Accounting for BC businesses, by industry
Every industry carries its own accounting: how money comes in, what PST and GST apply, how people are paid, and what the CRA asks about. Find your industry below and see how EverStone handles it, at a fixed fee agreed in writing.
Quick answer: EverStone CPA works online with owner-managed businesses across British Columbia. Each page below covers one industry: whether to incorporate, how to pay yourself, GST and PST, payroll and contractors, bookkeeping for the systems that industry uses, and what it costs. Personal tax returns start at $100 and monthly bookkeeping at $300 a month. If your industry is not listed, it almost certainly still fits.
Health and wellness practices
Regulated practitioners answer to a college as well as the CRA. Incorporation rules, GST/HST on services and associate arrangements differ by profession, so each has its own page.
- Physiotherapists and physio clinics — associates, direct billing and clinic incorporation.
- Chiropractors — practice structure, equipment and owner pay.
- Registered massage therapists — solo practice, clinic rent and when to incorporate.
- Counsellors and therapists — private practice and group practices.
- Physicians and medical corporations — billings, the corporation and family members.
- Dentists and dental practices — associates, equipment and practice purchases.
- Veterinarians and veterinary clinics — inventory, staff and clinic ownership.
- Pharmacy owners — drug inventory, front-store sales and payroll.
Professional and advisory firms
Professional corporations are mostly about timing and structure: how much to leave in the company, how to pay yourself, and how the share rules of your regulator limit the choices.
- Incorporated professionals — the general page for any professional corporation, with the professionals hub behind it.
- Engineers and architects — project billing, work in progress and the firm’s structure.
- IT consultants and software developers — contracting through a corporation and personal services business risk.
- Mortgage and insurance brokers — commission income and the brokerage relationship.
- Agencies and consulting firms — retainers, project costs and contractors.
- Lawyers — a CPA for your incorporation clients.
Construction and the trades
Trades carry the heaviest compliance load of any small business: PST on installed materials, T5018 slips, holdbacks, WorkSafeBC clearance and equipment.
- Construction companies — job costing, holdbacks and progress billing.
- Plumbers, electricians and HVAC contractors — service calls, installed materials and vans.
- Landscaping and lawn care — seasonal crews and equipment.
- Trades accounting guide and the contractor hub — every guide and tool for contractors.
Service businesses
Service businesses live on payroll, scheduling and cash flow. The questions are about staff versus contractors, deposits and packages, and when the business is big enough to incorporate.
- Hair salons, barbers and spas — booth rental, tips and retail product.
- Gyms, fitness and yoga studios — memberships, prepaid packages and instructors.
- Daycares and childcare centres — parent fees, funding and staff ratios.
- Cleaning and janitorial companies — crews, contracts and supplies.
- Auto repair shops and mechanics — parts inventory, PST and technicians.
- Home care and senior care agencies — caregivers and shift payroll.
- Franchise owners — royalties, ad funds and franchisor reporting.
Food, drink and hospitality
- Restaurants, cafes and bars — tips, food cost and payroll.
- Craft breweries, cideries and distilleries — inventory, excise and tasting rooms.
- Food and beverage manufacturers — costing, inventory and production records.
- Tourism and adventure operators — seasonality, deposits and guides.
- Wineries: Kelowna and Penticton.
Property and real estate
- Realtors and personal real estate corporations (PRECs).
- Property managers — trust funds, owner statements and fees.
- Real estate investors — rental portfolios and holding companies.
- Short-term rental hosts — rental income, GST and PST, and local rules.
Transport, farming and online sales
- Truck drivers and owner-operators and trucking companies.
- Farms and agribusiness — the cash method, quota and farm rollovers.
- E-commerce and online sellers — marketplace payouts and sales tax.
Creative and media
- Film and TV production companies — production companies and tax credits.
- Photographers, videographers and designers — equipment, licensing and GST.
What every industry page covers
Each page answers the same questions for its industry, so you can compare like with like before you get in touch.
- Structure: sole proprietor on a T2125, or a corporation filing a T2 return, and when the change pays for itself.
- Paying yourself: salary with T4 slips, dividends with T5 slips, or a mix, and what each does to CPP and RRSP room. The salary vs dividends calculator runs the numbers.
- Sales tax: GST registration and GST34 returns, BC PST where it applies, and input tax credits on what the business buys.
- People: employees on payroll, contractors on T4A slips, construction subcontractors on the T5018, and WorkSafeBC.
- Equipment and vehicles: capital cost allowance (CCA), leases and the vehicle log.
- Fees: what the work costs, fixed in writing. Personal tax returns start at $100 and monthly bookkeeping at $300 a month.
What to ask an accountant about your industry
Most small business accounting looks the same from a distance. The difference shows up in the details your industry produces every month. Before you hire anyone, ask how they would handle the three or four things that make your business unusual.
- How money comes in. Card terminals, insurer deposits, marketplace payouts, progress draws, memberships or prepaid packages. Each one needs its own way of matching deposits to sales, or the books drift.
- Which sales tax applies. Some services carry GST only, some carry GST and PST, and some carry neither. A contractor who installs materials pays PST differently from a shop that sells them. The answer should be specific to what you sell.
- Who works for you. Employees, contractors, associates, booth renters and seasonal crews are treated differently for payroll, WorkSafeBC and the CRA. Getting the label wrong is one of the most common and costly mistakes in a review.
- When the year ends. A December year-end is not always the right one. Seasonal businesses often do better closing after the busy season, when stock is low and the numbers are settled.
- What you own. Vans, kitchens, chairs, cameras and equipment are written off over years through CCA, not in the year you buy them. Timing a purchase before or after year-end changes the tax.
- What the regulator wants. Colleges, licensing bodies, franchisors and funders often ask for their own reports. Good books produce those without a second set of records.
An accountant who knows your industry answers these without needing to look them up, and can show you where each item lands on your returns and statements. If the answers are vague, the books will be too. Ask us any of them by email, and a CPA replies within one business day with how it works for your business and what it would cost.
Questions about industry accounting
My industry is not listed. Can you still help?+
Do you only work with incorporated businesses?+
Does it matter where in BC my business is?+
How is the fee set for my industry?+
Not sure your industry fits?
The industries above are the most common files, not the only ones. The core of the work is the same for any owner-managed business in BC: monthly bookkeeping, the corporate tax return, payroll and your personal return. Tell us what your business does and a CPA replies within one business day with how it would work and a fixed fee. You can see all published fees first, or find your city on the British Columbia page.
Written and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working remotely with businesses across British Columbia. Updated . You can read client reviews before you get in touch.