Trades accountant in Sherwood Park

Bookkeeping for Sherwood Park tradespeople is kept monthly, so the T2, the AT1, the GST return and the T5018 slips come out of a reconciled file rather than a box of receipts in March.

Two kinds of trades work in one county

A plumber, electrician, framer or landscaper working in Sherwood Park neighbourhoods and on acreages near Ardrossan and Josephburg runs a business built on many small jobs, quick quotes and homeowner payments. An electrical, mechanical, insulation or scaffolding contractor working on a refinery or petrochemical site runs a business built on a few large customers, purchase orders, safety prequalification and long payment cycles. Many Sherwood Park companies do both.

The accounting needs to fit. Residential work needs fast invoicing, deposits recorded as liabilities until the work is done, and tight control of materials. Industrial work needs job costing by work order, careful tracking of labour and equipment rates, and receivables follow-up with large accounts-payable departments.

No provincial sales tax on materials

Alberta does not levy a provincial sales tax. Materials carry GST only, and a registrant recovers that GST through input tax credits, so sales tax on materials is not a cost buried inside a Sherwood Park bid the way provincial tax is elsewhere. Estimating is cleaner and cash flow smoother. A company that later bids work in a PST province needs to know its estimating template will no longer give the right number.

Two corporate returns, not one

Alberta administers its own corporate income tax. A corporation with a permanent establishment in the province files the federal T2 and, separately, an Alberta AT1. Missing the second one is a common and avoidable failure for a company new to the province, because completing the federal filing feels like the whole job. Where crews work for extended periods in another province, income may also have to be allocated between the provinces where the corporation has a permanent establishment.

The payment clock runs on a statutory schedule

Alberta’s construction lien legislation sets prompt payment timelines. Under the province’s published rules, an owner must pay a contractor the amount payable within 28 calendar days of receiving a proper invoice, and a contractor must pay each subcontractor within 7 calendar days of receiving payment from the owner. A subcontractor who is not paid on time can start an adjudication.

For accounting purposes that is not a legal footnote. A company holding subtrade money after it has been paid is carrying a defined, dated exposure. A payables process that releases subtrade payments against receipt of owner funds, and an invoicing routine that produces a proper invoice the first time, are the practical answers. Holdbacks need their own schedule so they are recognized on their own timing.

WCB-Alberta and the subtrade check

Workers’ compensation is administered by WCB-Alberta, with premiums by industry classification on assessable earnings. A company that pays a subtrade without confirming its WCB standing can find the gap becomes its own liability. Building the confirmation into the release of final payment, and filing it with the invoice, keeps the exposure inside the job. It also brings the classification question into the open: a long-term “subcontractor” working only for you under your direction may in fact be an employee. See subcontractor or employee.

T5018 slips and job costing

A business whose main activity is construction, and which pays others for construction services, generally reports those payments on T5018 slips. The reporting is only as good as the payables coding underneath it. Separating subtrade labour from materials at entry, and tagging both to a job, produces the slips as a by-product, and also answers the more useful question of which jobs made money. The T5018 guide sets out the mechanics.

Trucks, tools and the CCA claim

A trades company’s trucks, trailers, tools and shop equipment are capital assets recovered through capital cost allowance, not expensed. The class, the in-service date and whether you buy or lease all change the claim. A vehicle used partly for personal driving needs a log to support the business share. See CCA classes explained.

What is covered, and what it costs

• Federal T2 and Alberta AT1 corporate returns
• GST registration, filing and input tax credit reconciliation
• T5018 information returns and subtrade classification review
• Job-costed bookkeeping and holdback schedules
• Payroll, WCB-Alberta reporting and T4 slips
• Year-end financial statements and owner pay planning

Monthly bookkeeping starts from $300 a month and a personal return from $100; a corporate return is quoted after we review your enquiry. A single question can go to a 45-minute Advice Call, a flat fee of $200 + GST. Every fee is fixed in writing first. See the published fees.

Remote, and there is no Sherwood Park office

EverStone is fully virtual and has no Sherwood Park location. Engagements run by email, video, e-signature and secure upload, which suits owners who spend the day on a site rather than at a desk. Receipts can be sent from a phone. See CPA for contractors in Alberta for the provincial picture.