--- title: "Victoria, BC Tech Startup Accountant | SR&ED, PST, Payroll" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/tech-startup-accountant-victoria description: "Victoria tech startups: SR&ED on Form T661, the BC credit, CCPC status, grants, founder pay and PST on software, from a BC CPA. Send an enquiry today." type: service-in-a-city updated: 2026-10-08 summary: "A Victoria startup’s tax position usually depends on four things. SR&ED is claimed on Form T661 with records built during the year, and CCPC status is kept so the enhanced credit stays refundable. Grants are netted against the claim, and sales tax is applied correctly — GST, and BC PST on software. EverStone handles those with the T2 and payroll at a fixed fee." 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/) [Accountant in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-victoria) Tech startups Tech startups · Victoria # Accountant for *Victoria* tech startups Victoria has a sizeable technology sector for a city of its size: software and SaaS companies, ocean and marine technology, and startups that began in a university lab. Many of them sell to customers off the Island, and often outside Canada, from their first year. EverStone is itself a British Columbia firm on the mainland, serving [Victoria businesses](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-victoria) remotely at fixed fees agreed before any work starts. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=monthly#enquiry-form)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Quick answer:** A Victoria startup’s tax position usually depends on four things. SR&ED is claimed on Form T661 with records built during the year, and CCPC status is kept so the enhanced credit stays refundable. Grants are netted against the claim, and sales tax is applied correctly — GST, and BC PST on software. EverStone handles those with the T2 and payroll at a fixed fee. Published fees start at $325 a month for bookkeeping and $125 for a personal return. For a one-owner Victoria tech startup, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually cost from $500 to $700 a month all-in. The year-end covers the T2 with Schedule 1 and Schedule 50, the CCA schedule, the small business deduction, T4 or T5 slips for the owner’s pay, and the instalments for the year ahead. Founders who are still billing as independent contractors should read the [Victoria consultant page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/consultant-accountant-victoria) first. The [Victoria accountant page](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-victoria) covers the wider BC picture. ## Building an SR&ED claim a reviewer will accept The federal SR&ED program pays for work aimed at a technological advance, where the answer was not known at the start and the team found it through planned experiments. A machine-learning model that would not converge, a sensor that had to work in cold salt water, a new data structure that had to scale — these can qualify. Standard development with known tools usually cannot. The claim goes on Form T661 with the T2. What holds it together is evidence created at the time: the hypothesis, what was tried, what failed, and who spent how many hours on it. We set up a light routine for engineers to tag their time and link it to project notes, so the claim is written from records. BC offers its own SR&ED credit on top of the federal one, claimed through the same return. See the [SR&ED expenditure limit update](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-update/sred-expenditure-limit) for recent changes. ## Keeping the enhanced credit refundable A Canadian-controlled private corporation can earn an enhanced SR&ED credit that is refundable, so it comes back as cash even before the company has profit. For a Victoria startup living on a seed round, that refund can be months of runway. Control decides it. If non-residents or public companies end up controlling the corporation, in law or in practice, the company stops being a CCPC and the enhanced refund goes with it. Flipping to a US holding company for a financing, or giving a foreign investor voting control, are the usual causes. Review the structure before the lawyers finish the documents; afterwards the options are narrower. ## Grants, assistance and the net base Victoria startups often mix federal research contributions, provincial programs and student wage subsidies. Assistance generally reduces the SR&ED expenditures on the same work. That is no reason to refuse a grant; record each one against its project in the [monthly books](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-victoria), so the claim uses the net figure and the trail is clean. ## Paying founders and granting options Salary paid to a founder doing qualifying technical work can be included in the SR&ED claim; dividends cannot. Salary also builds RRSP room and CPP, and it requires a payroll account from the first cheque, with WorkSafeBC coverage for employees. A modest salary to technical founders is often the right starting point. The [salary versus dividends calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/salary-vs-dividends-calculator) models it, and payroll in Victoria covers remittances. Options in a CCPC get favourable timing: the employee is generally taxed when the shares are sold rather than when the option is exercised, and a deduction may reduce the benefit where the conditions are met. That treatment depends on an option plan, board approval and a recorded share value at each grant. Keep those records from the first grant. ## GST, PST on software, and customers abroad Most Victoria startups register for GST early, both to charge it and to recover GST on their own costs. Services and software sold to businesses outside Canada are generally zero-rated, so no GST is charged but credits are still claimed. BC PST is different from other provinces’ sales taxes in one way that matters here. It applies to software sold in BC, including software delivered electronically. A SaaS company with BC customers should therefore confirm whether it must register for and collect PST. [GST filing in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-victoria) covers the federal return, and the [BC PST guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bc-pst-small-business-guide) covers provincial registration. Foreign-currency revenue adds exchange gains and losses to the year-end; the [foreign exchange guide](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/foreign-exchange-gains-losses-business-canada) explains them. ## What EverStone handles for you One firm, one fixed fee agreed up front: - T2 corporate return and year-end financial statements - SR&ED claims on Form T661 with the BC credit - CCPC status reviewed before financing - Grants recorded against projects - Founder salary, payroll and option records - GST and PST registration and filings ## Fixed fees, fully online Monthly bookkeeping starts from $325 a month with GST filing included; a [fractional CFO](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cfo-services-victoria) for investor reporting and runway starts from $2,750 a month. The T2 and the SR&ED claim are quoted after we review your enquiry. See [what it costs](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing), and [financial statements in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/financial-statements-victoria) for what investors and lenders expect. About this article **EverStone CPA** Prepared and reviewed by a CPA at EverStone CPA, serving 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?service=monthly#enquiry-form) ## What a tech startup has to get right What a tech startup has to get right The items that decide a startup’s year-end — for a business operating in Victoria, British Columbia | Item | Why it matters | | SR&ED evidence | Experiments and hours recorded as the work happens | | CCPC status | Keeps the enhanced credit refundable | | Grants | Reduce the expenditures the credit is based on | | Software sales | BC PST can apply to software sold to BC customers | | Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST — two registrations, two returns | Source: [Corporate tax hub](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-hub). General information, not advice. Other services for Victoria businesses: [personal tax](https://www.everstonecpa.com/personal-tax-accountant-victoria). ## Remote accounting for tech startups EverStone is a fully virtual CPA firm, serving Victoria businesses entirely online. **There is no Victoria office and no local staff.** Meetings are held by video or phone, documents are exchanged securely by email, e-signature and a secure upload link, and no visit is required at any point. SR&ED records, payroll and investor reporting are handled from the tools your team already uses. Common questions ## Victoria accounting for tech startups FAQ **Does BC have its own SR&ED credit?** Yes. BC offers a provincial SR&ED tax credit on qualifying expenditures in BC, claimed with the corporate return alongside the federal claim on Form T661. The two are calculated together, so the records serve both. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Do we have to charge PST on our SaaS product?** Possibly. BC PST applies to software, including software delivered electronically to customers in BC. Whether you must register depends on what you sell and to whom. Check before your first BC customer rather than after an assessment. **We are moving to a US parent company. What happens to our credits?** The Canadian company usually stops being a CCPC, which ends the enhanced refundable SR&ED credit and changes the tax rate on profit. There can be good commercial reasons to do it, but price the tax cost first. **Can dividends to founders be claimed for SR&ED?** No. Only salary and wages paid to people doing the work count as SR&ED labour. That is one reason many technical founders take a salary even at an early stage. **Our first grant arrived. How do we record it?** Against the project and costs it pays for, with the agreement kept on file. Assistance generally reduces the SR&ED base for the same work, so clean records avoid double counting and a reviewer’s questions. **We invoice US customers in US dollars. What does that change?** Revenue is recorded in Canadian dollars at the exchange rate on the day, and the difference when the money arrives is a foreign exchange gain or loss. Sales to US businesses are generally zero-rated for GST. A US-dollar bank account keeps the records cleaner. **Do you work with startups across Greater Victoria?** Yes — downtown, Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, Langford and the Westshore, and across BC and in Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. Everything runs online by video, phone and secure upload. ## Related services and local guides Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Victoria businesses, and the reference pages behind this one. [Consultant accountant in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/consultant-accountant-victoria) [Tech startup accountant in Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tech-startup-accountant-vancouver) [Fractional CFO support in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cfo-services-victoria) [Restaurant accountant in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/restaurant-accountant-victoria) [Starting a business in Canada](https://www.everstonecpa.com/starting-a-business-hub) [Accounting & CPA services in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-victoria) [Bookkeeping in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bookkeeping-victoria) [Corporate tax (T2) in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-accountant-victoria) [GST/HST filing in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-victoria) [Contractor accountant in Victoria](https://www.everstonecpa.com/contractor-accountant-victoria) [Accountants across British Columbia](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-british-columbia) [British Columbia tax facts](https://www.everstonecpa.com/bc-tax-facts) ### What clients say Rated 5.0 on Google across 26 client reviews. [Read all reviews](https://www.everstonecpa.com/reviews) ★★★★★ “…We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.” Heather Powers Verified Google review ★★★★★ “Personal. Professional. Responsive. Plus he saved me a bundle!” Corrin Skalbeck Verified Google Local Guide ### 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 applicable tax [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=monthly#enquiry-form) --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/tech-startup-accountant-victoria Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online