Retail accountant in White Rock
Shops along Johnston Road serve the neighbourhood all year. Shops near the beach on Marine Drive do most of their selling when the promenade is busy. Stores in South Surrey sit on the routes residents drive every week. All of them carry stock, two sales taxes and a point-of-sale system that has to be set up correctly. EverStone works with White Rock retailers remotely, at a fixed monthly fee.
Quick answer: A White Rock retailer charges 5% GST and, on most goods, 7% PST, files two returns, counts and values stock at year-end, and writes down what has stopped selling. Goods bought from American suppliers bring GST at the border, which is usually claimed back as an input tax credit. EverStone handles the books, both returns and the year-end at a fixed fee.
Retail bookkeeping in White Rock starts from $300 a month, with GST and PST filing included. The year-end T2 for an incorporated shop is quoted after a free consultation, and every fee is fixed in writing first. The published fees show where each service starts.
Two sales taxes, one sale, one point-of-sale system
Most goods sold in a BC shop carry both GST and PST. Some carry GST only: basic groceries and children’s clothing are among the PST exemptions, and a few items are exempt from both. A gift shop, a clothing store or a home-décor shop can sell all three kinds across one counter. The point-of-sale system charges what it is told to, so every product category needs the right tax code before the first sale. We map those codes when we take the file on, then check them against the first returns. GST goes to the CRA and PST to the BC Ministry of Finance, each on its own return. The BC PST guide lists the main exemptions.
Buying from across the border
A shop a few minutes from the Pacific Highway crossing often buys stock from American wholesalers. Goods imported commercially carry GST at the border, collected on the import entry, and BC PST may also apply. The import GST is usually recoverable as an input tax credit, so it belongs in a receivable account, not in the cost of the stock. The duty and the broker’s fees, by contrast, are part of what the inventory cost. Supplier invoices in US dollars are recorded at the exchange rate on the invoice date. Getting this right at entry keeps both the margin and the GST return honest. Foreign exchange gains and losses covers the currency side.
Closing stock is a tax figure before it is a shelf figure
The value of stock on hand at year-end decides the cost of goods sold, and the cost of goods sold decides the profit. Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value, and the CRA expects a count to support it. A count overstated by a few boxes overstates the profit by the same amount. We set a counting date close to the year-end, give you a simple count sheet, and adjust the ledger to the count rather than to a purchase report. The year-end count guide sets out what the CRA expects to see.
Stock that stopped selling
Summer stock that did not sell by September, last year’s colours and slow-moving gift lines all sit in inventory at what they cost. If they will now sell for less than cost, they should be written down to what they will realistically bring. That write-down reduces the year’s profit and the tax that comes with it. It also tells you which lines to stop reordering. We review aged stock at each year-end, using the markdown history from your point-of-sale. Inventory accounting in BC covers valuation methods.
Busy summers, December, and the months between
A shop near the beach can take a large share of its sales between May and September, then rely on the December rush. January to March are quiet. Cash from the busy months has to cover rent, wages and reorders in the slow ones, and the GST and PST collected in summer still has to be remitted. We move the tax portion aside monthly and prepare a cash forecast for the slow season. Gift cards sold in December are a liability until redeemed, not December sales. Cash flow for a seasonal business goes further.
Owners often pay themselves irregularly through a season like this. Draws taken from a sole proprietorship are not wages, and money taken from a corporation without salary or a dividend becomes a shareholder loan that has to be cleared in time.
Selling online as well as on the street
Many peninsula shops now sell through their own website too. An order shipped to another province carries that province’s sales tax rules, which can mean HST rather than GST and no BC PST at all. Payment processors pay out net of fees, so each one needs a clearing account. Stock sold online comes out of the same inventory as stock sold in the shop, so the two systems have to agree. The place of supply rules decide which tax applies.
What EverStone handles for you
One CPA, one fixed fee agreed up front:
- Point-of-sale tax codes mapped for GST, PST and exempt goods
- Import GST, duty and US dollar supplier invoices recorded correctly
- Monthly reconciliation of card, cash and online deposits
- Year-end stock count, valuation and write-down review
- GST and PST returns filed on their own schedules
- T2 and year-end financial statements
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
What a retailer has to get right
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Point-of-sale tax codes | Each category set for GST, PST or exempt before the first sale |
| Import GST | Usually recoverable as an input tax credit, not part of stock cost |
| Closing stock | Counted and valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value |
| Aged stock | Written down when it will sell for less than it cost |
| Sales tax where you operate | 5% GST plus 7% BC PST: two registrations, two returns |
Source: Inventory accounting in BC. General information, not advice.
Other services for White Rock businesses: bookkeeping, payroll and corporate tax.
White Rock retail accounting FAQ
Do I charge PST on everything I sell?+
Can I claim back the GST paid at the border?+
How often should we count stock?+
What do we do with stock that did not sell?+
Is there a White Rock office?+
Do you work with shops in South Surrey too?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for White Rock businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Running a shop in White Rock?
Stock valuation, GST and PST, and the corporate return handled by one CPA. Send an enquiry.
Remote retail accounting from Abbotsford
EverStone works with White Rock and South Surrey retailers virtually, from a base in Abbotsford. There is no White Rock office and nobody on the ground there. Point-of-sale exports and bank feeds arrive electronically, supplier and import invoices come in through a secure upload link, and the count sheet comes back by email. The same CPA reconciles the books and prepares the year-end.
Hiring for the summer brings source deductions for CPP and EI premiums, stat holiday pay and a T4 for every student in February; payroll in White Rock covers it. Shelving, display cases and a new point-of-sale terminal are capital costs claimed through CCA rather than expensed at once.
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.
