--- title: "Kelowna Bookkeeping with GST and PST Filed Monthly" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-kelowna description: "Monthly bookkeeping for Kelowna businesses: GST and PST kept apart, deposits and stock handled, books reconciled from $325 a month. Get a fixed quote." type: service-in-a-city updated: 2026-10-08 summary: "A Kelowna set of books tracks 5% GST, which is usually recoverable, and 7% PST, which usually is not, on two separate returns to two different governments. On top of that sit deposits taken months ahead, stock that has to be counted, and card and delivery deposits that never match sales on their own." faq_count: 7 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Bookkeeping](https://www.everstonecpa.com/monthly-bookkeeping-services) Kelowna Bookkeeping · Kelowna # Bookkeeping for *Kelowna* businesses A BC ledger carries two sales taxes that behave differently, and an Okanagan ledger carries a summer that does most of the year’s work in a few months. EverStone keeps books for [Kelowna businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-kelowna) remotely, 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) **Quick answer:** A Kelowna set of books tracks 5% GST, which is usually recoverable, and 7% PST, which usually is not, on two separate returns to two different governments. On top of that sit deposits taken months ahead, stock that has to be counted, and card and delivery deposits that never match sales on their own. EverStone reconciles all of it monthly, files GST and PST, and hands a clean ledger to the year-end, from $325 a month. Monthly bookkeeping for Kelowna businesses starts from $325 a month, with payroll and GST/PST filings handled in the same package. The books feed every filing that follows: the T2 or T2125, the GST/HST return and its input tax credits, the CCA schedule and the CRA instalments. ## Two tax accounts, and only one of them comes back The most common error in a BC ledger is treating PST like GST. GST paid on a business purchase belongs in a receivable account because it is claimed back as an input tax credit on the next return. PST paid on the same invoice does not come back. It belongs in the cost of whatever was bought: the equipment, the supplies, the software. When a bookkeeper posts both taxes to one “sales tax” account, the GST return overclaims, expenses are understated, and the balance sheet carries an asset that does not exist. The fix is set up once. Supplier bills are coded so the GST lands in its own account and the PST stays with the expense, and the chart of accounts carries separate liability accounts for GST collected and PST collected. That way each return is prepared from its own ledger balance rather than reconstructed from sales reports. The [BC PST guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-pst-small-business-guide) covers which purchases and sales PST reaches. ## Sales that carry different tax on the same receipt Many Kelowna businesses sell a mix. A restaurant bill charges GST on the meal but PST only on the wine and beer. A winery’s tasting room sells taxable bottles alongside tasting fees, glassware and event tickets, each of which needs a decision. A contractor’s invoice may cover labour and installed materials on which the contractor has already paid PST to the supplier. The point-of-sale or invoicing system decides what tax is charged, but the ledger has to record it by type, or the PST return ends up being a guess based on a total. We map every sales category in your system to its tax treatment when we take the file on, then test it against the first few months of returns. Getting the mapping right once costs less than correcting it after an audit letter arrives. ## Deposits taken in March for work done in August An Okanagan summer is often paid for in advance: wedding and event deposits at the wineries, group bookings at restaurants, contractor deposits before a spring start, wine-club memberships billed ahead of the shipment. A deposit is not revenue until the thing it pays for happens. Recorded as sales on receipt, it makes the spring look profitable and the summer look weak, and it can put GST on the wrong return. We hold deposits in a liability account and release them when the event, the job or the shipment happens. The monthly profit then tells you something true about the month. ## Stock that is counted, not assumed Wine in barrel, bottled cases in the cellar, a restaurant’s liquor room and a contractor’s material on hand all sit on the balance sheet until they are sold or used. Inventory taken from a purchase report rather than a count drifts further from reality every month. We set a counting schedule that suits the business, with high-value items counted more often, and adjust the ledger to the count. [The year-end count](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/year-end-inventory-count-canada) explains what the CRA expects to see. ## Card deposits, platform fees and the bank that never matches sales Card processors pay out net of fees, sometimes a day or two after the sale, and delivery and booking platforms pay out net of their commission weeks later. None of those deposits matches a day’s sales. The bookkeeping records the gross sale, the fee as an expense and the payout as a transfer, and then reconciles each processor account to zero. Done monthly, the difference is a handful of timing items. Done in April for the whole year, it is a mystery. [Why reconciliation matters](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bank-reconciliation-why-it-matters) goes further. ## Payroll entries and the employer costs behind them A summer crew changes the payroll ledger every season. Wages, the employer share of CPP and EI, WorkSafeBC premiums and, for a larger group, the BC employer health tax are all costs that belong to the month the work was done, not the month they are paid. We record them as payroll runs, so the summer’s labour cost is visible in the summer. The [Kelowna payroll page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-services-kelowna) covers the remittances themselves. ## Catching up after a busy season Owners who are working seven days in July do not do bookkeeping in July, and plenty of Okanagan ledgers reach the fall several months behind. That is normal and fixable. We bring the books current oldest month first, file any late GST or PST returns, and then keep them monthly. [Catch-up bookkeeping](https://www.everstonecpa.com/catch-up-bookkeeping) sets out how it runs. ## How the ledger differs across the valley’s industries The chart of accounts is where each Okanagan industry shows. A winery needs inventory accounts by stage, from bulk wine to bottled cases, and a clear line between the vineyard and the winemaking. A restaurant needs food, liquor and labour cost broken out so they can be read against sales every month. A contractor needs job costing, so each project’s labour and materials can be compared with what was billed. A realtor needs commission income matched to the brokerage statements and vehicle costs separated from personal ones. A tech startup needs its development salaries and contractor costs tracked by project from the first month, because that is the record an [SR&ED claim](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tech-startup-accountant-kelowna) is built from. [Realtors](https://www.everstonecpa.com/realtor-accountant-kelowna) and startups rarely charge PST at all; the others almost always do. ## Why a Kelowna ledger does not need a Kelowna bookkeeper Bank and card feeds arrive electronically, receipts are photographed and sent through a secure upload link, and the file sits in cloud accounting software you keep your own login to. [QuickBooks or Xero](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quickbooks-vs-xero-canada) both work. EverStone is a BC CPA firm with no Kelowna office and no local staff. The same CPA who keeps the monthly ledger prepares the year-end from it, which is the part that removes the usual year-end clean-up bill. Keeping the books accurately and knowing what they mean are different jobs, and it is worth being deliberate about [whether books are still the binding constraint](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeper-controller-or-cfo). Where a growing Okanagan business needs monthly reporting against a budget, [fractional controller work](https://www.everstonecpa.com/fractional-controller-services) is the next step, from $1,650 a month. About this article **EverStone CPA** Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, a CPA firm working with small and midsized businesses in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. Updated September 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 shoebox in March — for a business operating in Kelowna, British Columbia | Cadence | What we do | | Monthly | Transactions categorized, bank and credit card accounts reconciled, source documents filed | | Monthly or quarterly | PST return prepared and filed with the BC Ministry of Finance on its assigned cycle | | On the assigned period | GST return prepared and filed with the CRA | | Annually | Books closed and handed clean to the year-end file | | Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST and 7% PST, two registrations and two returns | Source: [How often to do the books](https://www.everstonecpa.com/monthly-vs-annual-bookkeeping). General information, not advice. Common questions ## Kelowna bookkeeping questions **Can I claim back the PST I pay on purchases?** Generally no. PST paid on business inputs is a cost, not a credit, so it belongs in the expense or asset it was paid on. GST paid on the same purchase is usually recoverable as an input tax credit. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Is GST filing included in the monthly fee?** Yes. Monthly bookkeeping starts at $325 a month with GST filing included. PST returns are scoped into the same fixed fee when your business is registered for PST. **How should event and wedding deposits be recorded?** As a liability when received, and as revenue when the event takes place. Recording them as sales on receipt overstates the spring and understates the summer. **Our books are months behind after the summer. Where do we start?** With the oldest open month and any overdue GST or PST return. We bring the ledger current in order, then keep it monthly so the next summer does not repeat it. **Which software should a Kelowna business use?** QuickBooks Online or Xero both handle separate GST and PST tracking. The better choice depends on your point-of-sale and payroll systems and on what your bank feeds connect to cleanly. **Is there a Kelowna office?** No. EverStone works online and keeps Kelowna books remotely. Feeds arrive electronically and documents come in through a secure upload link, so no visit is needed. **Do you work with businesses outside Kelowna itself?** Yes. Books for businesses in West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland and the rest of the Central Okanagan are kept exactly as Kelowna ones are: bank feeds, receipts through a secure upload link, and the same fixed monthly fee. ## Related services and local guides Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Kelowna businesses, and the reference pages behind this one. [Restaurant accountant in Kelowna Tips, a short summer season, point-of-sale reconciliation and GST and PST on meals and liquor.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/restaurant-accountant-kelowna) [Winery accountant in Kelowna Excise returns, the vineyard as a farm, and inventory that ages for years before it is sold.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/winery-accountant-kelowna) [Contractor accountant in Kelowna T5018 slips, progress billing, WorkSafeBC and GST on new housing.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/contractor-accountant-kelowna) [Bookkeeping in Abbotsford The same bookkeeping engagement, serving Abbotsford](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-abbotsford) [Corporate tax (T2) in Kelowna Corporate tax for Kelowna businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-kelowna) [Personal tax (T1) in Kelowna Personal tax for Kelowna residents](https://www.everstonecpa.com/personal-tax-accountant-kelowna) [Accounting & CPA services in Kelowna CPA services for Kelowna businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-kelowna) [The month-end close What a proper close includes](https://www.everstonecpa.com/month-end-close) [Monthly vs annual bookkeeping Which cadence actually costs less](https://www.everstonecpa.com/monthly-vs-annual-bookkeeping) [QuickBooks vs Xero in Canada Choosing the right ledger software](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quickbooks-vs-xero-canada) [A real fixed quote, line by line A real example of a fixed fee quoted in writing before work starts](https://www.everstonecpa.com/sample-quote) [Monthly bookkeeping Monthly bookkeeping for Canadian incorporated businesses: reconciled books, sales tax filed, payroll run, and a clean year-end](https://www.everstonecpa.com/monthly-bookkeeping-services) [Books months or years behind? This is fixable. Catch-up bookkeeping with a CPA, handled calmly and in order](https://www.everstonecpa.com/catch-up-bookkeeping) [Fixed monthly pricing What an engagement costs, published up front](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing) [Accountants across British Columbia Remote CPA service throughout BC](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) [BC tax facts Current rates and thresholds for British Columbia](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts) ### What clients say Rated 5.0 on Google across 21 client reviews. [Read all reviews](https://www.everstonecpa.com/reviews) ★★★★★ “…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!” R. H. Verified Google review ★★★★★ “…We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.” Heather Powers Verified Google review ### Starting fees Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins. - **Monthly bookkeeping, GST/PST filing included** from $325 a month *This page* - **Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEs** included in monthly bookkeeping - **Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together** $500–$700 a month - **Corporate year-end and T2 return** fixed fee, quoted in writing - **Personal tax return (T1)** from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500 - **Catch-up bookkeeping** from $2,200 per year of records - **Controller or CFO support** controller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month - **One-off advice call with a CPA** $225 plus GST [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=monthly#enquiry-form) ## Keeping books in Kelowna? Get GST, PST, the seasonal deposits and the monthly close handled by one CPA, 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-kelowna Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online