--- title: "Bookkeeping in Courtenay, BC: Monthly Books, GST and PST" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-courtenay description: "Monthly bookkeeping for Courtenay businesses from $300 a month, GST and PST filing included, kept online by a BC CPA. Get a fixed quote in writing." updated: 2026-10-16 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc. (Chartered Professional Accountant firm, Abbotsford, BC) service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Accountant in Courtenay](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-courtenay) Bookkeeping Bookkeeping · Courtenay # Bookkeeping for *Courtenay* businesses Courtenay ledgers tend to mix busy summers with quieter winters, card sales with progress billings, and the odd ferry receipt with a lot of supplier bills. EverStone keeps books for [Courtenay businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-courtenay) remotely, at a fixed monthly fee with GST and PST filing included. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Quick answer:** A Courtenay business usually needs its books to track seasonal sales, jobs or menus, financed equipment, and two separate sales taxes. EverStone keeps those books remotely for businesses across the Comox Valley. The CPA who reconciles your accounts each month is the one who prepares the year-end return, so the numbers are settled once. Monthly bookkeeping for Courtenay businesses starts from $300 a month, with GST and PST filing included in that fee. The books feed every filing that follows: the T2 or the T2125, the GST34 return and its input tax credits, the CCA schedule and the CRA instalments. If the bookkeeping is wrong, every one of those is wrong with it. ## One valley, several kinds of ledger Courtenay is the urban and cultural centre of the Comox Valley, and its downtown is the valley’s commercial and culinary hub. That puts a wide spread of businesses on the same streets: shops and cafés that take card payments all day, trades and builders who invoice by the job, professional offices that bill monthly, and farms and food producers that sell at markets and farm stands. A one-size chart of accounts fits none of them well. We set the chart of accounts to the way the business actually earns money. A café needs daily sales split by tax and tender. A builder needs costs by job. A farm needs income by product and season. Once the structure is right, the monthly work is consistent and the reports mean something. Our guide to a [small-business chart of accounts](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/chart-of-accounts-small-business-canada) shows the starting point. ## Equipment, loans and the balance sheet Plenty of Comox Valley businesses run on financed equipment: excavators and work trucks for builders, vans for trades, tractors for farms, boats and gear on the water, kitchen equipment for restaurants. A loan payment is not an expense. It is part principal, which reduces the loan, and part interest, which is deductible. Booking the whole payment as an expense overstates costs and leaves a loan balance on the statements that never matches the lender’s. The equipment itself goes on the balance sheet and is written off through [capital cost allowance](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/equipment-cca-classes-bc), class by class. We record each purchase, trade-in and sale as it happens, so the CCA schedule at year-end is a check rather than a reconstruction. A leased unit is treated differently again, and the lease agreement decides which way it goes. Lenders read these statements too. A Courtenay business that finances its next truck, boat or fit-out will be asked for current financial statements, and a loan schedule that ties to the lender’s own balance makes that conversation short. ## Card sales, deposits and the clearing account A retail shop, café or service trade takes payments through a card terminal, and the processor deposits the money a day or two later, less its fees. The deposit is not the sale. Booking deposits as revenue understates sales, hides the fees and makes the GST return wrong. A clearing account that takes the gross sale in and the fees and deposits out keeps it straight, and when it does not return to nil, a payment has gone astray. We reconcile it monthly, alongside the bank and the credit cards. [Why bank reconciliation matters](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bank-reconciliation-why-it-matters) explains the habit. ## GST and PST kept in separate accounts BC charges 5% GST and 7% PST as two distinct taxes. GST paid on supplies, fuel, parts and equipment usually comes back as an [input tax credit](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/input-tax-credits-itc-canada-guide). PST paid on the same purchases generally does not, so it belongs in the cost of the item rather than in a receivable. Combining the two in one account makes both returns unreliable. On the sales side, a business that sells taxable goods, such as parts, retail stock or liquor, collects PST and files with the province on its own schedule. A contractor installing materials into a building usually pays PST as the consumer instead. Most basic food sold by a farm is zero-rated for GST, which still needs recording correctly. The [BC PST guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-pst-small-business-guide) covers who must register. ## How the books differ across Courtenay’s main industries The same monthly routine looks different depending on what the business does. - [Construction](https://www.everstonecpa.com/contractor-accountant-courtenay): job costing, progress billings, holdbacks receivable and subcontractor payments for the T5018. - [Trades](https://www.everstonecpa.com/trades-accountant-courtenay): many small invoices, card settlements, the van and parts sold with PST. - [Restaurants](https://www.everstonecpa.com/restaurant-accountant-courtenay): daily point-of-sale totals matched to card deposits, tips and liquor inventory. - [Farms](https://www.everstonecpa.com/farm-accountant-courtenay): market and farm-gate sales, input costs by season, and farm equipment. - [Realtors](https://www.everstonecpa.com/realtor-accountant-courtenay): brokerage statements, GST on commission, and vehicle and marketing costs. ## Seasonal cash and the remittance calendar The Comox Valley has more than one busy season. Building, farming and marine tourism peak in the warm months, while Mount Washington Alpine Resort brings winter visitors through the valley. Either way, cash arrives unevenly while GST, PST and payroll remittances arrive on a fixed calendar. Current books make the gap visible in time to act. We flag what is owed and when, so sales tax collected in a busy month is set aside rather than spent. [Cash flow for a seasonal business](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/managing-cash-flow-seasonal-business-canada) sets out the method, and [GST filing deadlines](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-filing-deadlines) lists the dates by filing period. ## Books that fell behind A busy season is when receipts pile up in a van, a site trailer or a kitchen office. If your books are months or years behind, [catch-up work](https://www.everstonecpa.com/catch-up-bookkeeping) brings them current from bank and card statements, supplier accounts and whatever records exist. Once the backlog is cleared, the monthly fee takes over and the year-end stops being a scramble. Records must be kept for six years, so the catch-up also puts them in order for any CRA review. ## What the monthly fee covers The fee is fixed in writing before work starts and does not change because you emailed a question. It covers bank and card reconciliation, coding to your chart of accounts, GST and PST returns on your filing schedule, a monthly report, and a clean hand-off to the year-end T2. Payroll can be added for a business with employees. A [sample quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/sample-quote) shows what the written fee looks like. ## Remote bookkeeping EverStone is a fully virtual, one-CPA firm. There is no Courtenay office and no local staff. Bank, card and supplier feeds arrive electronically, documents come in through a secure upload link, and the equipment and loan schedules are kept monthly rather than rebuilt at year-end. Questions go by email first, with a video meeting when it helps. The moment there are employees, [payroll in Courtenay](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-services-courtenay) becomes the recurring obligation. For the year-end itself, see [corporate tax in Courtenay](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-courtenay), and for the owner’s return, [personal tax in Courtenay](https://www.everstonecpa.com/personal-tax-accountant-courtenay). About this article **EverStone CPA** Written and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, a CPA firm working remotely with small businesses and incorporated owners across British Columbia. Updated October 2026 . [About the firm](https://www.everstonecpa.com/about) · [Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) ## What gets done, and when What gets done, and when A monthly engagement, not a box of receipts in March — for a business operating in Courtenay, British Columbia | Cadence | What we do | | Monthly | Transactions coded, bank, card, clearing and loan accounts reconciled | | On your filing period | GST return and BC PST return prepared and filed separately | | As it happens | Equipment purchases, trade-ins and sales recorded for the CCA schedule | | Annually | Books closed and handed clean to the year-end file | | Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns | Source: [Which bookkeeping cadence costs less](https://www.everstonecpa.com/monthly-vs-annual-bookkeeping). General information, not advice. Common questions ## Courtenay bookkeeping questions **How much does bookkeeping cost for a Courtenay business?** Monthly bookkeeping starts from $300 a month with GST and PST filing included. The fee is fixed in writing after a free consultation, based on the number of accounts and transactions. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **How should an equipment loan payment be recorded?** Split between principal, which reduces the loan on the balance sheet, and interest, which is an expense. The equipment itself is an asset written off through capital cost allowance, not expensed when bought. **Can I claim PST back the way I claim GST?** Generally no. GST paid on business purchases is usually recovered as an input tax credit. PST paid on purchases is a cost and stays in the expense or the asset. **Which bookkeeping software do you use?** Cloud software with bank feeds, usually QuickBooks Online or Xero. If you already use one, we work in it. [QuickBooks vs Xero](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quickbooks-vs-xero-canada) compares the two. **What do I need to send each month?** Usually very little. Bank and card feeds connect directly, so you mainly upload receipts and invoices the feeds cannot explain, such as equipment purchases, loan statements and supplier bills. A phone photo through the secure upload link is enough. **My books are a year behind. Can you start now?** Yes. Catch-up work rebuilds the missing months from statements first, then the monthly routine starts. Both fees are quoted in writing before anything begins. **Do you have a Courtenay office?** No. EverStone works online and keeps Courtenay books remotely. Feeds arrive electronically and documents come in through a secure upload link, so no office visit is required. **Do you work with businesses outside Courtenay itself?** Yes. Books for businesses in Comox, Cumberland, Royston, Union Bay and the rest of the Comox Valley are kept exactly as Courtenay ones are, at the same fixed monthly fee. ## Related services and local guides Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Courtenay businesses, and the reference pages behind this one. [Contractor accountant in Courtenay Job costing, T5018 slips, PST on installed materials and WorkSafeBC clearance letters.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/contractor-accountant-courtenay) [Accountant in Courtenay The full CPA service for Comox Valley businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-courtenay) [Personal tax (T1) in Courtenay Personal tax for Courtenay residents](https://www.everstonecpa.com/personal-tax-accountant-courtenay) [Trades accounting in Courtenay Vans, tools and apprentices](https://www.everstonecpa.com/trades-accountant-courtenay) [Restaurant accounting in Courtenay Tips, liquor PST and the daily close](https://www.everstonecpa.com/restaurant-accountant-courtenay) [Farm accounting in Courtenay Cash method, GST and succession](https://www.everstonecpa.com/farm-accountant-courtenay) [Realtor accounting in Courtenay Commission, GST and the PREC](https://www.everstonecpa.com/realtor-accountant-courtenay) [Month-end close What a proper close involves](https://www.everstonecpa.com/month-end-close) [Behind on bookkeeping? Where to start when the records have slipped](https://www.everstonecpa.com/behind-on-bookkeeping) [Fixed monthly pricing What an engagement costs, published up front](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing) [Bookkeeping in Nanaimo The same bookkeeping engagement, serving the central Island](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-nanaimo) [Accountant in Nanaimo The nearest larger-city page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-nanaimo) [Accountants across British Columbia Remote CPA service throughout British Columbia](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) [British Columbia tax facts Current rates and thresholds for British Columbia](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts) ## Two seasons and two sales taxes to track? Get card sales, loans, CCA and GST and PST kept straight at a fixed monthly fee. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-courtenay Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online