--- title: "Windsor, ON Manufacturing Accountant: Tool, Die and Mould" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/manufacturer-accountant-windsor description: "CPA for Windsor tool, die and mould shops: job costing, work in progress, US-dollar sales, CCA and SR&ED on process work. Send an enquiry today." type: service-in-a-city updated: 2026-10-02 summary: "A Windsor manufacturer’s books have to answer four questions a service business never asks. What did each job really cost, and what is sitting part-finished on the floor at year-end? What were the US-dollar sales worth in Canadian dollars, and which equipment and development work can be deducted or claimed?" faq_count: 5 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/) [Accountant in Windsor](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-windsor) Manufacturers Tool, die, mould & automotive suppliers · Windsor # Accountant for *Windsor* manufacturers Windsor has built cars and the tools that make them for generations, and the tool, die and mould shops of Windsor, Oldcastle, Tecumseh and LaSalle still ship much of their work across the river. EverStone works with Essex County manufacturers remotely, as a [Windsor small business CPA](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-windsor), on job costing, US-dollar sales, equipment and SR&ED, at a fee fixed before work starts. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Quick answer:** A Windsor manufacturer’s books have to answer four questions a service business never asks. What did each job really cost, and what is sitting part-finished on the floor at year-end? What were the US-dollar sales worth in Canadian dollars, and which equipment and development work can be deducted or claimed? EverStone handles job costing, work in progress, CCA, SR&ED on Form T661, zero-rated exports and the T2, remotely, at a fixed fee. Published fees start at $325 a month for bookkeeping and $125 for a personal return. For a one-owner Windsor manufacturer, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually cost from $500 to $700 a month all-in. ## Job costing: what the tool actually cost A mould or a progressive die is quoted months before it is finished, and the quote is only as good as the shop’s knowledge of what the last one cost. That means material, machine hours, design time, outside services such as heat treating, and the overhead that keeps the lights on, all attributed to the job rather than dumped into general expense. When costing is loose, a busy year can still produce a thin result, because the jobs that lost money are hidden behind the ones that made it. We set up job-level costing in the ledger so each completed tool shows its margin against its quote. That serves the tax return and the next quote at the same time, which is rare in accounting and worth using. [Pricing review](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing-and-margin-analysis) takes it further. ## Work in progress on long builds A large tool can take months from order to tryout, and at any year-end a Windsor shop has value sitting part-built: steel cut, hours spent, nothing yet invoiced in full. That value belongs on the balance sheet as work in progress rather than being expensed as it is spent. Customers often pay in stages, a deposit on order, another at tryout, the balance on approval, and those payments have to be matched to the work they relate to, so the income is not recognized early or late. Shops that expense everything and book revenue on the final invoice get a profit figure that jumps from year to year for no operational reason. Setting a consistent work-in-progress method in the first year is one of the more valuable things a new accountant can do. ## Inventory and the year-end count Raw steel, purchased components, tooling inserts and finished parts waiting to ship are all inventory. The closing figure sets the cost of goods sold, so an overstated count overstates profit and an understated one draws questions. The count has to happen at or near year-end, with a clear rule for what is included and how it is valued, and it has to be done the same way each year. For suppliers that hold consignment stock or ship parts against blanket orders, ownership at year-end is not always obvious and has to be settled before the count. [The year-end inventory count](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/year-end-inventory-count-canada) sets out a practical method. ## US customers and US dollars Much of what Essex County makes goes to Michigan, Ohio and beyond, invoiced in US dollars. Each sale is recorded at a consistent exchange rate, the payment at the rate when it clears, and the difference is a [foreign exchange gain or loss](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/foreign-exchange-gains-losses-business-canada) in income. Open US receivables are revalued at year-end. On the HST side, goods exported to a customer outside Canada are generally zero-rated: no 13% HST is charged, yet the shop still claims input tax credits on its steel, tooling and power. HST paid on goods imported from the US at the border is also recoverable as an input tax credit. The records that prove export, bills of lading and customs documents, should sit beside the invoice. [HST on exports](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/gst-hst-on-exports-and-non-residents) covers the requirements. ## Machinery, CCA and the timing of a purchase CNC machining centres, EDM machines, presses, cranes and inspection equipment are capital assets deducted through capital cost allowance at the rate for their class, with manufacturing and processing equipment in its own classes. An asset has to be available for use before it can be claimed, and the [half-year rule](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/half-year-rule-cca-canada) generally halves the first-year claim. A machine delivered in the last week of the year but not installed may give no deduction until the following one. When an old machine is sold or traded in for more than its remaining undepreciated cost, the difference comes back as recapture. We keep a CCA schedule by asset and review major purchases with you before year-end. [CCA classes](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/capital-cost-allowance-cca-classes-canada) lists the common ones. ## SR&ED on process improvement Windsor shops solve technical problems daily: a steel that cracks under a new geometry, a cycle time a customer wants cut, a conformal cooling layout nobody has tried on that part. Where the outcome was genuinely uncertain and the shop worked through it systematically, the work can qualify as scientific research and experimental development. The claim is filed on Form T661 with the T2, and a Canadian-controlled private corporation can earn an enhanced refundable credit, which pays out even in a year with no tax owing. The claim depends on records made at the time: the problem, the hypotheses, the trials and who spent how long on them. Routine tool building does not qualify; the uncertain part of a program might. We help you separate the two before a claim is prepared. ## Shop payroll, EHT and WSIB Skilled trades are the largest cost in most tool and mould shops, and payroll brings three separate accounts: source deductions to the CRA, Ontario Employer Health Tax once annual payroll passes the exemption, and WSIB premiums on insurable earnings. Overtime and shift premiums during a program launch, and layoffs when one ends, both run through the same system. Apprentices and co-op students add their own paperwork. [Payroll services in Windsor](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-services-windsor) covers the full cycle, and the monthly ledger work is described on the [Windsor bookkeeping](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-windsor) page. 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 a Windsor shop has to get right at year-end What a Windsor shop has to get right at year-end The items that decide a manufacturing year-end — for a business operating in Windsor, Ontario | Item | Why it matters | | Work in progress | Part-built tools are an asset until the customer accepts them | | Inventory | The closing count sets cost of goods sold | | US-dollar receivables | Revalued at year-end; exchange differences are income | | Machinery | CCA from the date it is available for use; recapture on sale | | Sales tax where you operate | 13% HST in Canada; exported goods generally zero-rated | Source: [The year-end inventory count](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/year-end-inventory-count-canada). General information, not advice. Other services for Windsor businesses: [personal tax](https://www.everstonecpa.com/personal-tax-accountant-windsor). Common questions ## Windsor accounting for tool, die and mould makers FAQ **Do I charge HST on a mould sold to a US customer?** If the mould is exported to the customer outside Canada, the sale is generally zero-rated, so no HST is charged. Keep the shipping and customs records. Where a tool stays in Canada at a Canadian moulder’s plant, the answer can differ, so check before invoicing. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **When is income on a tool build recognized?** As the work is performed and earned, not simply when the final invoice goes out. Deposits received before the work is done are a liability until they are earned, and costs on unfinished tools sit in work in progress. **Does my shop qualify for SR&ED?** Some of its work may. The test is technological uncertainty resolved through a systematic process. Building a tool to a proven design does not qualify; solving a problem nobody could predict the answer to might. **Do you work with shops in Oldcastle, Tecumseh and LaSalle?** Yes, and across the rest of Essex County. Everything runs online, which suits owners who spend the day on the floor. **Do you work with businesses outside Windsor itself?** Yes. Manufacturers in LaSalle, Tecumseh, Lakeshore, Leamington and the rest of Essex County are served the same way as those in Windsor, remotely and at the same fixed fees. ## Related services and local guides Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Windsor businesses, and the reference pages behind this one. [Accountant for Windsor trucking companies Cross-border carriers, IFTA, IRP and US-dollar freight revenue.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/trucking-accountant-windsor) [Corporate tax accountant in Windsor The T2, CCA schedules and year-end planning for Windsor corporations.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-windsor) [Accountant for London, Ontario manufacturers The same manufacturing engagement, serving London.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/manufacturer-accountant-london-ontario) [Manufacturers in Hamilton The same manufacturing engagement, serving Hamilton](https://www.everstonecpa.com/manufacturer-accountant-hamilton) [Contractors in Windsor Holdbacks, T5018 and WSIB for Essex County construction](https://www.everstonecpa.com/contractor-accountant-windsor) [Lender readiness Statements and forecasts a bank will accept](https://www.everstonecpa.com/financing-and-lender-readiness) [Fractional controller Monthly job-cost and margin reporting for a growing shop](https://www.everstonecpa.com/fractional-controller-services) [Compilation engagements Financial statements for customers and lenders](https://www.everstonecpa.com/compilation-engagement-canada) [Accountants across Ontario Remote CPA service throughout Ontario](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-ontario) [Ontario tax facts Current rates and thresholds for Ontario](https://www.everstonecpa.com/ontario-tax-facts) ### What clients say Rated 5.0 on Google across 21 client reviews. [Read all reviews](https://www.everstonecpa.com/reviews) ★★★★★ “…He is very knowledgeable and has saved me tons in taxes by restructuring my group of companies — the best accountant I've worked with in the last 10 years, after switching from three different firms.” Matt Hildebrandt Verified Google review ★★★★★ “…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 ### Starting fees Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins. - **Monthly bookkeeping, GST/PST filing included** from $325 a month - **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) ## Manufacturing in Windsor? One CPA for job costing, US-dollar sales, CCA, SR&ED and the T2. Fixed fee, fully online. Send an enquiry. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) ## Remote accounting for manufacturers EverStone is a one-CPA firm that works online. serving Windsor manufacturers remotely. **There is no Windsor office and no local staff.** Meetings are held by video or phone, job cost reports and statements come in through a secure upload link, and nobody has to leave the shop. The fee is fixed before work starts; see [what it costs](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing). ## Talk to a CPA about this One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online) [Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) Email info@everstonecpa.com --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/manufacturer-accountant-windsor Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online