Tech startup accountant in Burnaby

For a one-owner Burnaby tech startup, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually cost from $450 to $650 a month all-in. Monthly bookkeeping alone starts from $300 a month, and a fractional CFO for runway and board reporting starts from $2,500 a month. See the published fees.

Updated October 2026.

SR&ED that pays in a loss year

Most early-stage software work involves real technical uncertainty: an algorithm that might not scale, a rendering pipeline that might not hit its frame rate, a device that might not hold calibration. Work that tries to resolve that uncertainty systematically can qualify for SR&ED. The claim goes on Form T661 with the T2. For a CCPC the enhanced credit is refundable, so the company receives cash even when it has no tax to pay.

The claim depends on records made at the time: who worked on which problem, for how many hours, and what was tried. Timesheets reconstructed a year later are weak evidence. Government grants and other assistance usually reduce the eligible costs, so they need tracking too. See the SR&ED expenditure limit update.

Keeping CCPC status as investors arrive

A Canadian-controlled private corporation gets the small business deduction, the 2% BC rate on its first $500,000 of active income, and the enhanced SR&ED credit. Control by non-residents or a public company ends that status. A term sheet from a foreign fund can therefore change the tax position as much as the cap table.

The fix is usually in the drafting: voting rights, board seats and any unanimous shareholder agreement decide who controls the company. The time to check is before the round closes. See shareholder agreements and tax.

PST on software, GST on what you sell abroad

BC applies 7% PST to software and many software services bought for use in the province, which surprises founders arriving from provinces with a single harmonized tax. That PST is not recoverable. If the company sells software to BC customers, it may need to register and collect PST as well.

On the GST side, many services and intangibles supplied to non-residents are zero-rated. That is not the same as exempt: a zero-rated seller still claims input tax credits on its own costs. Getting the coding right matters for a Burnaby studio whose customers are mostly outside Canada. See GST on exports and non-residents.

Subscriptions, licences and deferred revenue

An annual licence paid up front is not a year of revenue on the day it arrives. It is deferred revenue, released month by month as the service is delivered. Booking it on receipt makes one month look excellent and the next eleven look like decline, and it can pull taxable income into the wrong year. A deferred revenue schedule fixes both. It is also the first thing an investor’s analyst asks for.

The same logic applies to costs. Hosting commitments, annual tool subscriptions and prepaid conference fees are prepaid expenses, spread over the period they cover. Getting both sides right gives a monthly burn rate that founders can actually plan around, rather than one that swings with the billing calendar.

Paying founders and the first hires

Founders often go unpaid early on, then switch to salary, dividends or both. Salary creates RRSP room and CPP; dividends do not. A founder who controls the corporation is generally exempt from EI premiums on their own pay. Early employees may be offered stock options; options in a CCPC are generally taxed when the shares are sold rather than when exercised. Contractors need a clear agreement and, where they are really employees, payroll. See payroll services in Burnaby.

What EverStone handles for you

One CPA, one fixed fee agreed up front:

• SR&ED records set up from the first sprint, and the T661 claim
• CCPC status reviewed before each funding round
• GST and BC PST registration, coding and returns
• Deferred revenue schedules for subscriptions and licences
• Payroll, founder pay and year-end T4 and T5 slips
• T2 corporate return and statements ready for investors

Fixed fees, fully online

EverStone is an Abbotsford CPA firm serving Burnaby founders entirely online: email first, video calls when they help, and a secure upload link for documents. A startup that keeps its code in the cloud rarely needs its accountant in the same building. Before a raise, a compilation or review engagement can be scoped in writing, and lender readiness covers what a bank asks for.

Remote startup accounting from Abbotsford

EverStone is a sole practitioner CPA firm based in Abbotsford, serving Burnaby owners entirely online. There is no Burnaby office and no local staff. Questions go by email first, with a video call when it helps, documents come in through a secure upload link and are signed by e-signature, and no visit is required at any point. Project time, funding records and both sales tax accounts are kept in the same monthly file, so the research claim and the returns agree.