Stages
Where the business is decides what needs doing.
What has to be done at each stage, and which service covers it. Every figure and deadline links to its official source.
Starting a business
Sole proprietor or corporation, the first registrations, and a set of books from day one.
The first month's decisions are the expensive ones to change later: structure, year-end date, accounting system, CRA accounts.
What has to be done
- Decide between a sole proprietorship and a corporation with your accountant and lawyer, then register the business name or incorporate through the Ontario Business Registry.Source
- Get a CRA business number and open the program accounts the business will need: GST/HST, payroll, corporation income tax, import-export.Source
- Decide whether to register for HST before the $30,000 small supplier threshold. Registration is required within 29 days of exceeding it.Source
- Choose a year-end date and set up the accounting system, a separate business bank account and a place for receipts.
- Set up a filing calendar for the year ahead so nothing is discovered late.
Services at this stage
Corporate & Compliance
Incorporation, CRA and registry filings, HST and payroll registration, WSIB and provincial sales tax.
More on Corporate & ComplianceAccounting & Bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping, a month-end close on a fixed date, and financial statements a lender will accept.
More on Accounting & BookkeepingSystems & ERP Implementation
Implementations, migrations and chart-of-accounts design for Oracle NetSuite and QuickBooks Online, with training.
More on Systems & ERPGrowing and hiring
Payroll, a monthly close, and reporting that keeps up with the business.
The first hire brings payroll and slips on fixed dates. A few hires later, the monthly close is what the business runs on.
What has to be done
- Open a payroll account before the first pay run and collect a TD1 from each employee.Source
- Remit CPP, EI and income tax deductions on the CRA's schedule for your remitter type.Source
- Issue T4 slips by the last day of February for the previous calendar year.Source
- Register with WSIB where the business is required to, and file its reconciliation.Source
- Close the books monthly on a fixed date, with a short management report, so decisions are made on current numbers.
- Check the GST/HST reporting period as sales grow; the CRA assigns it by annual taxable supplies.Source
Services at this stage
Payroll & Employer Filings
Bi-weekly or semi-monthly payroll, CRA remittances, T4s and ROEs, reconciled to the ledger.
More on PayrollAccounting & Bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping, a month-end close on a fixed date, and financial statements a lender will accept.
More on Accounting & BookkeepingBusiness Advisory
Cash flow forecasts, budgets and reporting a board or lender can act on, on a monthly retainer.
More on Business AdvisoryBorrowing or raising money
Statements a lender will accept, a cash forecast, and the reporting that follows the money.
A bank or investor asks for the same things: statements to a recognised standard, a forecast with written assumptions, and reconciled balances for whatever they lend against.
What has to be done
- Financial statements prepared under ASPE from a reconciled ledger, with a compilation engagement report where the lender asks for one.
- A thirteen-week cash flow forecast for the near term and a twelve-month projection for the plan.
- Shareholder loan, intercompany and related-party balances reconciled and documented before diligence starts.
- Covenant schedules and the quarterly reporting package the loan agreement requires, produced on the same date each period.
- Where an audit or review is required, working papers prepared so the external firm can start on day one.
Services at this stage
Business Advisory
Cash flow forecasts, budgets and reporting a board or lender can act on, on a monthly retainer.
More on Business AdvisoryCompilation Engagements
Annual or interim statements with a CSRS 4200 compilation report, prepared from a reconciled ledger.
More on Compilation EngagementsAudit & Review Engagement Support
Year-end working papers and schedules prepared so your auditor or reviewer starts on day one.
More on Audit & Review SupportAccounting & Bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping, a month-end close on a fixed date, and financial statements a lender will accept.
More on Accounting & BookkeepingSelling or winding down
Cut-off statements, a diligence file, the final returns, and the records kept afterwards.
A sale is decided on the numbers in the data room. A wind-down is decided by whether every account closes cleanly.
What has to be done
- Cut-off financial statements at the transaction date, with the schedules a buyer's accountant will ask for.
- A due diligence package: reconciled ledgers, tax filings and assessments, contracts, payroll records, and answers to the standard question list.
- Final corporate, HST and payroll returns, and the program accounts closed in the right order.
- Records kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, even after the business has closed.Source
- Tax planning for the owner on the proceeds, coordinated with your lawyer and, where relevant, your investment adviser. We do not give investment advice.
Services at this stage
Transactions & Special Situations
Diligence packages, cut-off statements and reporting through acquisitions, restructurings and wind-downs.
More on TransactionsTax Planning & Preparation
T2 corporate and T1 personal returns, HST filings, CRA letters, and an autumn planning review.
More on Tax Planning & PreparationCorporate & Compliance
Incorporation, CRA and registry filings, HST and payroll registration, WSIB and provincial sales tax.
More on Corporate & ComplianceNot sure which stage?
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