Retail accountant in Mission
A shop’s tax result is set by two numbers most owners never look at until March: what the closing stock was worth, and how much of the sales tax collected was provincial. EverStone works with retail and inventory businesses in Mission, entirely online.
Quick answer: A Mission retailer’s taxable profit depends on the closing stock figure and on splitting 5% GST from 7% BC PST correctly at the till. EverStone prepares the corporate return, sales tax filings and year-end statements for retail and inventory businesses in Mission, working remotely. Published fees start at $325 a month for bookkeeping and $125 for a personal return.
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.
On this page
- Two sales taxes, one transaction, one point-of-sale system
- Closing stock is a tax figure before it is an operational one
- Stock that stopped selling
- What Mission’s trade patterns do to the numbers
- Selling in more than one place
- Working with a Mission retailer remotely
- What a retailer has to get right
- Remote retail accounting
- Mission retail accounting FAQ
Two sales taxes, one transaction, one point-of-sale system
BC never harmonized, so a Mission till runs two taxes. GST is broadly 5%, recovered on purchases as an input tax credit. PST is 7% on goods and listed services, filed separately and not generally recoverable. A fixture or new till keeps its PST in your cost base while its GST comes back. Treating them as one number overstates reclaims.
The bigger risk is per product. Groceries, some children’s items and other categories differ between the two taxes, and the POS applies whatever code each product was set up with. One miscoded fast seller repeats thousands of times, wrong on receipt and return. Audit tax codes against your product mix once, properly.
Closing stock is a tax figure before it is an operational one
Cost of goods sold is opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock. Closing stock is the one estimate, and it hits taxable income directly: overstate it and you pay tax on phantom profit; understate it and the deduction fails. A count makes it defensible.
Value it correctly: cost includes freight in and duty, not just the supplier invoice. Goods in transit and consignment stock are where Mission shops usually slip.
Stock that stopped selling
Every shop collects dead stock: discontinued lines, missed seasonal buys, damaged units. At full cost it inflates closing stock and tax. Write it down when truly worth less, item by item with documentation, not by blanket percentage. Shrinkage between system and physical counts is business information, not just an adjustment.
What Mission’s trade patterns do to the numbers
Mission’s retail base is smaller and steadier than the highway corridor south: a First Avenue and Junction mix for locals, plus a warm-season lift from river, trail and recreation traffic. Two things follow.
Stock ties up cash before the season and releases it after, so the March bank balance says little; a profitable shop can look poor. And with mostly local customers, watch margin by department: one strong category hiding two weak ones vanishes in a single gross margin.
Selling in more than one place
Adding an online store, market stall or wholesale line adds tax questions. Shipped sales follow the destination rate: 13% HST to Ontario, 5% GST to Alberta. Marketplaces may or may not collect, which decides your return. Keep all channels in one set of books. See e-commerce accounting and the BC tax facts tables.
Working with a Mission retailer remotely
EverStone, a sole practitioner firm, works online with no Mission location or staff. POS exports, bank feeds and invoices arrive electronically, questions go by email or video, and the shop never closes for a meeting. The CPA who reviews your stock valuation signs the corporate return.
Prepared and reviewed by a CPA at EverStone CPA, serving businesses in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. Updated . About the firm · Send an enquiry
What a retailer has to get right
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Inventory valuation | Directly sets cost of goods sold, and therefore taxable income |
| Shrinkage | Has to be recorded rather than quietly absorbed into cost |
| Point-of-sale reconciliation | Daily takings must agree to what actually reaches the bank |
| Sales tax by item | Not every product carries the same treatment |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Inventory and retail accounting. General information, not advice.
Other services for Mission businesses: year-end statements.
Remote retail accounting
EverStone serves Mission remotely. There is no Mission office and no staff based there. Video, phone and secure exchange carry the work, and POS and merchant feeds settle revenue continuously.
Mission retail accounting FAQ
Do I charge PST as well as GST in my Mission shop?+
Can I claim back the PST I pay on shop fixtures?+
Do I have to count stock at year-end?+
What belongs in the cost of my inventory?+
Can I write down stock that is not selling?+
What tax do I charge on an online order shipped to another province?+
Is there a Mission office I can visit?+
Do you work with businesses outside Mission itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Mission businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Starting fees
Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins.
- Monthly bookkeeping, GST/PST filing includedfrom $325 a month
- Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEsincluded in monthly bookkeeping
- Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together$500–$700 a month
- Corporate year-end and T2 returnfixed fee, quoted in writing
- Personal tax return (T1)from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500
- Catch-up bookkeepingfrom $2,200 per year of records
- Controller or CFO supportcontroller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month
- One-off advice call with a CPA$225 plus GST
