Questions, answered first.

Frequently asked questions

What does Abbotsford Bookkeeping do, and what is left to a CPA?

Abbotsford Bookkeeping handles monthly bookkeeping, payroll, GST and PST returns, year-end preparation, catch-up work and fractional controller engagements. Corporate and personal tax returns, audits and reviews, and tax planning stay with your CPA. We send them a finished year-end file and answer their questions, so the two pieces of work fit together.

What is bookkeeping, and how is it different from accounting?

Bookkeeping is recording and reconciling what happened in the business, month by month. Accounting builds on those records: reviewing them, adjusting them at year-end, advising on structure and preparing tax returns. Good accounting depends on good bookkeeping, which is why the two are usually done by different people who talk to each other.How monthly bookkeeping works

Do I need a bookkeeper if I already have a CPA?

Most owner-operators do. A CPA usually sees your books once a year; a bookkeeper keeps them right every month. Without monthly bookkeeping, the CPA spends the start of each engagement rebuilding records, at CPA rates, and you make decisions all year on numbers that are months out of date.

How much does bookkeeping cost in Abbotsford?

Our monthly fees are $500 to $750 CAD on the Steady tier, $800 to $1,200 on Considered, which adds payroll, and $1,250 to $2,000 on Bespoke for several companies or controller work. The price depends on transaction volume, the number of accounts, payroll, and whether a backlog needs clearing first. We quote after a 20-minute call.See what each tier includes

What accounting software do you use?

QuickBooks Online or Xero for the ledger, Dext for receipts and bills, Plooto for supplier payments, and Wagepoint for payroll. If your current setup works, we keep it. The subscriptions are in your name.

Do you work with businesses outside Abbotsford?

Yes. Most of our clients are in Abbotsford, and we also work with businesses in Mission, Chilliwack, Township of Langley and Maple Ridge. The records are kept in cloud software, so the work happens the same way wherever you are, and we meet by video or phone.

What is GST and PST filing?

It is reporting and paying the two sales taxes that apply in British Columbia. GST is a 5% federal tax filed with the Canada Revenue Agency; you generally must register once your taxable sales pass $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. PST is a separate 7% provincial tax filed with the BC Ministry of Finance by businesses selling taxable goods, software or services in BC. Each has its own return and schedule.GST and PST filing

What is year-end preparation?

It is the last close of your fiscal year: every balance checked and supported, adjustments made for accruals, inventory and work-in-progress, and a package prepared for your accountant. A corporation must file its T2 within six months of its year-end, so we aim to finish the books well before that.Year-end preparation

How long does it take to catch up on months of missed bookkeeping?

A few months behind can usually be folded into the first monthly closes. A year or more is a separate project, often several weeks, quoted after we see what records exist. Overdue government filings go first; the rest is rebuilt in order from the bank and card statements.Catch-up and clean-up

What is a fractional controller?

A senior finance person who works for you a few days a month instead of full-time. A controller makes sure the monthly numbers are right, builds the reports you run the business on, forecasts cash, and keeps the controls around payments in place. It suits a growing business that needs that oversight before it can justify a full-time hire.

How often will I hear from my bookkeeper?

At least once a month, when your close is done and the statements and note arrive. Questions come as one short list rather than a stream of emails. Considered and Bespoke clients also get a review call each quarter, and we answer your messages within one business day.

Which industries do you work with?

Mainly farms and agriculture, agri-food processing, trucking and logistics, aerospace and manufacturing suppliers, construction and trades, real estate investors, professional and medical practices, and family enterprises and holdings. Those are the businesses that make up much of Abbotsford's economy, and knowing them well means fewer questions and fewer surprises.How we work with each industry

What is your onboarding process?

A 20-minute call, then a short written proposal. Once you agree, the first week covers access and setup, the second moves or tidies your data, and the last two bring the books current. Most businesses are in a settled monthly routine by the fourth month.

Who owns the data in my accounting software?

You do. The QuickBooks Online or Xero subscription is in your name, the bank feeds connect to your accounts, and every file is yours. If the engagement ends, you keep everything, and our last job is a clean close.

Is my data secure?

We keep it to the standard we would want for our own books. Documents sit in encrypted cloud storage, two-step sign-in is on for every system that holds your data, and access is limited to the people working on your file.

How do you handle our employees' personal information?

Carefully and only as far as payroll needs. We collect what is required to pay people and file their slips, keep it in the payroll system rather than in email, and follow written rules for how long it is kept and how it is disposed of. Payroll records themselves must be kept for four years under BC employment standards.

Can you work with my existing CPA?

Yes. We send your CPA the year-end package, post their adjusting entries, and answer their questions through the year. If you need an accountant, we can suggest firms in the Fraser Valley that work with farms and small businesses.

What happens if I am behind on my GST filings?

File as soon as you can, because a late GST return that shows an amount owing draws a penalty that grows each month it is overdue, for up to 12 months. We prepare the overdue returns first, from reconciled records. Where there are larger errors or omissions, the Canada Revenue Agency has a Voluntary Disclosures Program; whether to use it is a question for your CPA.

Do you work with farms that hold quota?

Yes. On the bookkeeping side we record quota as a long-term asset at its cost, keep the purchase agreements and marketing board records on file, track the financing separately from operating debt, and make sure the books match the board statements. The Canada Revenue Agency names milk and egg quotas as examples of property in capital cost allowance Class 14.1; how that is claimed is your CPA’s decision, and we give them clean figures to work from.Bookkeeping for farms and agriculture

Do you work with owner-operator truck drivers?

Yes. Each month we record settlements or invoices, fuel by card and by jurisdiction, repairs, tolls, and loan or lease payments per truck, so you can see what each unit earns. From you we need fuel card and bank statements, trip or kilometre records, and your settlement statements. If you hold an IFTA licence through the BC Ministry of Finance, quarterly returns are due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31, and our records give you the figures for them.Bookkeeping for trucking and logistics