Accountant for Oshawa manufacturers

For a one-owner Oshawa manufacturer, bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually cost $500 to $700 a month. That covers Schedule 1 and Schedule 50, CCA, the small business deduction, owner T4 or T5 slips and instalments.

Inventory is a tax number, not just a count

For a shop with raw material, parts and finished goods, closing inventory is a top number on the return: overstated, profit comes early; understated, deductions do. Inventory is generally valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, so obsolete parts and material for cancelled programs are written down.

Suppliers to larger manufacturers feel this most: when a program ends, its stock can lose most of its value overnight. We review slow and single-customer stock at year-end and book the write-down in the right year. The year-end count covers it.

Work in progress, and costing a job before you quote it

At year-end a job shop holds half-machined parts, assemblies awaiting components and shipped-but-unbilled orders. Work in progress carries their material, labour and overhead; misstate it and profit shifts years.

The same numbers drive quoting. Costing only material and direct labour makes every quote look good; adding machine time, setup, scrap and overhead shows what pays. We code costs to jobs where practical and compare results to quotes. The pricing and margin analysis service helps shops ready to reprice.

Big customers also squeeze cash: long terms, chargebacks and annual price-downs swell receivables, so profit and bank balance diverge. A monthly aged receivables review against supplier payments shows it early. See cash flow management and collecting receivables.

Machinery, capital cost allowance and the replacement cycle

CNC machines, presses, welders, forklifts and tooling are claimed through capital cost allowance. Manufacturing machinery gets favourable, recently changed treatment, so check class and timing before ordering. Assets must be available for use by year-end to count.

Selling or trading in a machine reduces its class, which can mean recapture or a terminal loss. We tie the CCA schedule to the real equipment list. See CCA classes and expensing for manufacturing buildings.

SR&ED on process improvement

Scientific Research and Experimental Development credits are not just for labs. Work through real technological uncertainty may qualify: a process for tighter tolerance, a non-obvious fixture that cuts cycle time, a tested material substitution. Claims go on Form T661 with the T2, and a Canadian-controlled private corporation can get an enhanced refundable credit, even with no tax owing.

Claims rest on records made at the time: the uncertainty, the attempts, the lessons. We help assess eligibility and keep supporting time and material records. See the SR&ED expenditure limit update.

HST on exports, and Employer Health Tax on a bigger crew

Many Durham shops export. Exports are generally zero-rated, so input HST is recovered with none charged, often leaving a refund each period. Documentation supports it; see HST on exports. Domestic sales carry 13% HST.

Shift and overtime payrolls often pass the Employer Health Tax exemption. The rate uses payroll before the exemption, and associated companies share one. See Ontario tax facts and payroll services in Oshawa.

What EverStone handles for you

One firm, one fixed fee agreed up front:

• T2 corporate return and year-end financial statements
• Inventory and work in progress reviewed at the cut-off
• Job cost reporting from the monthly books
• Machinery and equipment CCA schedules
• SR&ED eligibility review and Form T661 support
• HST filing, including zero-rated exports
• Employer Health Tax and WSIB alongside payroll

Fixed fees, fully online

Oshawa runs ahead of us on Eastern time, so an end-of-shift question is often answered before the next shift. Work runs by video, phone and upload, in cloud books you own. A fractional controller from $1,650 a month adds job-cost and margin reporting. Fees are fixed up front. See what it costs.

Remote accounting for manufacturers

Oshawa work is remote. There is no Oshawa office and no local team. Meetings are virtual, documents e-signed, with the CPA directly. Inventory, job costs and equipment are tracked all year.