--- title: "Hiring Your First Employee in Canada: In Order | EverStone" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/first-employee description: "Your first employee: payroll account, withholding, remittance schedule and the first T4, set up before the first paycheque in the right order. Start here." type: service-or-info updated: 2026-10-06 summary: "Everything payroll goes right if it starts before the first paycheque: open the payroll program account , determine what to withhold, pay net, remit withholdings on your remitter schedule, and the T4 at year-end becomes a summary of things done rather than a reconstruction. Every payroll horror story starts with a paycheque that preceded the setup." faq_count: 4 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/) [Resources](https://www.everstonecpa.com/resources) First employee Payroll # Your first employee. *The order matters more than the effort.* Updated 6 October 2026 **Quick answer:** Everything payroll goes right if it starts before the first paycheque: open the [payroll program account](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/business-registration/business-number-program-account/need-program-accounts.html), determine what to withhold, pay net, remit withholdings on your remitter schedule, and the [T4](https://www.everstonecpa.com/t-slip-deadlines) at year-end becomes a summary of things done rather than a reconstruction. Every payroll horror story starts with a paycheque that preceded the setup. The pieces: [deduction calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-deduction-calculator), [remittance calendar](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-remittance-calendar), and the [year’s figures](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-update/payroll-figures-2026), all sourced. What this covers, at a glance. Working out an average day’s pay for a B.C. statutory holiday? The [BC stat pay calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-stat-holiday-pay-calculator) does it, and settles the qualifying test first. Related: [B.C. stat holiday pay rules](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/statutory-holiday-pay-canada-employers). ## Before the first paycheque - **Payroll (RP) account** on your business number. This is the container everything else reports into. - **TD1 forms** from the employee, federal and BC — they set the credits behind the withholding math. - **The withholding itself**: CPP, EI and income tax per pay — the [calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-deduction-calculator) shows each piece and the employer’s cost on top (CPP matched, EI at the [employer multiple](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-quick-card)). ## The rhythm after Withhold every pay, remit on your schedule — the [calendar](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-remittance-calendar) works yours out — and keep a running record so February’s T4 is an export, not an archaeology project. Late penalties scale, so the schedule matters most. The first hire is rarely the last. [Hiring and capacity planning](https://www.everstonecpa.com/hiring-and-capacity-planning) covers how to tell when the next person pays for themselves, before the payroll is committed. ## The mistakes that are cheap to prevent - **Contractor-until-proven-otherwise.** Calling an employee a subcontractor does not make it so — the [CRA’s tests](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/subcontractor-vs-employee-cra) decide, and misclassification unwinds expensively, backwards. - **Paying yourself a salary without the same setup.** Your corporation is your employer too — owner salary runs through the identical machinery. - **Remitting “when there’s time”.** The schedule is the obligation; the [PIER report](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-letter-pier-report) is how the CRA notices freestyle. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) Fastest first step: email what you’re facing to info@everstonecpa.com — reply within one business day, and we take it from there by email. General information, not tax advice. The document in your hand and its own dates govern. ## Common questions about first employee **Can I run the first payroll and register after?** The obligations attach from the first payment — registration after the fact means the first remittance is already late. The RP account takes minutes to open; open it first. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **What does an employee actually cost beyond the wage?** The employer’s CPP match and EI multiple on top of gross, plus WorkSafeBC premiums in BC. The deduction calculator shows the per-pay employer cost so the wage conversation is had with the true number. **Should my first hire be an employee or a contractor?** That is a facts question, not a preference — control, tools, risk, integration. The CRA’s tests decide it later regardless of what the contract says, so structure the reality you want and paper it honestly. **Will you set all this up for us?** Yes — first-payroll setup is a routine fixed-scope engagement: account, TD1s, the calculation, the calendar, and the first months supervised. Email info@everstonecpa.com with your start date and we will work backwards from it. ## Set up before the first paycheque Email your hire date. We reply with the setup list in order, and a fixed quote to do it for you. Email us — info@everstonecpa.com[Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=payroll#enquiry-form) ★★★★★ “…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!” R. H. · Google review ## Hiring and payroll [Behind on Taxes? It Is More Fixable Than It Feels](https://www.everstonecpa.com/behind-on-taxes-catch-up) [Opening a business bank account what you need and why it matters](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/opening-a-business-bank-account-canada) [OAS clawback planning: why an owner-manager has more control than most retirees](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/oas-clawback-planning-canada) [First-employee checklist](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/hiring-first-employee-canada-checklist) [Employee or contractor?](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/employee-vs-contractor-cra-worker-classification) [Payroll remittances and the RP account](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/payroll-remittances-canada-rp-account) [Records of employment](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/roe-record-of-employment-canada) [Payroll hub Deductions, remittances and T4s](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-hub) [Payroll services](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-services-canada) --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/first-employee Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online