Contractor accountant in Nanaimo
Building on the central Island means new homes on the north end and in Cedar, renovations in the older streets near downtown, and jobs strung along the Island Highway from Ladysmith to Parksville. It also means a dry-season rush and a wet winter. EverStone keeps the books, the slips and the year-end for Nanaimo contractors, remotely, at a fixed fee.
EverStone is a CPA for incorporated contractors and a Nanaimo small-business accountant.
Quick answer: A Nanaimo construction contractor files T5018 slips for the subcontractors it pays, tracks holdbacks on both its receivables and payables, and charges GST on progress billings when they are invoiced. In BC the contractor also pays 7% PST on materials it installs into real property, and needs WorkSafeBC clearance letters before paying subtrades. EverStone handles all of that remotely, with the year-end T2 on the same file.
For a typical incorporated contractor in Nanaimo, bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually come to $450–$650 a month all-in. Monthly bookkeeping on its own starts from $300 a month with GST and PST filing included. The published fees show every starting point.
A building season shaped by the weather
Central Island construction runs on the weather. Foundations, framing and roofing push hard through the drier months, and work slows when the rain settles in. A contractor’s revenue follows that curve, but the truck payments, insurance and WorkSafeBC premiums do not. The books need to show the whole year, not just the busy half of it.
Distance is the other local factor. A crew may start the week in Lantzville and finish it in Ladysmith, and materials sometimes come over on the ferry from Mainland suppliers. Travel, fuel and freight belong to the jobs that caused them. That is how a contractor finds out which kind of work actually makes money.
T5018 for every subtrade you pay
A business whose main activity is construction reports payments to subcontractors on the T5018. The slips are due six months after the end of the reporting period, which can be the calendar year or the fiscal year. Each slip needs the subcontractor’s name, address and business number.
Collecting those details when a subtrade starts costs nothing. Chasing them a year later, after a drywaller has moved up-island or stopped answering, is slow. The payables system should separate subcontract labour from materials when each bill is entered. T5018 reporting explains who is caught, and the T5018 subcontractor tracker keeps the details in one place.
Holdbacks on both sides of the ledger
BC builders’ lien rules mean money is held back on a project and released later. On a general contractor’s books that creates two schedules. Holdbacks the owner keeps from you are earned revenue that is not yet collectible. Holdbacks you keep from your subtrades are costs already incurred that are not yet paid.
Leave the second schedule out and the job looks more profitable than it is. Leave the first out and the year-end understates revenue. On a multi-unit job in north Nanaimo, both run at once. The construction holdbacks guide walks through the entries.
GST on progress billings and deposits
GST generally becomes payable on the earlier of the invoice date and the payment date. A deposit collected before work starts can therefore put tax in your hands well before the revenue is earned. The tax portion is not working capital, and treating it as such leaves a hole at the next filing.
On the other side, GST paid on materials, equipment, fuel and subcontract invoices comes back as input tax credits, provided the invoices carry the supplier’s GST number. Missing numbers on a stack of small invoices add up to real money over a year.
PST on the materials you install
In BC, a contractor who supplies and installs materials into real property is treated as the consumer of those materials. You pay 7% PST when you buy them and do not charge PST on the installed contract. Lumber, drywall, roofing and fixtures that become part of a building all follow that rule.
The picture changes if you sell materials without installing them, or sell to a customer who installs them. Then you may need to register and collect PST yourself. A contractor that starts supplying materials only should check its registration before the first invoice. The BC PST guide covers the rules, and the rates sit on BC tax facts.
WorkSafeBC and the clearance letter
Employers register with WorkSafeBC and pay premiums on assessable payroll. For a general contractor, the less obvious rule is about subtrades. If a subcontractor does not pay its premiums, the contractor who hired it can be held responsible for them.
A clearance letter, checked before you pay a subtrade, is the protection. It is a routine step that belongs in the payables process, not a year-end scramble. WorkSafeBC registration covers the basics.
Job costing, equipment and the year-end
Each job should carry its own labour, materials, subcontract and equipment costs. Without that, a contractor cannot tell whether framing pays better than finishing, or whether the Gabriola job was worth the ferry time. Work in progress is measured at year-end so a contract that straddles it is reported on the work actually done.
Excavators, trailers and trucks go through CCA, and the timing of a purchase changes when the deduction lands. The incorporated contractor then claims the small business deduction on active income up to the business limit. The corporate year-end in Nanaimo page covers the T2 side.
- T5018 slips and subcontractor details collected at onboarding
- Holdback schedules on receivables and payables
- GST on progress billings, with input tax credits reviewed
- PST on installed materials, and registration where you sell materials
- Payroll, WorkSafeBC and clearance letters
- Job costing, work in progress and the year-end T2
Fully virtual, based in Abbotsford
EverStone serves Nanaimo contractors remotely from Abbotsford. There is no Nanaimo office and no reason to leave a site for a meeting. Bills, receipts and contracts come in through a secure upload link, questions go by email first, and a video meeting is booked when it helps. One CPA keeps the books and prepares the return from them.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working 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 |
|---|---|
| Subcontractor payments | Reported to the CRA on T5018 slips, due six months after the reporting period |
| Holdbacks | Recognized on their own timing, on both the receivable and payable side |
| Installed materials | PST paid by the contractor on materials built into real property |
| WorkSafeBC | Premiums on your own payroll, and clearance letters for subtrades |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Construction accounting in BC. General information, not advice.
Other services for Nanaimo builders: payroll and monthly bookkeeping.
Nanaimo contractor questions
Do I charge PST on a renovation contract?+
When are T5018 slips due?+
Am I responsible for a subtrade’s WorkSafeBC premiums?+
When do I owe GST on a deposit?+
What does a contractor’s accountant cost in Nanaimo?+
Do you work with contractors outside Nanaimo itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Nanaimo 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.
Building on the central Island?
Get T5018s, holdbacks, PST on materials and WorkSafeBC handled by one CPA, at a fixed fee agreed up front.
Talk to a CPA about this
Talk through your jobs, your subtrades and your year-end with the CPA who would keep the file. You see a written fee before committing to anything.
