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New Business Bookkeeping Checklist
Just started a business in Canada? Use this checklist to set your bookkeeping up the right way from day one. Every step is here, from opening a separate bank account to getting QuickBooks Online running and staying onside with the CRA.
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Start on solid footing
Set up your books before the receipts pile up
The habits you build in your first few months decide how smooth your first tax season goes. Get the foundation right now and you save yourself hours of cleanup later. We built this checklist from the setups we run for new Canadian businesses, so it covers what actually matters, in the order that makes sense. Work through it yourself, or let us handle the whole setup for you inside QuickBooks Online.
The checklist
Your new business bookkeeping checklist
1
Set up the foundation
- Open a separate business bank account so your business money never mixes with your personal money.
- Get a dedicated business credit card to run expenses through and keep a clean paper trail.
- Confirm your business structure, whether you are a sole proprietor, a partnership, or an incorporated company, since it shapes how you file.
- Decide on your fiscal year end. Most sole proprietors use December 31, while a corporation can pick a year end that suits its cash flow.
- Register for a business number (BN) with the CRA, your account key for payroll, GST, HST, and corporate tax.
- Choose whether you will bill on cash or accrual accounting and stick with it so your numbers stay consistent.
2
Set up QuickBooks Online
- Create your QuickBooks Online account and pick the plan that fits how you invoice and report.
- Build a chart of accounts that suits your business, with income and expense categories that match how you actually earn and spend.
- Connect your bank and credit card feeds so transactions flow in automatically instead of being keyed by hand.
- Set your opening balances as of your start date so the books tie out from the very first day.
- Turn on sales tax tracking for GST and HST so tax is calculated correctly on every invoice and expense.
- Set who has access and lock down user permissions before anyone else logs in.
3
Track money in and out
- Set up invoicing with your logo, payment terms, and an easy way for clients to pay you online.
- Put a digital receipt capture system in place so you snap and store every receipt the moment you spend. See our receipt and invoice storage.
- Record bills and expenses as they come in so you always know what you owe and to whom.
- Categorize transactions weekly instead of letting them stack up, so nothing gets lost or guessed at.
- Track who owes you and follow up on unpaid invoices before they turn into bad debt.
- Reconcile your bank and credit card accounts every month so your books match reality.
4
Stay compliant from day one
- Register for GST and HST once you expect to pass the $30,000 small supplier threshold over four consecutive calendar quarters, and charge tax from the sale that pushes you over.
- Track GST and HST from your first sale so the tax you collect is set aside and ready to remit, never spent by mistake.
- Set up payroll and open a payroll account with the CRA before you run your first pay run if you plan to hire. Learn about our payroll service.
- Set aside money for taxes in a separate account, a fixed percentage of every dollar you bring in, so tax time is never a surprise.
- Keep digital copies of every record, since the CRA expects you to hold onto your books and receipts for six years.
- Note your filing and remittance deadlines for GST, HST, payroll, and income tax so nothing slips past due.
Skip the setup and let us do it
We set new businesses up in QuickBooks Online every week, from the chart of accounts to bank feeds, sales tax, and receipt capture. We handle the full setup and onboarding so your books are clean and running before your first month closes. We work fully virtually with clients right across Canada.
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Help center
New business bookkeeping FAQs
You have to register once your total taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or across four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that you are a small supplier and registration is optional, though many new businesses register early so they can claim the tax back on their startup costs. The CRA explains the rules on its when to register for GST and HST page.
Yes. Keeping business and personal money apart is the single best thing you can do for clean books. It makes bank feeds accurate, saves hours at tax time, and matters even more if you are incorporated, since your company is its own legal entity. It is the first item on the checklist for a reason.
We work exclusively in QuickBooks Online and set every client up on it. It connects to your bank, tracks GST and HST automatically, handles invoicing and receipts, and gives you real time numbers from any device. When you come on board we handle the full setup and onboarding for you.
The CRA generally expects you to keep your business records and supporting receipts for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. Storing everything digitally makes this painless, which is why capturing receipts electronically is on the checklist from day one.
Yes, that is exactly what we do. We build your QuickBooks Online file, set the chart of accounts, connect your bank and credit card feeds, turn on sales tax, and get invoicing and receipt capture running. Once it is live we can keep your books each month too. Explore our bookkeeping services or browse all our resources.
No. We have four offices across the Ottawa region, and we work fully virtually with businesses throughout Canada. Everything runs online in QuickBooks Online with secure digital records, so there is nothing to drop off or pick up.
Keep them current with a simple monthly routine so nothing piles up. Our monthly bookkeeping checklist walks you through the tasks to run each month, or we can take that off your plate entirely.
Locations
Find us across the Ottawa region
Downtown Ottawa
116 Albert St, Suites 200 & 300
Ottawa, ON K1P 5G3
Kanata
1000 Innovation Dr, Suite 500
Ottawa, ON K2K 3E7
Orléans
114 Chancery Crescent
Orléans, ON K4A 4N3
Embrun
867 Notre-Dame St
Embrun, ON K0A 1W0
Open Monday to Friday, 8AM to 8PM at every location.