Payroll services in Burnaby
Burnaby payrolls come in very different shapes: salaried developers near Brentwood, shift crews in a Big Bend plant, part-time staff in a Metrotown shop, and servers on Kingsway who earn tips. EverStone runs payroll for Burnaby businesses remotely, on a written scope.
Quick answer: A Burnaby employer withholds CPP, EI premiums and income tax from every pay and remits them to the CRA on an assigned schedule. It files T4 slips by the last day of February and registers with WorkSafeBC. BC employment standards add statutory holiday pay, vacation pay and final-pay timing. Payroll is included in monthly bookkeeping from $300 a month.
Payroll services cover the source deductions for CPP, EI premiums and income tax, the remittances to the CRA, the year-end T4 and T4A slips, and access through My Business Account. A payroll-only engagement is quoted by headcount and pay frequency. See the published fees.
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Before the first pay run
A new employer needs a payroll program account with the CRA, added to the business number and visible in My Business Account. Each employee completes federal and BC TD1 forms, which set their tax credits. The business registers with WorkSafeBC before the first worker starts, not after the first premium notice. Getting these in place first means the first pay is right rather than corrected later.
The first hire also forces decisions: pay frequency, how overtime is tracked and whether any benefits are taxable. Hiring your first employee walks through the order, and the RP account guide covers the CRA side.
Source deductions and the remittance schedule
Each pay withholds CPP and EI premiums from the employee, adds the employer’s share of both, and withholds income tax using the BC tables. The total is remitted to the CRA with a PD7A remittance voucher, on the schedule the CRA assigns based on your average withholdings. Most small employers remit monthly. Late remittances attract penalties on the amount itself, and the CRA treats withheld deductions as held in trust.
The ledger matters too. Payroll liabilities should clear to zero each time a remittance goes out. The payroll remittance calendar shows the dates.
Owner-managers are a special case. An owner who controls the corporation generally does not pay EI premiums on their own salary, but still pays CPP on it. Family members on the payroll raise the same question. Setting each person up correctly at the start avoids a refund claim, or an assessment, years later.
BC employment standards inside the pay run
BC rules decide several numbers on every pay stub. Vacation pay is 4% of wages, rising to 6% after five years of employment. A qualifying employee gets an average day’s pay for a statutory holiday, with a premium for working it. When employment ends, final pay is due within 48 hours of termination. Each of these is a common source of complaints when it is calculated by hand.
The BC stat pay calculator does the holiday sums, and vacation pay rules covers accrual and payout.
Employer Health Tax as the payroll grows
BC charges Employer Health Tax once annual BC remuneration exceeds $1,000,000. Associated employers share that exemption, so a group with two Burnaby companies tests their combined payroll. Below the threshold there is nothing to pay. Above it, registration, instalments and an annual return follow. A growing Burnaby company often crosses the line through a hiring round rather than gradually, so the payroll forecast should flag it a year ahead. The remuneration measured includes salaries, wages, bonuses and taxable benefits, not just base pay. Rates are on the BC tax facts page, and the Employer Health Tax guide explains the rules.
Year-end slips and records of employment
T4 slips for employees and T4A slips for certain other payments are due by the last day of February, with a summary that has to agree with what was remitted during the year. Differences produce a PIER review letter months later. A record of employment is issued whenever an employee has an interruption of earnings, which in high-turnover businesses means several a month. See records of employment and the slip deadlines.
Taxable benefits belong on the T4 as well. A company vehicle available for personal use, a parking spot, a phone plan or a gift card all have to be valued and added to income through the year, with deductions withheld where required. Benefits found only at year-end usually mean the withholdings were short. Taxable and non-taxable benefits sets out which is which.
Payroll across Burnaby’s main industries
Tech companies mix salaried staff with contractors, and the classification line needs deciding before the first invoice; see employee or contractor. Manufacturers run shift premiums, overtime and higher WorkSafeBC rates. Retailers carry part-time staff whose hours change weekly, which makes vacation and stat pay easy to get wrong. Restaurants run card tips through payroll and issue frequent records of employment; see restaurant accounting in Burnaby. Contractors carry crews on site, apprentices and WorkSafeBC clearance letters for subtrades; see contractor accounting in Burnaby.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working remotely with small businesses and incorporated owners across British Columbia. Updated . About the firm · Send an enquiry
Payroll obligations for a Burnaby employer
| Obligation | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Source deductions | CPP, EI and income tax withheld from each pay |
| Remittance | Due on the schedule the CRA assigns to your payroll account |
| T4 slips and summary | Filed after the calendar year end |
| Provincial payroll tax (British Columbia) | BC employer health tax, once annual BC remuneration exceeds $1,000,000 |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: British Columbia tax facts. General information, not advice.
Burnaby payroll questions
What does payroll cost for a Burnaby business?+
How often do I remit source deductions?+
What vacation pay does a BC employee get?+
When is final pay due when someone leaves?+
Do I need WorkSafeBC coverage for one employee?+
Do you have a Burnaby office?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Burnaby businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Fees are fixed and agreed in writing before the work starts; the published fee page shows the starting points.
Who this is for, and who it is not
This suits a Burnaby company with a handful to a few dozen staff, paid salaried, hourly or with tips. You want each pay calculated on the right tables, the PD7A balanced and T4s filed on time. A large unionized shift workforce needs a dedicated payroll platform instead, and we will point you to one. For anything short of that, the fee is agreed before work starts.
Hiring in Burnaby?
Get source deductions, BC employment standards and the year-end slips right from the first pay run. Send an enquiry.
Remote payroll from Abbotsford
The practice is based in Abbotsford, up Highway 1, and Burnaby payrolls run online. There is no Burnaby office and no local staff. Timesheets, TD1s and approvals move through a secure upload link and e-signature, and questions go by email first, with a video call when it helps. One CPA holds the file, so the decisions made at hiring are the ones reflected on the slips in February.
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.
