Payroll services in Nanaimo
Payroll on the central Island swings with the year: summer staff on the harbourfront and up toward Parksville, building crews that grow in the dry months, and quieter winters. EverStone runs payroll remotely for Nanaimo employers, with the remittances, slips and BC rules handled by one CPA.
Quick answer: A Nanaimo employer withholds CPP, EI premiums and income tax from every pay, remits them to the CRA on its assigned schedule, and files T4 slips by the last day of February. BC adds WorkSafeBC premiums, statutory holiday pay, vacation pay and a 48-hour deadline for final pay. Employers whose annual BC payroll passes $1,000,000 also owe employer health tax. EverStone handles all of it remotely from Abbotsford.
Payroll for Nanaimo businesses is included in monthly bookkeeping from $300 a month. A payroll-only engagement is quoted by headcount and pay frequency, in writing, before the first pay run. The published fees show every starting point.
Seasonal hiring, and letting people go properly
Many Nanaimo employers hire for the summer. Restaurants near the harbour, businesses serving ferry traffic and outfits working the beaches north of Lantzville all add staff for a few months. The hiring is easy. The leaving is where payroll errors happen.
When a seasonal job ends, BC requires final wages within 48 hours of termination. Vacation pay earned and not taken is paid out with them. A record of employment is then issued so the worker can claim EI. Late or wrong ROEs are a common source of employee complaints and CRA enquiries. Our guide to the record of employment explains the timing.
Source deductions and the remittance schedule
Every pay run withholds three things: CPP contributions, EI premiums and income tax. The employer adds its own CPP and EI share on top. The total goes to the CRA on the schedule assigned to your payroll account, and a remittance that arrives late carries a penalty even when the amount is right.
The PD7A statement from the CRA shows what it believes you owe, and it should match your payroll records every month. When it does not, the gap is found early rather than when T4s are prepared. The payroll remittance calculator and the payroll deduction calculator show the arithmetic.
Authorizing EverStone as a representative through My Business Account lets the CPA see the payroll account directly: balances, remittance history and any notices. That means a question about a missing payment is answered from the account itself, not from a forwarded letter weeks later. It takes a few minutes on your side and can be withdrawn at any time.
BC employment standards in the pay run
BC Employment Standards set three rules that change the numbers. Vacation pay is at least 4% of wages, rising to 6% after five years with the same employer. Qualifying staff get statutory holiday pay, calculated as an average day’s pay, with a premium if they work the holiday. Final pay is due within 48 hours of termination.
A restaurant with rotating shifts or a crew with irregular hours needs these calculated from actual records, not estimated. The BC stat holiday pay calculator does the stat sums, and vacation pay rules covers the rest.
WorkSafeBC and the employer health tax
Employers in BC register with WorkSafeBC and pay premiums on assessable payroll, at a rate set by the industry classification. Contractors who use subcontractors should also get clearance letters before paying them. Without one, the general contractor can end up liable for a subcontractor’s unpaid premiums.
The BC employer health tax applies once annual BC remuneration exceeds $1,000,000, and associated employers share that exemption. Most small Nanaimo employers sit well below it. A growing group of companies under common control should still check the total. See the employer health tax guide, the WorkSafeBC registration guide, and current rates on BC tax facts.
Paying yourself through the payroll
An incorporated owner can take salary, dividends or a mix. Salary goes through payroll, attracts CPP and appears on a T4. It also creates RRSP contribution room. Dividends carry no CPP and are reported on a T5 instead. T4, T4A and T5 slips are all due by the last day of February.
Neither is right in every year. The choice depends on what the company earned, what you need to live on and what you are saving for. Salary or dividends walks through the trade-offs, and the decision is part of the corporate year-end in Nanaimo.
One practical point for owners on the Island: a salary is a fixed commitment through the slow months, while a dividend can wait until the year’s result is known. Many owners pay a modest regular salary and top up with a dividend once the summer is counted. Whatever the mix, the remittances on the salary are due on schedule, so the cash has to be there in February as well as in August.
Payroll in Nanaimo’s main industries
Construction contractors carry crews whose hours rise in the dry months and fall in the wet ones, plus WorkSafeBC clearances for subtrades. Trades businesses pay apprentices and travel time to jobs up and down the Island Highway. Restaurants deal with tips and gratuities, which are treated differently depending on whether the employer controls them.
Fishing enterprises paying crew on shares report on the T4F rather than the T4, with EI rules of their own; fishing and seafood accounting covers that. A realtor who incorporates may run payroll for the first time, for an assistant or for themselves. Each pattern needs its own setup before the first pay run.
What the engagement covers
One Chartered Professional Accountant handles the payroll file:
- Pay runs with CPP, EI premiums and income tax calculated
- Remittances on the CRA schedule, reconciled to the PD7A
- Vacation pay, stat holiday pay and final pay to BC standards
- Records of employment when staff leave
- T4, T4A and T5 slips and summaries by the end of February
- WorkSafeBC reporting and employer health tax checks
Hiring for the first time? Start with the first employee checklist.
Remote payroll from Abbotsford
EverStone serves Nanaimo employers remotely from Abbotsford. There is no Nanaimo office and no local staff. Timesheets, TD1 forms and approvals come in through a secure upload link, questions go by email first, and a video meeting is booked when one helps. The CPA who sets up the payroll is the one who files the slips in February.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working with small businesses and incorporated owners across British Columbia. Updated . About the firm · Send an enquiry
Payroll obligations for a Nanaimo 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 by the last day of February |
| 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.
In Nanaimo, EverStone also handles bookkeeping, personal tax and realtors’ files.
Nanaimo payroll questions
When is final pay due when a seasonal job ends?+
What vacation pay do BC employees get?+
Do I need WorkSafeBC coverage for one employee?+
When are T4 slips due?+
What does payroll cost for a Nanaimo business?+
Do you work with employers outside Nanaimo itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Nanaimo businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Hiring for the season in Nanaimo?
Get the pay runs, remittances, ROEs and T4s handled by one CPA before the first summer shift.
Talk to a CPA about this
Talk through your staffing pattern with the CPA who would set up the payroll. You see a written fee before committing to anything.
