips for every subtrade you pay
If construction is your main activity and you pay subcontractors for construction services, you file a T5018 information return. It reports what you paid each subtrade, with their business number. The CRA compares those slips with what the subtrades report on their own returns, so a missing business number or a wrong total produces letters on both sides. The return is due six months after the end of the reporting period you choose. We code subtrade labour separately from materials at entry, so the T5018 is a report rather than a project. The T5018 subcontractor tracker helps you collect the details as you go.
Holdbacks on both sides of the ledger
BC builders’ lien rules mean part of each draw is retained and released later. That holdback is earned revenue but not yet cash, so it sits in its own receivable. If you retain holdbacks from your own subtrades, the mirror image sits in payables. Treating either as ordinary balances misstates working capital, which is exactly the figure a lender looks at before financing the next project. A holdback schedule, updated with each draw, keeps both sides straight. The holdbacks guide covers the entries.
GST on new homes
A contractor building for an owner charges GST on the contract like any other service. A builder who builds a home and sells it charges GST on the sale of a new home. A builder who builds and then rents the home out, even briefly, can trigger a self-supply. That rule treats the builder as having sold the home to itself at fair market value, with GST owing.
This catches small builders on Burke Mountain who rent out a finished house while the market turns. It is far easier to plan before the first tenant moves in. Because GST is generally due on the earlier of invoicing and payment, a deposit can also put tax in your hands before any work starts. Set it aside on receipt.
PST on what you build in
In BC, a contractor who supplies and installs materials into real property is usually the one who pays PST on those materials, as the end user. You generally do not charge PST to the owner on the installed materials; you pay it when you buy them. That makes PST a job cost, not a recoverable tax, and it belongs in the job. Contractors who also sell materials without installing them, or rent out equipment, can have a separate obligation to register and collect PST. The construction accounting in BC page covers the provincial rules, with rates on the BC tax facts page.
WorkSafeBC and the subtrade who is really an employee
Before paying a subcontractor, a prime contractor can request a WorkSafeBC clearance letter. If the subtrade is behind on premiums and you have no clearance, the liability can move to you. Classification is the other risk. A framer who works only for you, on your schedule, with your tools, may be an employee whatever the invoice says. The CRA looks at control, ownership of tools, chance of profit and integration, not at the label. Getting this wrong means unremitted CPP and EI premiums plus penalties. See subcontractor or employee, and payroll in Coquitlam for crews on payroll.
Job costing on multi-unit sites
Townhouse and mid-rise projects near the SkyTrain stations run longer and carry more parties than a single house. A contract that spans the fiscal year-end makes the cut-off the number that decides the tax bill. Work performed but not yet billed is income; amounts billed ahead of the work generally are not. Change orders need their own tracking, because unbilled extras are the most common source of lost margin. A job-cost report each month, tied to the ledger, is what makes the year-end a confirmation rather than a surprise. The same discipline helps when you apply for bonding or a larger line of credit; see lender readiness.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working with contractors and small businesses across British Columbia. Updated . About the firm · Send an enquiry
What an incorporated contractor has to get right
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| T5018 reporting | Subcontractor payments are cross-checked by CRA against what recipients report |
| Holdbacks | Receivable and payable both distort working capital if treated as ordinary balances |
| WorkSafeBC | Separate registration, and an uncovered subcontractor can become your liability |
| GST on progress billings | Generally due by reference to the invoice, not to when the money arrives |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Construction and trades accounting. General information, not advice.
Coquitlam contractor questions
Do I have to file T5018s?+
Do I charge PST on materials I install?+
What happens if I rent out a home I built?+
When is GST due on a progress draw?+
Do you have a Coquitlam office?+
What does an accountant cost for a Coquitlam contractor?+
Do you work with contractors outside Coquitlam itself?+
Related services and local guides
The rest of what we do for Coquitlam businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Building in Coquitlam?
Get the T5018s, the holdbacks and GST on new housing handled by one CPA, at a fixed fee agreed up front.
Fully virtual, based in Abbotsford
EverStone is a one-CPA firm based in Abbotsford, serving Coquitlam contractors entirely online. There is no Coquitlam office and no local staff. Draw schedules, subtrade invoices and receipts come in through a secure upload link, often from a phone on site. Questions are answered by email, and a video meeting is booked when a decision needs one.
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.
