Accountant for Kamloops construction contractors
Kamloops builds on slopes. New subdivisions climb the hillsides above the river, older neighbourhoods on the North Shore and in Brocklehurst are renovated house by house, and commercial and industrial work follows the highway corridor.
EverStone is a contractor accountant and a Kamloops small-business CPA, handling T5018 slips, PST on materials, holdbacks, WorkSafeBC and the corporate return at fixed fees, remotely from Abbotsford.
Quick answer: A Kamloops contractor reports subcontractor payments on T5018 slips, pays PST on materials installed into real property, tracks holdbacks owed and receivable, keeps WorkSafeBC clearance letters for every sub, and charges GST on progress billings when invoiced. EverStone keeps the books and files the returns for Thompson-Nicola contractors remotely, at a fee fixed in writing.
For an incorporated Kamloops trade or general contractor, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually run $450–$650 a month all-in. Bookkeeping on its own starts from $300 a month with GST and PST filing included. A sole-proprietor tradesperson’s T1 with a T2125 is commonly $250–$450. Every fee is on the pricing page.
Building in a hillside city
Kamloops construction comes in a few distinct shapes. Residential builders and framers work the newer hillside neighbourhoods such as Aberdeen, Juniper Ridge and Batchelor Heights. Renovation contractors work the older housing in Brocklehurst, Westsyde and the North Shore. Civil, excavation and industrial contractors follow highway, rail and mine-site work across the region. Each shape bills differently, and the books have to match.
A residential builder may hold houses as inventory. A renovator bills small jobs quickly. A civil contractor bills progress draws against a contract and waits for holdbacks. A one-size chart of accounts fits none of them well.
Most also carry equipment: a work truck, a trailer, an excavator or a skid steer, often financed. Each unit goes on the CCA schedule in its own class, with loan payments split between principal and interest. Thompson-Nicola summers run hot and dry, and a crew can lose days to wildfire smoke or road closures, which is one more reason to keep enough cash back for remittances in the quiet weeks.
T5018, if you pay anyone else to do the work
If construction is your main business activity and you pay subcontractors for construction services, you report those payments on T5018 slips. The slips and summary are due six months after the end of the reporting period, which can be the calendar year or your fiscal year. The CRA matches them against the subcontractors’ own returns, so names, business numbers and totals need to be right. Collecting each sub’s details before the first payment is far easier than chasing them in the spring. The T5018 subcontractor tracker helps keep the list current.
Payments that are not for construction services do not go on the T5018. A bookkeeper you pay, an engineer’s fee or equipment rental without an operator are treated differently, and some may belong on a T4A instead. Sorting payments into the right bucket as they are made saves rebuilding the year in February.
PST on the materials you install
BC PST works differently for contractors than for most businesses. A contractor who supplies and installs materials into real property, such as lumber, drywall, roofing or fixtures, is usually treated as the consumer of those materials. You pay 7% PST when you buy them and do not charge PST to the owner on the installed price. Equipment and tools you use are taxable to you as well.
It changes when you sell goods without installing them, or when you fabricate items in a shop. A contractor who also sells appliances or supplies separately may need to register and collect PST on those sales. The BC PST guide covers the registration test.
Holdbacks sit on both sides of the ledger
On larger jobs, the owner or general contractor holds back part of each payment until the work is complete and lien periods have passed. That money is earned but not yet received, so it belongs in a holdback receivable, not in revenue that never shows up in the bank. If you hold back from your own subs, the mirror image is a holdback payable. Both need tracking job by job and releasing when due. Construction holdbacks explains the entries.
WorkSafeBC, and the clearance letter
Every Kamloops contractor with workers needs a WorkSafeBC account, and construction classifications carry higher premiums than most. When you hire a subcontractor, ask for a WorkSafeBC clearance letter before paying them. If the sub is not in good standing, you can be held liable for their unpaid premiums. A clearance letter on file for each payment period closes that gap. WorkSafeBC registration covers the setup.
GST on progress billings and new housing
GST is generally due when you invoice, not when you are paid. On a progress-billed job, each draw invoice triggers GST even if the payment, or the holdback, arrives months later. That can strain cash, so the GST account needs to be watched alongside receivables.
A builder who constructs and sells a new house, or substantially renovates one, is in a different position. The sale is taxable, and the builder may need to account for GST on the selling price and deal with new housing rebates. Get advice before the first spec house is listed, not after.
Job costing, or a year you cannot explain
Without job costing, a contractor finds out at year-end whether the year made money, and cannot say which jobs did. Labour, materials, equipment time and subcontractors coded to each job as they happen turn the books into a quoting tool. On larger contracts, work in progress at year-end needs measuring too, so revenue lands in the right year. We set up the job structure in your software and keep it current monthly. Construction accounting in BC goes into more detail.
Fully virtual, based in Abbotsford
EverStone is a one-CPA firm in Abbotsford. There is no Kamloops office. Invoices, receipts and contracts come in through a secure upload link, often straight from a phone on site. Questions go by email first, with a video meeting when one helps. The fee is fixed in writing before work starts. For the books themselves, see bookkeeping in Kamloops; for crews, see payroll in Kamloops.
Written 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 | Due six months after the reporting period; matched to subs’ returns |
| PST on installed materials | Paid by you as the consumer, not charged to the owner |
| Holdbacks | Earned but unpaid; tracked as receivables and payables by job |
| WorkSafeBC clearance | Protects you from a sub’s unpaid premiums |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Contractor accounting hub. General information, not advice.
Kamloops contractor questions
Do I have to file T5018 slips?+
Do I charge PST to the homeowner?+
When is GST due on a progress draw?+
What does a contractor accountant cost in Kamloops?+
Should I incorporate my trade business?+
What do I need from a new subcontractor before paying them?+
Can I deduct my work truck?+
Are you based in Kamloops?+
Do you work with contractors outside Kamloops itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Kamloops businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Incorporated trade in Kamloops?
T5018s, PST on materials, holdbacks and WorkSafeBC handled by a BC CPA at a fixed fee.
