Guides
Canadian bookkeeping, explained without the jargon.
Seven guides to the parts of Canadian small business bookkeeping that actually cost people money: input tax credits, sales tax rates by province, foreign-currency receipts, what the CRA requires you to keep, QST in Quebec, and how to judge expense software. Every page says when it was last reviewed and links the source it is paraphrasing.
Self-employed tax deductions in Canada: the full list, and the receipts behind each one
Every common business expense a self-employed Canadian can deduct on the T2125, the rule that limits each one, and the receipt or record the CRA expects to see.
Reviewed
CRA receipt requirements: what a business receipt has to show
What a receipt must show for a CRA deduction and a GST/HST input tax credit, the current CA$100 and CA$500 thresholds, and what is not a receipt.
Reviewed
T2125 expense categories, and which line each receipt belongs on
The CRA's T2125 expense lines for self-employed Canadians, the receipts that go on each one, and the common receipts people put on the wrong line.
Reviewed
How to organize business receipts for taxes in Canada
A receipt system Canadian businesses and freelancers can keep up all year: same-day capture, categories, sales tax, monthly reconciliation and a six-year archive.
Reviewed
How AI receipt scanning works, what it gets wrong, and how to check it
What happens between photographing a receipt and getting a categorised expense: OCR versus AI, how Canadian sales tax is read, and where errors come from.
Reviewed
How GST/HST input tax credits work, and what your receipts have to show
What an input tax credit is, who can claim one, what a receipt must show at each dollar amount, and how long you have before the claim expires.
Reviewed
GST, HST, PST and QST rates by province, and which one applies to you
Current GST, HST, PST, RST and QST rates for every province and territory, and which rate applies when you sell or buy across provincial lines.
Reviewed
When do I have to register for the GST/HST? The $30,000 small supplier rule
How the CRA's $30,000 small supplier test works, the single-quarter and four-quarter rules, when to start charging tax, and why some freelancers register early.
Reviewed
How much of a restaurant receipt can a Canadian business deduct?
The CRA's 50% limit on business meals and entertainment, the exceptions to it, how it affects GST/HST input tax credits, and what to write on the receipt.
Reviewed
How to claim home office expenses when you are self-employed in Canada
The two CRA tests for claiming a home office on the T2125, which costs count, how to work out the business share, and the receipts to keep.
Reviewed
What the CRA requires in a mileage log, and which vehicle receipts count
How the self-employed claim car expenses: the business-use percentage, what a CRA logbook must record, the simplified three-month log, and the receipts to keep.
Reviewed
Is a laptop a current expense or a capital cost? Capital vs current for small business
How the CRA separates current expenses from capital purchases, the common CCA classes for computers, tools, furniture and vehicles, and what to do with the receipt.
Reviewed
Should a small business use the GST/HST Quick Method?
How the CRA's Quick Method of accounting for GST/HST works, who can use it, when it saves money, and why you still need receipts for capital purchases.
Reviewed
Year-end bookkeeping checklist for Canadian sole proprietors and freelancers
What a self-employed Canadian needs ready for their accountant at year end, the CRA deadlines that matter, and the mistakes that cost the most to fix in April.
Reviewed
How to convert a USD receipt to CAD for your Canadian books
Which exchange rate the CRA expects on a foreign receipt, why the transaction date beats the statement date, and what to record so the figure holds up.
Reviewed
CRA record-keeping rules for receipts, and how long you have to keep them
How long the CRA requires business records to be kept, whether photos of receipts count, and what happens when a record has gone missing.
Reviewed
How to automatically sync receipts from Google Drive for Canadian bookkeeping
How to automatically import receipts from Google Drive into bookkeeping software, CRA compliance rules for cloud storage, and organizing digital tax records.
Reviewed
QST in Quebec: the rate, input tax refunds, and what your records have to show
How QST works alongside GST, why the rate is 9.975%, how input tax refunds differ from input tax credits, and what a Quebec expense record must carry.
Reviewed
How to choose the best receipt scanner app for a Canadian business
What to test before committing to expense software in Canada: sales tax handling, currency conversion, export, data residency, and a fair trial.
Reviewed
Receipt scanning versus doing it by hand: what actually changes
Where the time really goes, which errors each method produces, what each costs at your volume, and when doing receipts by hand is still the right answer.
Reviewed