# Coquitlam Bookkeeping: full site content > A plain-text mirror of https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca, generated from the same content as the pages, for language models and AI search tools. The canonical URL for each section is given at its top. ## Key facts - Name: Coquitlam Bookkeeping - What we do: A bookkeeping practice offering monthly bookkeeping, payroll management, gst and pst filing, year-end preparation, catch-up and clean-up, and fractional controller. - Where we work: Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities, BC, serving Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore, Belcarra, Burnaby, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, and Maple Ridge. There is no public office. The work runs in cloud software, and meetings happen in person when that is useful. - Who we serve: Owner-operated businesses: realtors and mortgage brokers, real estate investors, medical and dental clinics, restaurants and hospitality, construction and renovation, professional services, e-commerce and home-based businesses, and owner-operator holdings. - Software: Ledger in QuickBooks Online or Xero. Receipts through Dext, payments through Plooto or Rotessa, payroll through Wagepoint. - Pricing model: A flat monthly fee in CAD, set after a 20-minute call. Tiers run from $500 to $750 per month CAD up to $1,250 to $2,000 per month CAD, plus applicable taxes. - Languages: English - Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00 PT - Phone: (778) 652-7425 - Email: admin@coquitlambookkeeping.ca - Currency: Canadian dollars (CAD) ## Not in scope - Filing T2 corporate or T1 personal income tax returns - Audits, review engagements and other assurance work - Tax advice and planning, including on presales, assignments and PREC structure - Legal advice, and representing clients in CRA audits or disputes These stay with the client's CPA or lawyer; we coordinate with them and supply the books. ## Pricing - Steady: $500 to $750 per month CAD, 0 to 50 monthly transactions. Monthly bookkeeping for single-entity businesses with straightforward transaction volume. - Considered: $800 to $1,200 per month CAD, 50 to 150 monthly transactions. Monthly bookkeeping with payroll, AP, and quarterly review calls for businesses with more moving parts. - Bespoke: $1,250 to $2,000 per month CAD, 150 or more monthly transactions. Holding companies, multi-entity structures, and fractional controller engagements. Fees are plus applicable taxes. Pricing page: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/pricing --- # Monthly Bookkeeping URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping For Coquitlam agents, investors and owner-operators whose income lands unevenly. One close a month, one bookkeeper, numbers you can act on. ## What is monthly bookkeeping? Monthly bookkeeping is a fixed routine: once a month, every account the business uses is matched to its statement, each transaction is coded, and the period is locked so the figures stop moving. You get statements that describe last month, not last quarter. We finish the previous month by the 10th. You receive the statements, a receivables list and a short note in plain language: what came in, what went out, what looks off. A duplicated supplier charge or a deposit that never cleared shows up while it is a few weeks old and simple to fix. ## What does Coquitlam Bookkeeping include in monthly bookkeeping? - Every chequing account, credit card, credit line and processor matched to its statement - Transaction coding against your chart of accounts, with the receipt or bill attached - A monthly income statement, balance sheet and list of unpaid invoices by age - GST collected and paid held in their own accounts, ready for GST and PST filing (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/gst-pst-filing) - A written close note and a short list of questions, from the same bookkeeper each month ## What software do you use for monthly bookkeeping? QuickBooks Online or Xero holds the ledger. Dext captures receipts, whether you snap a photo after a showing or forward an email. Plooto handles supplier payments. Already on one of them? We keep it. Starting from scratch, we usually set up QuickBooks Online, with every subscription in your name. For agents, we also work from the brokerage's commission statements each month. The bank deposit shows what landed; the statement shows the gross commission, the split and the fees taken off before it did. ## What's the difference between a bookkeeper, a CPA and a tax preparer? The bookkeeper keeps the ledger current all year, the CPA turns it into year-end financial statements and advises on structure and tax, and the tax preparer files the returns. Many owners use one CPA firm for the last two, and its fee depends on how clean the books arrive. | Role | What they own | When | Typical cost (CAD) | Credential | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | Bookkeeper | Reconciliations, monthly statements, GST and PST returns, payroll | Every month | Monthly retainer; ours start at $500 to $750 per month CAD | CPB or equivalent experience | | CPA | Year-end financial statements, adjusting entries, tax planning, PREC and HoldCo setup | Once a year, plus advice when needed | Commonly $2,000 to $6,000 a year for a small corporation, more with several entities | CPA | | Tax preparer | Personal T1 returns with T776 rental schedules; corporate T2 returns | Once a year | Often $150 to $600 per personal return; the T2 is usually part of the CPA's year-end fee | CPA or an experienced preparer | The CPA and tax-preparer figures are rough market ranges, not quotes. We are a bookkeeping practice, not a CPA firm. When the fiscal year ends, your CPA gets a reconciled file through our year-end preparation (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/year-end-preparation) work, and we answer their follow-up questions ourselves. ## What is not included in monthly bookkeeping? The monthly close stops where tax work and regulated work begin. Left out: - Filing corporate (T2) or personal (T1) income tax returns - Audits, reviews or compilation engagements, which sit with a CPA - Tax advice on presale assignments, flips or the sale of a rental. We keep the records; your CPA gives the advice - Brokerage trust accounting, which belongs to the brokerage under [BCFSA's trust account guidelines](https://www.bcfsa.ca/industry-resources/real-estate-professional-resources/knowledge-base/guidelines/trust-accounts-guidelines) No CPA yet? Ask, and we'll point you toward a sensible first conversation. ## What does monthly bookkeeping cost in Coquitlam? Monthly bookkeeping in Coquitlam starts at $500 to $750 per month CAD for one business with light volume. The tier then moves with three things: transactions per month, the number of entities, and whether payroll is part of the file. | Tier | Monthly transactions | Monthly fee (CAD) | |---|---|---| | Steady | 0 to 50 | $500 to $750 | | Considered | 50 to 150 | $800 to $1,200 | | Bespoke | 150 or more | $1,250 to $2,000 | An agent with a PREC alone is a smaller file than an agent with a PREC, a HoldCo and two presales, because each entity is its own set of books with its own bank feed. Fees are plus applicable taxes. We quote after a 20-minute call and a short review of your accounts. Books that have fallen behind are brought current first through catch-up bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/catch-up), quoted separately. ## How does monthly bookkeeping work for Coquitlam realtors and investors with uneven income? It runs on the same calendar whether the month brought three closings or none, and that sameness is what makes lumpy income readable. Coquitlam's condo and townhome market moves in bursts, so much of an agent's year can arrive in a few months. Closing slow months as carefully as busy ones shows how long a strong quarter's cash has to last. For agents and investors we add a few steps to the close: - **Commission statements, not just deposits.** When an agent works through a PREC, the brokerage pays the PREC rather than the agent personally, and on a team the brokerage pays each member separately ([BCFSA PREC guidelines](https://www.bcfsa.ca/industry-resources/real-estate-professional-resources/knowledge-base/guidelines/personal-real-estate-corporation-guidelines)). We book gross commission, split, brokerage and desk fees, and GST from the statement, so the PREC's revenue is right even when the deposit is net. - **A set-aside line.** Each close shows GST collected and an amount held back toward income tax, at a percentage your CPA sets. A big spring stops looking like spare cash by autumn. - **Presale deposits recorded as assets.** Deposits on Evergreen Line towers in City Centre and Burquitlam can sit for years before completion. Each is booked to the right entity with the contract, receipts and key dates on file, so the CPA has the paper trail if a unit is later assigned or sold. Tax treatment is theirs to decide. - **Rentals tracked by unit.** Rent, strata fees, property tax, insurance and repairs are coded per property, and larger repairs are flagged for the CPA to class as current or capital. The [T776](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/t776.html) at tax time becomes a summary rather than a project. - **Each entity in its own books.** The PREC, the HoldCo and personally held rentals stay separate, and balances between them are reconciled every month. ## Further reading Start with the pillar, The Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide), which covers the close, sales tax, payroll and year-end. - How much does bookkeeping cost in Coquitlam in 2026? (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/bookkeeping-cost-coquitlam-2026): price bands, what moves the fee, and what cheap books cost at year-end. - Bookkeeping for a personal real estate corporation (PREC) in BC (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/prec-bookkeeping-for-bc-realtors): running PREC books month to month, and what the CPA will ask for. - Rental property bookkeeping for Coquitlam condo owners (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/rental-property-bookkeeping-coquitlam): strata fees, repairs versus improvements, and getting ready for the T776. ## A good fit if - You are an agent, investor or owner-operator in Coquitlam or elsewhere in the Tri-Cities - You run one to a few entities, such as a PREC, an operating company or a HoldCo with rentals - You want one bookkeeper on your file and an answer by the next business day ## Probably not the right fit if - A once-a-year tax filing is all you're after - You want advice on whether to assign, hold or sell a presale, which is a conversation for your CPA - Your volume and budget sit below the Steady tier --- # Payroll Management URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/payroll-management For Coquitlam restaurants, clinics and small teams whose shifts change week to week. Staff paid on the right day, CRA remittances in on time. ## What is payroll management? Payroll management is everything between hours worked and money in an employee's account: gross pay, income tax, CPP and EI withheld, staff paid, deductions sent to the CRA, and slips issued at year-end or when someone leaves. The employer also contributes an amount equal to the CPP it deducts, and pays EI premiums at 1.4 times the employee's amount. We run each cycle on your schedule, and you approve the register before it goes out. Most small employers are regular remitters, so the CRA must receive their deductions by the 15th of the month after payday. T4 slips go to staff, and the T4 return to the CRA, by the last day of February (the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday). ## What does Coquitlam Bookkeeping include in payroll management? - Pay runs for salaried, hourly and shift staff, with overtime, vacation pay and statutory holiday pay worked out - Income tax, CPP and EI withheld and remitted to the CRA by the due date - Tips paid through payroll the right way, with controlled and direct tips treated separately - Records of Employment filed when someone quits, is let go or goes on leave - T4 slips and the T4 summary filed each winter, and payroll reconciled to the ledger every month ## What payroll software do you use? Wagepoint or QuickBooks Online Payroll for most teams, and Payworks where a client already has it. Each connects to the general ledger, so wages and remittances post without being typed twice, and staff see their own stubs and T4s online. For restaurants and clinics, we pull hours from the scheduling app or POS export you already use, so nobody retypes timesheets at midnight. ## Should a small business run payroll in-house, use software alone, or outsource it? For most small Coquitlam employers, the real choice is who catches mistakes before staff do. All three use similar software; they differ in who knows the BC and CRA rules, and whether payroll is ever checked against the books. | Approach | Who does the work | Typical cost (CAD) | Where it tends to go wrong | | ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | In-house | An office manager or admin, using payroll software | Part of a salary, plus the software fee | The knowledge sits with one person, and remittances slip when they are away | | Software alone | The owner runs each cycle | Software from about $20 to $80 a month base, plus $4 to $10 per employee (Wagepoint's plans) | Tips, stat pay and ROEs set up wrong; payroll never reconciled to the ledger | | Outsourced to us | Your bookkeeper, inside the monthly engagement | Part of the Considered tier, $800 to $1,200 per month CAD | You still supply hours and approve each run, so a late approval can push a payday close | ## What is not included in payroll management? Payroll here means administration only, not HR or employment law. Left out: - Employment contracts, workplace policies, discipline or terminations - Deciding whether a worker is an employee or a contractor (a question for the CRA, your CPA or a lawyer) - Designing group benefits (we set up and record the deductions you choose) - WorkSafeBC claims, or Employment Standards complaints and disputes If something looks like an employment standards problem, we'll say so and suggest an HR adviser or employment lawyer. ## What does payroll management cost in Coquitlam? Payroll is priced inside your monthly bookkeeping engagement, not per cheque. It comes included from the Considered tier up, at $800 to $1,200 per month CAD; on Steady it is an add-on, quoted with the monthly fee. Multi-location groups usually sit on Bespoke. | Tier | Monthly transactions | Monthly fee (CAD) | |---|---|---| | Steady | 0 to 50 | $500 to $750 | | Considered | 50 to 150 | $800 to $1,200 | | Bespoke | 150 or more | $1,250 to $2,000 | What moves the quote: headcount, pay frequency, tipped staff, locations, and how hours reach us. We confirm the fee after a 20-minute call. Fees are plus applicable taxes. If the books are behind as well, catch-up work (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/catch-up) comes first. ## How do Coquitlam restaurants and clinics handle tips, shifts and part-time staff? They keep three questions apart: who gets the tips, how the tips are taxed, and what part-time staff are owed. A kitchen on North Road and a dental clinic near Coquitlam Centre or in Austin Heights share the same problem: hours that vary, staff on two or three shifts a week, and pay that changes every cycle. **Who gets the tips (BC rules).** Under BC's [Employment Standards Act](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards/wages/tips-gratuities), an employer cannot withhold tips or make staff give them up, except through a tip pool or where the law requires it, such as a garnishment order. The employer can run a pool and decide who shares and how much, but can only take a share if they do similar work to the staff who earned the tips. Business costs can't be deducted from a pool, or from card tips the employer holds. **How the tips are taxed (CRA rules).** The CRA sorts tips into two kinds: - **Controlled tips** are treated as paid by the employer: a mandatory service charge, a pool split by a formula the employer sets, or card tips deposited to the business account and paid out with wages. Income tax, CPP and EI are withheld, and the tips go on the T4. - **Direct tips** go from customer to employee: cash left on the table, card tips handed back in full in cash at the end of the shift, or a pool the staff run themselves. Nothing is withheld and nothing goes on the T4. The employee reports them and can choose to pay CPP on them using Form CPT20. So how card tips are paid out changes the payroll. We set pay codes to match how your floor actually handles tips, and check POS tips collected against tips paid out every cycle. **What shift and part-time staff are owed (BC rules).** - **Paydays:** at least twice a month, with all wages paid within 8 days after the pay period ends. - **Short shifts:** an employee who reports for work is paid for at least 2 hours, or 4 hours if they were scheduled for more than 8. - **Statutory holidays:** staff qualify once employed for 30 calendar days and having worked or earned wages on 15 of the 30 days before the holiday. Many part-timers do. The pay is an average day's pay. - **Leaving:** an electronic ROE is generally due within 5 calendar days once the pay period holding the employee's last day of earnings closes. For clinics, associates who invoice the clinic stay out of the pay run and are tracked as contractor payments, with the classification confirmed by your CPA. ## Further reading For how payroll fits with the monthly close, GST and year-end, start with The Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide). - Daily sales, tips and delivery apps: restaurant bookkeeping in BC (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/restaurant-daily-sales-and-tips-bc): daily reconciliation, tips through payroll, and delivery-platform settlements. - Bookkeeping for Tri-Cities dental and medical clinics (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/dental-and-medical-clinic-bookkeeping): associate payments, and insurer and MSP reconciliations. - A year-end checklist for Tri-Cities owner-operators (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/year-end-checklist-tri-cities-owner-operators): the eight-week run-up to year-end, T4 preparation included. ## A good fit if - You employ a small team in the Tri-Cities, including part-time, shift or tipped staff - One bookkeeper on both payroll and the ledger, reconciled to each other monthly, suits you - You would rather approve a pay run than build one ## Probably not the right fit if - Your headcount calls for a dedicated in-house payroll department - You need payroll outside Canada, or a PEO or employer-of-record arrangement - You are looking for HR advice, employment contracts or help with a dispute --- # GST and PST Filing URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/gst-pst-filing For Tri-Cities agents, online sellers and kitchens charging GST, PST or both. Each return is checked against a ledger that already ties out. ## What is GST and PST filing? Filing GST and PST means reporting the sales tax you charged, subtracting what you can recover, and paying the difference on time. In British Columbia that is two separate returns: GST to the Canada Revenue Agency, PST to the BC Ministry of Finance. The return is the easy part; the errors happen upstream. A realtor's PREC books a commission deposit net of the brokerage split. A Shopify store run from a Burke Mountain basement posts marketplace payouts as one lump. A North Road restaurant records delivery-app payouts net of commission. We set the tax treatment as each transaction is booked, so filing week is a check. ## What does Coquitlam Bookkeeping include in GST and PST filing? - A tax code set up in QuickBooks Online or Xero for every type of sale and expense you have - GST charged and input tax credits matched to the general ledger before any return is drafted - GST returns filed on the reporting period the CRA set for you: monthly, quarterly or annual - PST returns filed in eTaxBC, with PST self-assessed on taxable items bought online or out of province without it - A running four-quarter sales total for unregistered clients, so crossing $30,000 is planned, not discovered ## Which software and portals do we use for GST and PST returns? Tax codes live in your QuickBooks Online or Xero ledger, so each return comes straight from the books. GST returns are filed electronically with the CRA through Represent a Client; electronic filing is now mandatory for almost every registrant. PST returns are filed and paid in eTaxBC. The accounts stay in your name, and we're added as your representative. ## How is GST different from BC PST? GST is a federal value-added tax that registrants largely recover on their own purchases; BC PST is a separate provincial retail tax with its own rules: | Point of difference | GST | BC PST | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Administered by | Canada Revenue Agency | BC Ministry of Finance | | BC rate | 5% | Generally 7%, with some exceptions | | You must register when | Worldwide taxable sales, with associates, pass $30,000 in one calendar quarter or over four in a row | You sell or lease taxable goods, software or taxable services in B.C. (small sellers excepted) | | Default filing frequency | Annual at $1,500,000 or less of annual taxable supplies; quarterly or monthly above | Set by yearly PST collectable; monthly only above $12,000 | | Due date | 1 month after a monthly or quarterly period; 3 months after year-end for most annual filers | Last day of the month following the reporting period | | Where it is filed | CRA online services | eTaxBC | | Tax on your purchases | Mostly recovered as input tax credits | Self-assessed on taxable goods brought in without PST | A firm selling only non-taxable services may have nothing to collect for PST. A café selling soda, or a licensed restaurant, usually registers for both. ## What is not included in GST and PST filing? Our job is preparing and filing returns. How a contested sale should be taxed is a call for your CPA or a tax lawyer, and locally that usually means real estate: GST on a new Burke Mountain home, GST on a presale assignment, the GST new housing rebate, or whether a rental-condo HoldCo should register. We gather the contracts and statements they need, then book their answer. In a CRA or provincial audit, your CPA or lawyer leads and we supply the records. Sales tax in other provinces is out of scope. Years of unfiled returns start as catch-up and clean-up (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/catch-up). ## What does GST and PST filing cost in Coquitlam? For most clients, GST returns are folded into monthly bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping). PST returns are an add-on, priced only for businesses that make taxable BC sales. Most single-entity businesses sit on Steady, at $500 to $750 per month CAD. | Tier | Monthly transactions | Monthly fee (CAD) | |---|---|---| | Steady | 0 to 50 | $500 to $750 | | Considered | 50 to 150 | $800 to $1,200 | | Bespoke | 150 or more | $1,250 to $2,000 | Price moves with transaction volume, one return or two, filing frequency and the number of tax codes. If someone else keeps your ledger and you only want returns prepared, we review the books and quote a fixed fee. All fees are plus applicable taxes. ## Do Coquitlam home-based and online businesses need to register for GST? Yes, once taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. The total is revenue before expenses, counts worldwide taxable sales, and includes any associated businesses. Below that line you're a small supplier and registration is optional. Across the Tri-Cities, online stores, tutors and side consultancies often cross it from a spare room. Timing depends on how: - **A big quarter.** Pass $30,000 within one calendar quarter and you stop being a small supplier on the sale that takes you over. That sale carries GST, and you have 29 days to register. - **A gradual climb.** If four consecutive quarters together pass $30,000 but no single one does, you stay a small supplier until the end of the following month. GST starts with your next sale; register within 29 days. - **Registering early.** Voluntary registration below $30,000 lets you claim input tax credits on business purchases. In return you charge GST and file every period, nil returns included. PST is a separate test. On sales through an online marketplace, the marketplace facilitator generally collects and remits the PST, not you; sales from your own website may still require registration. A home-based seller with no storefront can qualify as a small seller if retail sales of eligible goods, software and services were $10,000 or less over the previous 12 months and are expected to stay at or under $10,000 for the next 12. ## Further reading To see how sales tax fits with payroll, year-end and software, read The Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide). - When does a home-based or online business in BC need to register for GST? (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/gst-registration-home-based-business-bc): both threshold tests, voluntary registration, and PST for marketplace sellers. - Presales and assignments: the records BC investors need to keep (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/presale-assignment-records-bc): the deposit and contract paper trail your CPA will ask for. - How much does bookkeeping cost in Coquitlam in 2026? (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/bookkeeping-cost-coquitlam-2026): price bands and the factors that move them. ## A good fit if - You collect GST, PST or both, and expect every return to start from books that are already reconciled - Your sales are nearing $30,000 and you want registration timed, not discovered late - You run a PREC, an online store or a restaurant, where one miscoded item repeats all quarter ## Probably not the right fit if - You're a small supplier comfortably under the threshold with no reason to register - You need sales tax registered and filed in several provinces - You want returns keyed in from totals you've worked out yourself, with no one checking the ledger --- # Year-End Preparation URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/year-end-preparation For Tri-Cities corporations, PRECs and holding companies. Twelve monthly closes become one finished year, ready for the accountant who files your T2. ## What is year-end preparation? Year-end preparation is the bookkeeping that closes your fiscal year and readies it for your CPA: every balance sheet account supported by a schedule, the year's adjusting entries posted, and one organised file the accountant works from. The CPA then prepares the financial statements and the corporation's T2 return. The deadlines run from your fiscal year-end, not from April. A corporation must file its T2 within six months of the end of its tax year, but tax owing is due sooner: generally two months after year-end, or three months for a Canadian-controlled private corporation that meets the CRA's conditions. That payment date is easy to miss, so we aim to get the file to your CPA in time to estimate the bill first. ## What does Coquitlam Bookkeeping include in year-end preparation? - Every bank, card, loan and payment-processor account reconciled to the last day of the fiscal year - Accruals, prepaid expenses and deferred revenue adjusted, each entry with a short note explaining it - Shareholder loans and intercompany balances between an OpCo, a HoldCo or a PREC agreed in both sets of books - A trial balance, general ledger and backing schedules delivered in whatever layout your CPA prefers - Your CPA's questions answered, and their final adjusting entries posted back into your ledger ## What software do we use for year-end preparation? The ledger stays in QuickBooks Online or Xero. Once your CPA signs off, we set a lock date so nothing posted later can quietly change a filed year. Schedules are built in Excel or Google Sheets and tie to the ledger line by line. Receipts and bills live in Dext, attached to the transactions they support. Your CPA gets the file through a shared folder, their portal or accountant access to the ledger. ## What does the bookkeeper prepare, and what does the CPA prepare? The bookkeeper makes the numbers complete and supported; the CPA turns them into financial statements and tax filings and owns the judgement calls. A typical split for a small BC corporation: | Year-end item | Coquitlam Bookkeeping | Your CPA | | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Bank, card and loan reconciliations | Prepares | Reviews | | Accruals, prepaids and deferred revenue | Drafts and posts | Reviews and adjusts | | Capital cost allowance | Lists additions and disposals, with invoices | Calculates and claims | | Shareholder loans and dividends | Reconciles balances and keeps the paperwork | Advises on timing and tax treatment | | T4 and T5 slips | Prepares from payroll and dividend records | Reviews, or prepares if they run your payroll | | Financial statements | Supplies the trial balance and schedules | Prepares | | T2 corporation income tax return | Supplies the supporting detail | Prepares and files | | Typical fee (CAD) | Within your monthly tier, or a fixed quote (see below) | Set by the firm; commonly $2,000 to $6,000 for one small corporation, more for a group | T4 and T5 slips follow the calendar year, whatever your fiscal year-end: both are due by the last day of February following the year they cover. A clean handover also tends to cut CPA hours. ## What is not included in year-end preparation? We prepare the books. We don't prepare or file the T2, sign financial statements, or decide between salary and dividends. Tax questions on presale assignments, property flips or the GST new housing rebate also go to your CPA; our part is having the purchase agreements, deposit records and statements in the file. Audits and review engagements need a CPA firm. If you don't have an accountant yet, we can suggest firms that take on owner-managed corporations. And if months of the year were never reconciled, that work starts as catch-up and clean-up (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/catch-up) before the year-end file. ## What does year-end preparation cost in Coquitlam? For monthly bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping) clients, year-end builds on twelve closes already done, so the extra work is scoped and quoted before we start. Monthly bookkeeping begins at $500 to $750 per month CAD on the Steady tier. | Tier | Monthly transactions | Monthly fee (CAD) | |---|---|---| | Steady | 0 to 50 | $500 to $750 | | Considered | 50 to 150 | $800 to $1,200 | | Bespoke | 150 or more | $1,250 to $2,000 | If you come to us for year-end only, we look at the ledger first and give a fixed quote. The price moves with the number of entities (an OpCo plus a HoldCo plus a PREC is three files), inventory, the count of accounts and loans, whether we prepare T4 and T5 slips, and how current the books are. All fees are plus applicable taxes. ## What do Tri-Cities owner-operators need ready before year-end? Statements for every account to the last day of the year, the paperwork behind anything unusual, and a note of what changed. We send this list about eight weeks out: - **Statements to the year-end date** for each bank account, credit card, line of credit, loan and payment processor, plus Square, Stripe or delivery-app payout reports if you sell through them - **Brokerage commission statements** for realtors, matched to the deposits into the PREC's account, with any personal spending from that account flagged - **For a HoldCo holding rental condos:** each unit's rent records, strata fee statements, property tax notices, mortgage statements splitting interest from principal, and repair or upgrade invoices so your CPA can sort current from capital - **For presales and assignments:** the purchase agreement, deposit receipts with dates, and any assignment agreement; how they're taxed is your CPA's call - **For Burke Mountain builders and renovators:** contracts, progress billings, holdbacks owed in both directions, and jobs still in progress at year-end - **Assets and owner decisions:** invoices for vehicles or equipment bought or sold, dividends declared, and any money moved between you and the company Keep all of it after filing. The CRA generally requires records and supporting documents to be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. ## Further reading For how year-end fits the whole bookkeeping year, start with The Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide). - A year-end checklist for Tri-Cities owner-operators (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/year-end-checklist-tri-cities-owner-operators): an eight-week run-up for a BC corporation, with extra lines for PRECs and HoldCos. - Bookkeeping for a personal real estate corporation (PREC) in BC (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/prec-bookkeeping-for-bc-realtors): running PREC books monthly and what your CPA needs at year-end. - Rental property bookkeeping for Coquitlam condo owners (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/rental-property-bookkeeping-coquitlam): strata fees, repairs versus improvements, and records for the rental schedule. ## A good fit if - You run a corporation, a PREC or a HoldCo, and a CPA files your T2 - You want the file with your CPA early enough to know the tax bill before the balance-due day - You carry shareholder or intercompany balances that need agreeing every year ## Probably not the right fit if - You're a sole proprietor whose year is one bank account and a folder of receipts - You need an audit or review engagement, which only a CPA firm can provide - The books haven't been touched all year and the T2 is due within days --- # Catch-Up and Clean-Up URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/catch-up For Tri-Cities owners and investors whose books stopped somewhere along the way. We size the backlog, close it oldest month first, and hand back books you can file from. ## What is catch-up bookkeeping? Catch-up bookkeeping brings books that stopped being kept back to the current month, reconciling every bank, card and loan account on the way. Clean-up is the close relative: the books exist but are wrong, so entries get corrected before anything new is added on top. Backlogs rarely start with neglect: a busy spring market, a tenant turnover, a bookkeeper who left in March. The fix is always to find what is open, then close it oldest month first, so each month rests on a balance already proven. ## What does Coquitlam Bookkeeping include in catch-up bookkeeping? - A backlog review: which months are open, which accounts exist, and which statements and receipts can still be pulled - A written scope and a fixed project fee, agreed before any work starts - Month-by-month reconciliation of every bank, credit card, line of credit and mortgage account - Corrections to miscoded, duplicated and personal entries, logged so your CPA can see each change - Overdue GST and PST returns (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/gst-pst-filing) and payroll reports prepared from the reconciled figures, then a clean start in monthly bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping) ## Which software do you use to rebuild the books? We rebuild in QuickBooks Online or Xero, whichever you already pay for, or set one up. Old records can arrive in any shape: downloaded statements, a desktop QuickBooks file, a former bookkeeper's spreadsheet, a phone full of receipt photos. Dext reads receipts in bulk. Where receipts are gone, the bank and card statements become the record. Each rental condo gets its own class or tracking category, so every unit reads on its own. ## Should you catch up yourself, hire a bookkeeper, or leave it for the CPA? Do it yourself only when one or two months are open and every record is in hand; beyond that, a bookkeeper is usually the cheaper route, and leaving it for the CPA tends to mean bookkeeping done at year-end, under deadline, at accountant rates. | | Do it yourself | Bring in a bookkeeper | Leave it for the CPA | | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | Makes sense when | One or two months open, records complete | Three months to a few years open, or books that don't match the bank | Rarely; a CPA will usually want reconciled books first | | Your time | Evenings and weekends | A few hours gathering statements and answering questions | A scramble close to the filing deadline | | What you end up with | Current books, if nothing was missed | Reconciled books, a log of corrections, filings in order | Year-end statements, with estimates wherever records were thin | | How it is paid | Your own hours | One fixed project fee, quoted upfront | Extra CPA time on top of the year-end engagement | ## What is not included in catch-up bookkeeping? We keep books; we don't act for you with the CRA. So: - No negotiating penalties or interest, and no applications to the CRA's [Voluntary Disclosures Program](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/compliance/voluntary-disclosures-program.html). Whether that route fits is a call for a CPA or tax lawyer. - No personal or corporate income tax returns. We prepare the reconciled books those returns are built from. - No forensic accounting. If the records point to missing money, we pause and suggest a CPA who does that work. ## What does catch-up bookkeeping cost in Coquitlam? Catch-up is quoted as one fixed project fee once we have reviewed the backlog. It turns on the months open, the accounts, entities and properties involved, and how complete the records are. You get it in writing first, and it moves only if the scope does. After the last month is closed, most clients move onto a monthly tier: | Tier | Monthly transactions | Monthly fee (CAD) | |---|---|---| | Steady | 0 to 50 | $500 to $750 | | Considered | 50 to 150 | $800 to $1,200 | | Bespoke | 150 or more | $1,250 to $2,000 | A single rental condo held personally usually sits in Steady, at $500 to $750 per month CAD. An operating company plus a rental HoldCo usually belongs in Bespoke. All fees are plus applicable taxes. ## Behind on the books for a rental or presale portfolio? A property backlog is very fixable: rent, strata fees, mortgage payments and property tax repeat monthly, and the bank statements already show them. The work is in what doesn't repeat. For a rental condo in a City Centre or Burquitlam tower along the Evergreen Line, we rebuild: - Rent received per unit, matched to each lease, plus any damage deposits held - Strata fees, special levies, property tax and insurance - Mortgage payments split into interest and principal from the lender's statements - Repairs and suite turnovers, flagged where they might be capital so your CPA can decide - Property manager statements, if a manager collects the rent for you If you own the condos personally, you have to file a statement of rental income and expenses, and the CRA encourages [Form T776, Statement of Real Estate Rentals](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/rental-income/completing-form-t776-statement-real-estate-rentals.html). Caught-up books supply the per-property figures. Presales need records even before anyone moves in: - Each deposit, dated and matched to the contract of purchase and sale and any amendments - Assignment agreements, the assignment fee, and who paid what on completion - The statement of adjustments at completion How those deals are taxed is for your CPA, including whether GST applies to an assignment and whether the [BC home flipping tax](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/income-taxes/bc-home-flipping-tax), which reaches presale contracts as well as finished homes, comes into it. We supply the clean records. Plenty of Tri-Cities owners run an operating company and keep rental condos in a HoldCo. When both ledgers lapse, money crosses between them untracked: the OpCo pays a strata bill, the HoldCo covers a payroll gap. We rebuild both side by side and reconcile the intercompany balance until it agrees in each. Once you are current, keep the source documents. The CRA generally requires records to be kept for [six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/keeping-records/where-keep-your-records-long-request-permission-destroy-them-early.html). ## Further reading For the monthly routine that stops the books slipping again, start with The Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide). - Rental property bookkeeping for Coquitlam condo owners (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/rental-property-bookkeeping-coquitlam): monthly records per unit, strata fees, and T776 figures. - Presales and assignments: the records BC investors need to keep (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/presale-assignment-records-bc): the paper trail from first deposit to completion. - A year-end checklist for Tri-Cities owner-operators (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/year-end-checklist-tri-cities-owner-operators): what to have ready once the backlog is closed. ## A good fit if - You are three months to a few years behind and want a fixed price before work begins - Your bank and card statements are available, even if the receipts are patchy - You hold rentals or presales, personally or through a HoldCo, and the books never kept pace with the portfolio ## Probably not the right fit if - A CRA audit is under way, or you need someone to deal with the CRA on your behalf - You want rough estimates to file something by Friday rather than reconciled books - The bank can no longer supply statements for the months in question --- # Fractional Controller URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/fractional-controller For Tri-Cities businesses with more than one location, more than one company, or more decisions than the monthly statements can answer alone. Controller-level oversight, without a full-time hire. ## What is a fractional controller? A fractional controller is a senior finance lead you share with a few other businesses: they own your monthly close, reporting and financial controls, but work an agreed number of hours each month instead of full time. Think of it as two layers: bookkeeping captures every transaction, and the controller tests those numbers, tells you what they mean, and fixes the process behind any that were wrong. The role fits an owner who has outgrown a single set of plain books but has not grown into a finance department. A second clinic, a third restaurant, a HoldCo beside the OpCo: each adds a layer that monthly bookkeeping records but does not interpret. ## What does Coquitlam Bookkeeping include in a fractional controller engagement? - A senior check and sign-off on every monthly close before reports go to you - A monthly management pack: results by location or entity, margins against budget, and a short written read on what moved and why - A rolling 13-week cash forecast, refreshed each month - Financial controls: who approves bills, who can release payments, and how deposits and cash counts are checked - One point of contact for your CPA, bank and lenders, with year-end preparation (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/year-end-preparation) handed over by people who already know the file ## Which tools does a fractional controller work in? Your books remain in QuickBooks Online or Xero. For multi-site businesses we set up location tracking (classes in QuickBooks, tracking categories in Xero), so each site gets its own profit and loss from the same file. Management reports are built in a spreadsheet or a reporting add-on such as Fathom, depending on how you prefer to read them. Bills run through Plooto and payroll through Wagepoint, so every approval leaves a record you can look back on. ## Bookkeeper, fractional controller, full-time controller or CFO: which do you need? The four roles differ in how far ahead they look: a bookkeeper records last month, a controller makes last month reliable and explains it, and a CFO plans the next few years. Most owner-operators need the first two well before the last two. | Role | Main job | Commitment | Cost in CAD | | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Bookkeeper | Records and reconciles transactions, closes the month | Monthly service | $500 to $750 per month CAD on our Steady tier, the entry point | | Fractional controller | Reviews the close, reports by location, forecasts cash, sets controls | Agreed hours each month, on retainer | $1,250 to $2,000 per month CAD on our Bespoke tier | | Full-time controller | The same job in-house, often supervising an accounting clerk | Salaried employee | Job Bank median for financial managers in the Lower Mainland–Southwest: $57.69 an hour, before benefits | | CFO | Strategy, financing, lender and investor relationships, acquisitions | Senior executive | Job Bank median for senior managers (financial, communications and other business services), same region: $105.77 an hour | The salaried figures are from [Job Bank's wage report for the Lower Mainland–Southwest region](https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/wagereport/location/39070), reference period 2023–2024, and exclude payroll costs, benefits and recruiting. ## What is not included in fractional controller work? - CFO work: raising capital, investor decks, or due diligence for buying or selling a business. We can point you to advisers who do it. - Tax returns and tax planning. Those stay with your CPA; we prepare what they ask for. - Audits or reviews of your statements for a lender. A CPA firm does that. - The day-to-day bookkeeping, unless it is part of the same engagement through monthly bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping). The two usually run together. ## What does a fractional controller cost in Coquitlam? Fractional controller engagements sit in our Bespoke tier, at $1,250 to $2,000 per month CAD, plus applicable taxes. Your place in that band follows the number of locations and entities, how often you want to meet, and whether the monthly bookkeeping is part of the same engagement. | Tier | Monthly transactions | Monthly fee (CAD) | |---|---|---| | Steady | 0 to 50 | $500 to $750 | | Considered | 50 to 150 | $800 to $1,200 | | Bespoke | 150 or more | $1,250 to $2,000 | The fee is a fixed monthly retainer, agreed upfront. We revisit it when the business changes shape: a new location, a new company, or a lender asking for more reporting. ## When does a multi-location clinic or restaurant group need a controller? Most often at the point where the books stop showing which location earns its keep. Watch for these: - Two or more sites, say a dental practice near Coquitlam Centre and a second in Burquitlam, still reported as one combined number - Associates paid on percentage splits, with no one checking the splits against what was actually collected - Restaurants spread across the Tri-Cities where food and labour costs swing from kitchen to kitchen with no explanation - Delivery-platform payouts, tip pools and card settlements arriving net and in batches, so matching them per location takes longer than the close - A lender or landlord who now wants quarterly statements, covenant figures or a forecast - The owner as the only control: one person approves, pays and reconciles For clinics in Austin Heights, Burquitlam or around Coquitlam Centre, the controller's attention goes mostly to revenue. Billed fees are matched to what MSP, insurers and patients actually paid, practitioner by practitioner, and associate pay is checked against the right base. For a restaurant group with kitchens in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, the focus is cost. A weekly view of food and labour as a share of sales at each site means a problem in one kitchen shows up in week two, not in the year-end statements. ## Further reading Start with The Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide), which sets out the monthly close a controller builds on. - Bookkeeping for Tri-Cities dental and medical clinics (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/dental-and-medical-clinic-bookkeeping): associate payments and MSP and insurer reconciliations. - Daily sales, tips and delivery apps: restaurant bookkeeping in BC (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/restaurant-daily-sales-and-tips-bc): the daily reconciliation that location reporting depends on. - How much does bookkeeping cost in Coquitlam in 2026? (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/bookkeeping-cost-coquitlam-2026): where controller work sits among the local price bands. ## A good fit if - You run more than one location or company and want each one's numbers on their own - Monthly bookkeeping is already in place, or you are willing to set it up first - You are deciding on hires, leases or a new site and want numbers you trust behind the decision ## Probably not the right fit if - Raising money or selling the business is on the table, and you need a CFO or transaction adviser - You have one location, simple books, and no questions the monthly statements don't already answer - You want a finance employee on site every day --- # Bookkeeping for Realtors and Mortgage Brokers URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/industries/realtors-and-mortgage-brokers Bookkeeping for Coquitlam agents and mortgage brokers whose income comes in bursts. Each commission statement tied to its deposit, the PREC in its own books, and a tax reserve that lasts through a slow winter. ## How we think about realtors and mortgage brokers Agent income is a string of closings, and closings keep their own calendar. Coquitlam's condo and townhome market is large and moves unevenly: a tower in City Centre completes and several deals fund in the same fortnight, then a month goes by with nothing firm. The books have to make the slow month as legible as the busy one. That's why we work from the paperwork that describes the deal, not just the bank. A deposit is a net number. The brokerage's commission statement shows the gross, the split, desk and transaction fees, and the GST. We book from the statement and then tie it to what landed. Mortgage brokers have the same lumpy shape with different documents: the brokerage's compensation statements and whatever lenders report on top. Under BC's Mortgage Services Act, a broker can be paid through a personal mortgage corporation once that corporation holds its own BCFSA licence ([BCFSA's PMC page](https://www.bcfsa.ca/industry-resources/mortgage-broker-resources/registrations/how-incorporate-personal-mortgage-corporation)). If you have one, it gets a ledger of its own. ## What makes the books different - **The PREC is a separate company.** When you trade through a personal real estate corporation, the brokerage pays the corporation rather than you ([BCFSA PREC guidelines](https://www.bcfsa.ca/industry-resources/real-estate-professional-resources/knowledge-base/guidelines/personal-real-estate-corporation-guidelines)). Its account, revenue and costs stay out of your personal records, and whatever you draw is booked as salary, dividend or shareholder loan, whichever your CPA has chosen. - **Trust funds are not your ledger's business.** Deposits held in trust sit in the brokerage's account and follow [BCFSA's trust account guidelines](https://www.bcfsa.ca/industry-resources/real-estate-professional-resources/knowledge-base/guidelines/trust-accounts-guidelines). We record your commission when the brokerage releases it, and leave trust accounting to the brokerage. - **Uneven income needs a reserve.** Every close shows GST collected plus a holdback toward income tax at a percentage your CPA sets. A strong spring in Burquitlam or up on Westwood Plateau stays earmarked instead of drifting into everyday spending. - **Mortgage income follows different GST rules.** CRA treats arranging a mortgage loan as an exempt financial service in many cases ([bulletin B-105](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/b-105/changes-definition-financial-service.html)), and GST paid on costs for exempt work generally can't be claimed back. We code each income stream by type so your CPA can confirm the treatment before a return goes in. ## What a monthly close looks like for you A short, repeatable checklist, run whether the month had five closings or none: 1. You drop commission statements and receipts into a shared folder or Dext as they arrive: listing photos, staging, signage, client gifts, board dues. 2. We reconcile the PREC's chequing, credit cards and any line of credit to their statements. 3. Each commission is booked at gross, with the split and fees as separate lines, then matched to its deposit. 4. Vehicle costs are coded against your mileage log, since driving is one of the larger lines for most agents. 5. By the 10th you get a profit and loss, a balance sheet and a one-page note: deals closed, GST owing, tax reserve, and the shareholder-loan balance. GST returns go out on your filing schedule through our GST and PST filing (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/gst-pst-filing) service. The whole routine sits inside monthly bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping), and our entry on PREC bookkeeping for BC realtors (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/prec-bookkeeping-for-bc-realtors) walks through the set-up in more detail. ## Tools we commonly use for realtor and mortgage broker clients - **QuickBooks Online or Xero**, with a separate file for each entity: the PREC, a HoldCo if there is one, and personal rentals if we keep those too. - **Dext** for receipts, so a parking stub from a showing is captured the same day. - **A commission register**, a simple spreadsheet listing each deal's address, closing date, gross, split and net. It makes year-end and any CRA question quick to answer. - **Plooto** for paying suppliers and **Wagepoint** if the corporation pays you a salary or employs an assistant. All subscriptions stay in your name. ## Partners we work with We don't name firms. We coordinate with: - CPA firms that prepare year-end statements and returns for PRECs and incorporated mortgage brokers - Real estate lawyers and notaries, when a closing or a personal purchase needs paperwork from the books - Brokerage office managers and their accounting staff, when a commission statement needs correcting Your CPA makes the tax calls. We make sure they arrive at a reconciled file with the source documents attached, through our year-end preparation (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/year-end-preparation) work. ## A good fit if - You hold a BC real estate or mortgage licence and earn through a PREC or a personal mortgage corporation, or plan to - Most of your year arrives in a few heavy months and you want to see what is truly spendable - You'd like one bookkeeper who reads brokerage statements fluently and answers by the next business day --- # Bookkeeping for Real Estate Investors URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/industries/real-estate-investors Bookkeeping for Coquitlam investors with rental condos and presale contracts along the Evergreen Line. Every unit on its own line, every deposit documented, and dates your CPA can rely on. ## How we think about real estate investors Coquitlam has grown upward. The City's development activity snapshots show applications clustered in the Burquitlam-Lougheed neighbourhood and City Centre, the two areas the Evergreen Line runs through, and the result is a skyline of new strata towers near Burquitlam and Lafarge Lake–Douglas stations. Many investors here hold a completed condo or two that are rented out, plus a presale in a building that won't finish for a while. That combination shapes the books. Rented units produce income and costs every month. Presale contracts produce nothing for years except deposits, documents and dates, and those dates can matter a great deal later. Our job is the records, not the tax answer. Whether a sale or an assignment is income, a capital gain or something else is for your CPA. We make sure every number and date they'll need is already in the file when they ask. ## What makes the books different - **Each unit has its own line.** Rent, strata fees, special levies, property tax, insurance, mortgage interest and repairs are coded to the unit they belong to. Owners who hold rentals personally report them on the [T776 Statement of Real Estate Rentals](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/t776.html), and a per-unit ledger turns that form into copy work. - **Presale deposits are assets with a paper trail.** Each deposit is booked to the entity that signed the contract, with the purchase agreement, receipts, amendments and the expected completion date attached. Nothing is expensed and nothing gets lost in a personal account. - **Short holds are tracked to the day.** BC's home flipping tax, in force since January 1, 2025, looks at whether a property, including a presale contract or an assignment, was held for less than 730 days ([gov.bc.ca](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/income-taxes/bc-home-flipping-tax)). We don't decide whether it applies. We keep acquisition dates, assignment dates and amounts in one place so the CPA can. - **Repairs and improvements are flagged, not guessed.** CRA treats work that extends a property's life or improves it beyond its original condition as usually capital ([current or capital expenses](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/rental-income/current-expenses-capital-expenses.html)). Larger invoices get a note for the CPA rather than a quiet expense entry. ## What a monthly close looks like for you 1. Rent deposits are matched to the lease, or to the owner statement if a property manager collects for you. 2. Strata fees, levies and property tax are posted to each unit, and each mortgage payment is split between principal and interest from the lender's statement. 3. Balances between you, your spouse and any holding company are reconciled, so a HoldCo that paid a personal unit's strata fee shows it as owing. 4. The presale register is reviewed: deposits paid to date, the next deposit due, and any completion window coming up in the next few months. 5. By the 10th you see a one-page summary by unit (income, costs, cash after mortgage) alongside the company statements. Coquitlam is also a taxable area for BC's [speculation and vacancy tax](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/speculation-vacancy-tax/how-tax-works/taxable-areas), which comes with an annual owner declaration. Tenancy agreements and rent records already sit in the file, which makes that declaration easier to support. More on the monthly side is in our guide to rental property bookkeeping in Coquitlam (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/rental-property-bookkeeping-coquitlam), and on presales in the records BC investors need for presales and assignments (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/presale-assignment-records-bc). ## Tools we commonly use for real estate investor clients - **QuickBooks Online** (a class for each unit) or **Xero** (a tracking category for each unit), with a separate file for each company. - **A presale register**: contract date, deposit schedule, amounts paid, expected completion, and assignment status if one is under way. - **Dext** for strata notices, trade invoices and insurance renewals. - **Owner statements** from property managers, reconciled as a whole rather than re-keyed line by line. If the books are a year or two behind, we start with catch-up bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/catch-up) and bring each unit current before monthly work begins. ## Partners we work with Always by type, never by name: - CPA firms that handle rental income, real estate dispositions and GST on new housing - Real estate lawyers and notaries who manage completions and assignment agreements - Mortgage brokers arranging financing at completion - Property managers who send monthly owner statements At year-end we hand the CPA a closed file through year-end preparation (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/year-end-preparation) and answer their questions directly. ## A good fit if - You own rental condos or townhomes in the Tri-Cities, personally, jointly or through a company - You hold one or more presale contracts, or have assigned one and need the records in order - You want to see each unit's result every month and give your CPA dates they don't have to reconstruct --- # Bookkeeping for Medical and Dental Clinics URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/industries/medical-and-dental-clinics Bookkeeping for Coquitlam clinics, from Coquitlam Centre to Austin Heights and Burquitlam. Every MSP remittance and insurer deposit matched, associate payments that tie to the production report, and clean books for each professional corporation. ## How we think about medical and dental clinics A clinic usually runs two kinds of economics under one roof. There's the practice itself, which holds the lease, the staff and the equipment. Then there are the professionals who see patients there, often through corporations of their own, and who are paid a share of what they bill or collect. Coquitlam's clinics tend to cluster where people already go: around Coquitlam Centre and the City Centre towers, along Austin Avenue in Austin Heights, and in the newer buildings near Burquitlam station. Family practices, dental offices, physiotherapy and allied health often share a building, sometimes a front desk. The money arrives from several directions at once: the provincial plan, private insurers, federal programs and patients at the counter. Our job is to make each stream add up on its own, then show the owner what the clinic actually earned. ## What makes the books different - **Each payer has its own reconciliation.** MSP pays physicians twice a month, with remittance details available through Teleplan ([gov.bc.ca payment schedule](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/practitioner-professional-resources/msp/claim-submission-payment/designated-holidays-and-close-off-dates)). Dental offices that see Canadian Dental Care Plan patients bill Sun Life directly ([canada.ca CDCP provider information](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/dental/dental-care-plan/providers.html)). We match every deposit to its remittance or explanation of benefits, and keep a running list of refused or adjusted claims so nothing is written off by accident. - **Associate pay is checked against production.** Associates are typically paid a percentage of what they produce or collect, less whatever their agreement deducts. We tie each payment to the practice-management report and the agreement terms, so a mis-keyed percentage is caught in the month it happens. - **Most patient revenue is GST-exempt, and that cuts both ways.** CRA lists most health, medical and dental services provided by licensed physicians or dentists for medical reasons as exempt, and GST paid on costs for exempt supplies generally can't be recovered ([CRA, type of supply](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/gst-hst-businesses/charge-collect-type-supply.html)). Procedures done for cosmetic rather than medical or reconstructive purposes fall outside the exemption ([CRA P-256](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/p-256/qualifying-health-care-supplies-application-gst-hst-supplies-medical-examinations-assessments-reports-certificates.html)). Revenue is coded by type so your CPA can confirm which is which. - **Professional corporations get their own books.** Physicians and dentists in BC can practise through a health profession corporation that holds a permit from their college ([CPSBC](https://www.cpsbc.ca/registrants/current-registrants/pmc)). Fees between that corporation and the clinic company are recorded on both sides and reconciled every month. ## What a monthly close looks like for you 1. MSP remittances, insurer deposits and card batches are matched to the day-end and remittance reports from your practice-management or EMR system. 2. Refused and adjusted claims are listed with their explanatory codes for the front desk to follow up. 3. Associate payments are recalculated from the production or collections report and compared with what was paid. 4. Payroll for hygienists, assistants, MOAs and reception runs through our payroll management (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/payroll-management) service, with source deductions remitted on time. 5. By the 10th you receive the clinic's statements, results by provider, and a separate set for each professional corporation we look after. For more detail, read our notes on bookkeeping for Tri-Cities dental and medical clinics (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/dental-and-medical-clinic-bookkeeping). The routine itself sits within monthly bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping). ## Tools we commonly use for clinic clients - **QuickBooks Online or Xero**, with a class or tracking category for each provider, and a separate file for each corporation. - **Reports from your practice-management or EMR system**: day sheets, production by provider, and accounts receivable by payer. We reconcile to them rather than re-entering patient-level detail, and we never need clinical records. - **Dext** for supplier and lab invoices, and **Plooto** for approving and paying them. - **Wagepoint** for payroll, including vacation pay and statutory holiday pay. ## Partners we work with We name partners by type only: - CPA firms that prepare year-end work for health profession corporations and clinic companies - Practice-management consultants who advise on fee schedules, scheduling and staffing - Lawyers who draft associate and cost-sharing agreements - Equipment lenders and leasing companies, when financing statements need reconciling When a clinic opens a second site or the owner wants budgets and provider-level margins, our fractional controller (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/fractional-controller) service takes over the reporting layer. ## A good fit if - You own or manage a medical, dental, physio or allied health clinic in Coquitlam or nearby - You pay associates from production or collections and want those payments to tie out each month - You practise through your own professional corporation and want its books kept apart from the clinic's --- # Bookkeeping for Restaurants and Hospitality URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/industries/restaurants-and-hospitality Bookkeeping for Coquitlam restaurants, cafés and bakeries, from North Road to City Centre and Austin Heights. Each day's sales tied to the bank, delivery payouts split into their parts, and tips handled the way CRA and BC expect. ## How we think about restaurants and hospitality A restaurant closes its till every night, so the books should be built from days, not months. Thirty small reconciliations are easier to trust than one large one, and a short day stands out while staff still remember the shift. Coquitlam's food scene spans several distinct pockets. North Road, on the Burnaby border near Lougheed station, is lined with Korean restaurants, bakeries and cafés. City Centre has family dining and quick-service spots around Coquitlam Centre and the new towers, and Austin Heights has neighbourhood restaurants along Austin Avenue. The operators differ, the books look much the same: card batches, some cash, several delivery apps, and a payroll with tips in it. We aim for books that let you read your prime cost (food, drink and labour against sales) every month without having to piece it together yourself. ## What makes the books different - **Daily sales tie to daily deposits.** The POS end-of-day report is matched to the card processor's batch and to cash deposited. Variances get a note while the shift is still fresh. - **Delivery-app payouts are split into their parts.** A payout from a delivery platform nets together order value, the platform's commission, promotions you funded, refunds and adjustments. We book sales at gross and fees as an expense, matched payout by payout, so your true margin on delivery orders is visible. - **Tips go through payroll on the right footing.** CRA separates controlled tips, which the employer holds or allocates and which carry income tax, CPP and EI deductions, from direct tips that pass straight to staff and carry none ([CRA, tips received by employees](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/calculating-deductions/determining-tax-treatment/tips.html)). Under BC rules an employer can't keep staff tips except through a tip pool or where the law requires, and can share in a pool only when doing similar work to the staff who earned it ([BC tips and gratuities](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards/wages/tips-gratuities)). We set up payroll to match how your house actually handles tips. - **PST depends on what's on the plate.** In BC, food for human consumption is exempt from PST, while liquor carries 10% PST and soft drinks are taxable ([gov.bc.ca, food and beverage service providers](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst/publications/food-beverage-service-providers-retail-liquor-sellers)). Your POS categories need to keep those apart so the return is built from sales data, not estimates. ## What a monthly close looks like for you 1. Each day's sales report is posted, split by category, payment type, tips and tax. 2. Card batches, cash deposits and delivery payouts are matched to the bank. 3. Supplier invoices for food, beverage and packaging are captured and coded, with credits for returns tracked until they land. 4. Payroll runs on your cycle through our payroll management (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/payroll-management) service, with controlled tips included in pay and on the T4. 5. By the 10th you have statements, prime cost as a percentage of sales, and a short note on anything unusual: a jump in delivery fees, a supplier price change, a cash shortfall. GST and PST returns are filed on schedule through GST and PST filing (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/gst-pst-filing). For the day-to-day mechanics, see daily sales, tips and delivery apps in BC (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/restaurant-daily-sales-and-tips-bc). ## Tools we commonly use for restaurant clients - **QuickBooks Online or Xero**, connected to your POS where an integration exists, or fed by a daily summary entry where it doesn't. - **Your POS reports** (Square, Lightspeed, TouchBistro or whatever you run) for sales by category and tip totals. - **Delivery-platform payout reports** from Uber Eats, DoorDash and others, downloaded each period. - **Dext** for supplier invoices, **Plooto** for paying them, and **Wagepoint** for payroll with tip lines. Multi-location groups often add a fractional controller (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/fractional-controller) for budgets and per-site results. ## Partners we work with By type, not by name: - CPA firms that prepare year-end work for restaurant companies - POS resellers and integrators, when sales data needs remapping - Commercial lease lawyers, for percentage-rent or renewal questions that touch the books - Employment standards and HR advisors, when a tip-pool policy or schedule needs review ## A good fit if - You operate a restaurant, café or bakery in Coquitlam or the Tri-Cities, at one location or several - Card, cash and delivery-app money land in different places and you want one daily number you can trust - Tips run through your payroll and you want the records to line up with CRA and BC requirements --- # Bookkeeping for Construction and Renovation URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/industries/construction-and-trades Bookkeeping for Coquitlam builders and renovators, from new houses on Burke Mountain to kitchen and basement jobs in Maillardville. Every cost lands on a job, every holdback gets its own line, and subtrade totals are ready before the T5018 is. ## How we think about construction and renovation Treat each job as a small business of its own. It has a price, a budget, a crew, a supplier list and a finish date. Your ledger should be able to report on one job at a time. If it only reports on the company as a whole, a strong quarter of new-build draws can hide a renovation that has lost money since the drywall came down. Coquitlam hands contractors two very different kinds of work: - **New builds up the hill.** Burke Mountain is still filling in with detached houses and townhomes. That means long contracts, progress draws and a chain of subtrades waiting on each stage. - **Renovations below it.** Across Westwood Plateau and Maillardville, with its older housing stock, the work is mostly opening up existing homes. Scopes change mid-job and change orders come in by text. Plenty of firms do both. So the books have to carry a year-long build and a three-week bathroom side by side, without squeezing either one into the other's shape. ## What makes the books different - **Costs coded as they arrive.** Supplier bills, crew hours and subtrade invoices get a job number when they're entered, not in a year-end scramble. That's how a renovation's change orders show up against its original estimate while you can still price the next one properly. - **Holdbacks on both sides of the ledger.** BC's [Builders Lien Act](https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/97045_01) requires the payer to retain a 10% holdback. On a Burke Mountain build you usually sit in the middle: the owner holds back from you, and you hold back from your trades. We keep a receivable and a payable for each job and note when the holdback period should end. Under the Act, that's generally 55 days after a certificate of completion is issued or the work is completed or abandoned. - **Subtrade totals for the T5018.** When construction is more than half of what your business does to earn income, the CRA expects a T5018 slip for every subcontractor paid more than $500 in the year, before GST/HST. We keep a running total per subcontractor from the first cheque, so slip season is a report, not a hunt. - **PST is part of the material cost.** Under BC's rules for real property contractors, you generally pay PST on taxable materials you buy to fulfil a contract, such as the lumber and drywall that become part of the house. That tax belongs in the job cost. A bill coded with the wrong tax treatment skews the job report and the PST return (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/gst-pst-filing) together. ## What a monthly close looks like for you Your part is three things: the month's draw requests, any signed change orders, and the subtrade invoices still sitting in the truck. Then we: 1. Reconcile the bank, credit cards and your trade accounts at the lumber yard and wholesalers 2. Code every bill and timesheet to a job, and keep true overhead in overhead 3. Record each draw against its contract and split the holdback out on both sides 4. Spread payroll (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/payroll-management) costs across jobs by the hours the crew logged 5. Update each subcontractor's running total for the T5018 By the 10th, a job report lands in your inbox with contract value, billed to date, cost to date, held back and left to bill for every open project, alongside the usual statements and a short note on anything that moved. Our guide for Coquitlam owner-operators (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide) explains the wider monthly rhythm. ## Tools we commonly use for construction clients - **Ledger:** QuickBooks Online (Projects plus classes) or Xero (tracking categories) - **Receipts:** Dext, so a bill can be photographed on site the day it's handed over - **Time:** whatever crew app your team will actually open, with hours tagged by job - **Estimating:** your existing estimating or scheduling software stays put; we map its job numbers and budgets into the ledger ## Partners we work with We don't name firms on this page. These are the kinds of people we work alongside, and we're happy to suggest where to start: - **CPA firms with construction clients**, for jobs that straddle your year-end and for the corporate return - **Construction lawyers**, for lien claims and contract disputes; we keep the records they ask for in order - **Insurance and bonding brokers**, who often want current statements before renewing a policy or a bond - **Lenders**, when a spec build or new equipment needs financing ## A good fit if - You build on Burke Mountain, renovate across Coquitlam, or both, with several jobs open at once - You pay trades by draw and want holdbacks and T5018 totals handled as the year goes, not at the end - You want each job's margin every month, while there's still time to act on it --- # Bookkeeping for Professional Services URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/industries/professional-services Bookkeeping for Coquitlam's small professional firms, from City Centre offices to practices in Austin Heights. Retainers treated as owed until they're earned, time and costs tied to each file, and a monthly report that shows which engagements pay. ## How we think about professional services Firms like these sell hours and judgement. Their stock on hand is time that hasn't been billed yet, and their quietest leak is work that never makes it onto an invoice. So the ledger has to show more than money in and money out. It needs retainers received but not yet earned, work in progress, and the margin on each engagement once staff time and outside costs are counted. In Coquitlam these firms tend to be small and close to their clients. Picture a family-law or notary practice near City Centre, a design studio or engineering consultant in Austin Heights, or a two-partner advisory firm with a modest office. Most of their clients are Tri-Cities households and owner-operators, which means many small files rather than a handful of large ones. Lots of engagements, modest balances and a steady flow of new retainers: that's the pattern our setup is designed for. ## What makes the books different - **Retainers are a liability until earned.** Money paid before the work is done is still owed to the client. We hold it in a liability account and move it into revenue as you bill against it. A heavy intake month then reads as what it is, not as a record month for sales. - **Every engagement has a code.** Staff time, subconsultants and disbursements post against the file they belong to. You can see what a fixed-fee job cost you, and which kinds of work run over their quotes. - **PST on legal services.** Legal services provided in BC are subject to PST under Bulletin PST 106, so law and notary practices register for PST and charge it on taxable fees. We set up the tax codes and invoice templates so it's charged correctly and the PST return (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/gst-pst-filing) matches the ledger. - **Trust money stays in its own system.** For law and notary firms, the trust account belongs in dedicated trust-accounting software. We keep the general ledger and record fee transfers from trust to the operating account when bills go out; we don't run the trust ledger itself. ## What a monthly close looks like for you A typical month, start to finish: 1. Reconcile the operating account, credit cards and payment processor 2. Match retainer drawdowns to the invoices issued, and roll the unearned balance forward 3. Compare hours recorded with hours billed, and list unbilled time by engagement 4. Post subconsultant fees and disbursements to the right file 5. Reconcile payroll (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/payroll-management) and contractor payments to their source reports By the 10th you receive a profit and loss, balance sheet, engagement margin report and aged receivables, with a short note on anything that changed. It's the same monthly bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping) process every client gets, tuned to how a firm bills. For a wider look at the rhythm, see our guide for Coquitlam owner-operators (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide). ## Tools we commonly use for professional services clients - **Ledger:** QuickBooks Online or Xero - **Practice management:** Clio for law practices; Harvest or a similar tool for time and project billing at design and consulting firms - **Bills and receipts:** Dext for capture, Plooto for approving and paying suppliers - **Payroll:** Wagepoint, connected to the ledger We connect these once at setup, then check the sync each month instead of re-keying anything. ## Partners we work with Listed by type; we don't name firms here: - **CPA firms**, for the corporate year-end and for incorporated professionals' personal returns. Our year-end preparation (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/year-end-preparation) hands them reconciled books and a tidy file. - **Lawyers and notaries**, for the firm's own corporate records and partnership or shareholder agreements - **Insurance brokers**, for professional liability and office coverage - **Lenders**, when a firm finances an office fit-out or a partner buy-in ## A good fit if - Your fees come in by retainer, fixed fee or the hour, and you want the books to keep those apart - Your firm is small enough that a partner still signs off on the bills, and busy enough that a partner shouldn't be doing the bookkeeping - You want margin by engagement every month and may later want fractional controller (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/fractional-controller) support for budgets and pricing --- # Bookkeeping for E-Commerce and Home-Based Businesses URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/industries/e-commerce-and-home-based Bookkeeping for Coquitlam's online sellers and home-based businesses, run from spare rooms and garages across the Tri-Cities. Every Shopify and Amazon payout split into sales, fees and refunds, and a running sales total that shows the GST threshold coming. ## How we think about e-commerce and home-based businesses A payout isn't a sale. By the time Shopify or Amazon sends money to your bank, it has already been netted: gross sales, less platform and payment fees, less refunds, sometimes less ad spend or a held reserve. Book the deposit as revenue and three things go wrong together. Sales are understated, fees vanish from the profit and loss, and the tax return starts from the wrong number. Much of the Tri-Cities' small-business activity happens in its suburban neighbourhoods rather than its shopping centres: a print shop in a Burke Mountain basement, boxes of stock in a Ranch Park garage, a handmade line packed at a kitchen table in Port Coquitlam. These businesses tend to grow quietly. The growth often goes unnoticed until a tax threshold has already been crossed. We set up the books so the next threshold is visible months ahead. If you're just starting out, our Coquitlam bookkeeping guide (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide) covers the basics. ## What makes the books different - **Settlements broken into their parts.** Each payout is split into gross sales, tax collected, marketplace and card fees, refunds, chargebacks and holds, then matched to the actual deposit. Shopify Payments, Amazon, Etsy and PayPal each report on their own timing, so every channel gets its own clearing account. - **The $30,000 line, checked monthly.** Under the CRA's small-supplier rule, you have to register for GST once your taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or across four consecutive quarters. Go over in a single quarter and GST applies from the very sale that took you past the line. We keep a rolling four-quarter total so registration is planned. Our note on when a home-based business needs to register for GST (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/gst-registration-home-based-business-bc) walks through the timing. - **PST depends on the channel.** Under BC's Bulletin PST 142, when you sell through an online marketplace facilitator, the facilitator generally collects the PST on those sales, not you. Sales through your own Shopify site are a separate question and may need your own PST registration. Separately, BC's small-seller rule (Bulletin PST 003) can exempt a home-based seller from registering. Among other conditions, retail sales must be $10,000 or less over the past 12 months and expected to stay there over the next 12. - **Stock is an asset until it ships.** Inventory sitting in a garage or at a fulfilment centre belongs on the balance sheet. We bring purchases and inbound freight into inventory, record cost of goods sold as orders go out, and reconcile to a count at least once a year. ## What a monthly close looks like for you Every month, on our side: - Pull the settlement report from every channel and tie it to the bank deposits - Post sales, fees, refunds and chargebacks to separate accounts instead of a single net figure - Reconcile the bank, credit cards and PayPal - Update inventory and cost of goods sold from supplier invoices and the platform's order data - Roll the four-quarter sales total forward and flag it if $30,000 is within reach - File home-office records (utilities, internet, the share of the house used for work) in a folder for your CPA, who decides what's claimable By the 10th you get a profit and loss by channel, a balance sheet and a short note. That's our monthly bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/monthly-bookkeeping) routine, and once you're registered, GST and PST returns (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/gst-pst-filing) come straight off the same ledger. If you've sold for a year or two without proper books, catch-up bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/catch-up) comes first. ## Tools we commonly use for e-commerce clients - **Ledger:** QuickBooks Online or Xero - **Settlements:** A2X or Synder, which turn each Shopify or Amazon payout into a summarised journal entry - **Receipts:** Dext for supplier bills, shipping labels and packaging orders - **Inventory:** Shopify's own stock counts to begin with, and a dedicated inventory app once your SKUs multiply ## Partners we work with We refer by type, never by firm name: - **CPA firms** comfortable with sole proprietors and small corporations, including the question of whether and when to incorporate - **Customs brokers**, when stock comes in from overseas and duties need to land in the right account - **Insurance brokers**, for stock held at home and product liability cover ## A good fit if - You sell through Shopify, Amazon, Etsy or a mix, from home or a small unit in the Tri-Cities - Your sales are heading toward the GST threshold, or you've passed it and need the records sorted - You want margin after fees and shipping, channel by channel, rather than one blended number --- # Bookkeeping for Owner-Operator Holdings URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/industries/owner-operator-holdings Bookkeeping for Coquitlam owner-operators who run a business through one company and hold rental condos in another, often in the towers along the Evergreen Line. Each company closed monthly, every transfer between them recorded on both sides, and one clear view across the two. ## How we think about holding companies Two companies, one owner, one set of decisions. Say the operating company sends $20,000 to the holding company, and the HoldCo uses it for a strata special levy. Both ledgers have to record that transfer with the same date, the same amount and the same label. When they don't, the gap sits in an intercompany account until year-end, and your CPA bills hours to untangle it. The structure fits a city that keeps building condo towers around City Centre and Burquitlam along the Evergreen Line. The operating company might be a clinic, a renovation firm or a consulting practice. It earns the income. A separate holding company owns one or more rental units and the cash set aside for the next purchase. The bookkeeping job is to keep both sets of books honest about each other. ## What makes the books different - **Intercompany entries on both sides.** Every movement between OpCo and HoldCo is recorded in both ledgers with matching details and a clear label: loan, dividend, management fee or rent. Each month we confirm the two balances mirror each other exactly. - **Each condo tracked as its own unit.** Rent, strata fees, property tax, insurance, mortgage interest and repairs are coded by suite, so you can see which unit carries itself. Repairs that might be improvements are flagged for the CPA rather than guessed at. Our post on rental property bookkeeping for Coquitlam condo owners (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/rental-property-bookkeeping-coquitlam) covers the unit-level records in more depth. - **The shareholder account kept current.** Money you put in or take out, and any personal costs paid by either company, posts to your shareholder loan account as it happens instead of being rebuilt in March. How and when that balance gets settled is a decision for you and your CPA. - **Dividends documented as they're paid.** When a company pays you a dividend, we record the declaration and the payment and keep the figures your CPA needs for the T5 slip. T5 returns are due by the last day of February after the calendar year the dividend was paid. ## What a monthly close looks like for you Per company, then across both: 1. Reconcile each company's bank accounts, credit cards and mortgage statements on its own 2. Post rent by unit, and match it to the property manager's statement where there is one 3. Record intercompany transfers in both ledgers and confirm the balances mirror each other 4. Bring the shareholder loan account up to date 5. Prepare a one-page summary: cash in each company, what each owes the other, and rental results by unit By the 10th you get both sets of statements plus that summary. When a third company or a second property portfolio enters the picture, fractional controller (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/fractional-controller) support adds cash planning across the group. Before year-end, our checklist for Tri-Cities owner-operators (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/year-end-checklist-tri-cities-owner-operators) lists what each entity needs ready. ## Tools we commonly use for holding company clients - **Ledger:** one QuickBooks Online or Xero file per company, never a combined one - **Receipts:** Dext, with each bill routed to the entity that owes it - **Rental statements:** the monthly reports from your property manager's portal, filed by unit - **Intercompany schedule:** a simple shared workbook listing every transfer, checked against both ledgers each month ## Partners we work with By type only; ask and we'll point you to a starting place: - **CPA firms**, for each company's corporate return and for decisions about structure, dividends and the shareholder account - **Real estate lawyers and notaries**, for condo purchases in the HoldCo's name and its corporate records - **Lenders and mortgage brokers**, who will ask for statements from both companies when financing a unit held in a corporation - **Insurance brokers**, for rental condo and landlord policies ## A good fit if - You own an operating business and a separate company holding one or more rental condos - Money moves between the companies regularly, and you want each transfer recorded once, correctly, in both places - You want your CPA to receive reconciled books for every entity at year-end, through our year-end preparation (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/services/year-end-preparation) --- # Journal URL: https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal - A year-end checklist for Tri-Cities owner-operators (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/year-end-checklist-tri-cities-owner-operators): An eight-week year-end run-up for a Tri-Cities BC corporation, the CRA dates that follow it, and extra lines for PRECs and rental HoldCos. - Daily sales, tips and delivery apps: restaurant bookkeeping in BC (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/restaurant-daily-sales-and-tips-bc): For Coquitlam restaurants and cafés: reconcile each day of sales, run tips through payroll the BC and CRA way, and book delivery-app payouts at gross. - Rental property bookkeeping for Coquitlam condo owners (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/rental-property-bookkeeping-coquitlam): Monthly records for a Coquitlam rental condo: rent, strata fees, repairs versus improvements, the T776 at tax time, and the annual SVT declaration. - Presales and assignments: the records BC investors need to keep (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/presale-assignment-records-bc): The paper trail a Coquitlam presale needs, from first deposit to assignment or completion. GST, flipping tax and PTT rules cited; your CPA applies them. - Bookkeeping for a personal real estate corporation (PREC) in BC (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/prec-bookkeeping-for-bc-realtors): How Coquitlam agents set up PREC books, close them each month, and hand the CPA a clean year-end file. What BC rules allow, and what the ledger must show. - When does a home-based or online business in BC need to register for GST? (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/gst-registration-home-based-business-bc): The $30,000 GST test, voluntary registration and BC PST for Tri-Cities home-based and online sellers, with worked examples for Etsy and Shopify shops. - Bookkeeping for Tri-Cities dental and medical clinics (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/dental-and-medical-clinic-bookkeeping): How Coquitlam and Tri-Cities clinics reconcile MSP and insurer payments, tie associate pay to production, and code GST-exempt health revenue. - The Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/coquitlam-small-business-bookkeeping-guide): How Coquitlam owner-operators run the monthly close, GST and PST, payroll and year-end, worked through for an agent, a clinic and a restaurant. - How much does bookkeeping cost in Coquitlam in 2026? (https://coquitlambookkeeping.ca/journal/bookkeeping-cost-coquitlam-2026): What Coquitlam owner-operators pay for bookkeeping in 2026, what pushes the fee up or down, and what cheap books end up costing at year-end.