Bestax Accountants Shares Insights on Choosing the Best Accountants for Small Businesses
The best accountants for a small business track every CRA deadline, from T4 slips due on the last day of February to the T2 return due six months after year end. Bestax Accountants is sharing what an accountant does for you, what you must get right in year one and how to choose the right firm.
A wrong choice costs you quickly. Missed deadlines bring CRA penalties and daily interest. Weak records slow down loans and reviews. Poor planning means you pay more tax than you need to.
What a Good Accountant Does for You
Your accountant has three jobs: keep your numbers right, keep you compliant and help you keep more of what you earn.
1. Keeps Your Books Accurate
Your accountant records every sale and expense each month. They reconcile your bank and credit card accounts. You get reports that show your cash, profit and tax owing.
Accurate books make every other task easier. Your tax returns, loan applications and CRA reviews all start from them.
2. Keeps You Compliant
Your accountant registers the accounts you need and files every return on time. That includes GST/HST returns, payroll remittances, T4 slips and your T1 or T2 return.
Your accountant also tracks your deadlines. You get a reminder before each date, not a penalty after it.
3. Plans Ahead and Speaks to the CRA for You
A good accountant helps you plan before year end. You decide how to pay yourself, when to buy equipment and how to use the small business deduction.
The small business deduction lowers the federal rate to 9% on the first $500,000 of active business income for eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations.
When the CRA writes to you, your accountant answers for you. You see every letter, and you know what happens next.
How to Choose the Right Accountant
Ask three questions before you sign.
1. Do You Work With Businesses Like Mine?
A sole proprietor, a partnership and a corporation each follow different rules. Ask how many clients the firm serves with your structure and in your industry.
A contractor faces different GST/HST and payroll questions than an online store. An accountant who knows your sector spots common deductions and risks faster.
2. Who Will Do My Work, and How Will You Deal With the CRA?
Ask who prepares your books, who reviews your returns and who answers your calls. You want one named contact who knows your file.
Your accountant needs your authorization to speak to the CRA. You grant it through the CRA’s Represent a Client service, or with Form AUT-01 for a business. Ask how the firm will tell you about every CRA letter.
3. What Will It Cost, and How Will You Track My Deadlines?
Ask for a fixed fee and a written scope before work starts. Check what costs extra, such as catch-up bookkeeping or a CRA review.
Ask for a written calendar of your deadlines:
| Filing | Deadline |
| T2 corporate return | Six months after your year end |
| T2 balance owing | Two months after year end, or three months for many Canadian-controlled private corporations |
| T1 return, self-employed | June 15 to file; April 30 to pay |
| T4 slips and summary | Last day of February |
| Payroll remittances (regular remitters) | The 15th of the following month |
What Your Business Must Get Right in Year One
You carry the same legal duties as an established firm from day one. Your accountant sets these up before your first sale.
1. Register Correctly
| Registration | When you need it | If you miss it |
| Business name (Ontario) | Before you trade under any name other than your own | Fines under Ontario’s Business Names Act, and you cannot sue in that name until registered |
| Incorporation (if you choose a corporation) | Before you operate as a company | You trade as a sole proprietor and carry the debts personally |
| Business Number (BN) from the CRA | Before you open any CRA program account | You cannot register for GST/HST, payroll or import accounts |
| GST/HST account | Once taxable sales pass $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters | You owe the GST/HST you should have collected, from your own pocket |
| Payroll account | Before your first payday | Late or missed source deductions and remittance penalties |
| WSIB (most Ontario employers) | Within 10 days of hiring your first worker | WSIB premiums owed back to the hire date, plus penalties |
2. File and Pay on Time, Even With No Profit
Your corporation must file a T2 return every year, even with no income. In Ontario, you must also file an annual return with the Ontario Business Registry.
| Obligation | Penalty for missing it |
| T2 corporate return | 5% of unpaid tax plus 1% a month, up to 12 months. Repeat failures: 10% plus 2% a month, up to 20 months |
| GST/HST return | 1% of the amount owing plus 0.25% a month, up to 12 months |
| Payroll remittance | 3% to 10% of the amount, depending on how late it is |
| T4 slips | $100 to $7,500, depending on the number of slips |
| Ontario annual return | The province can dissolve your corporation |
The CRA also charges daily compound interest on every unpaid balance.
3. Keep Records and Separate Your Money
You must keep business records for six years after the end of the tax year they relate to. Open a separate business bank account from day one. Mixed spending makes your deductions hard to prove.
As a director, you can be personally liable for unremitted payroll deductions and GST/HST. The CRA can collect those amounts from your own assets.
What Happens If You Ignore These Rules
The cost rises the longer you leave a problem:
| Level | What happens |
| Minor | Late-filing penalties and daily interest on unpaid balances |
| Serious | Repeat-failure penalties, reassessments, and denied expenses or input tax credits you cannot support with records |
| Business-threatening | Dissolution of your corporation, frozen accounts, or garnished income through CRA collections |
| Personal | Director liability for unremitted payroll deductions and GST/HST |
| Criminal | Prosecution for failing to keep records or file returns. Tax evasion carries fines of 50% to 200% of the tax evaded and up to five years in prison |
Signs It Is Time to Change Accountants
You do not need to wait for a problem. Watch for three signs.
1. You Keep Getting CRA Penalties or Notices
Repeated penalties and CRA letters point to weak deadline control. A late T2 return, for example, costs 5% of the unpaid tax plus 1% for each full month, up to 12 months.
2. You Only Hear From Your Accountant at Year End
Year-end-only books leave you making decisions without current numbers. Monthly bookkeeping shows your cash flow, GST/HST owing and profit while you can still act.
3. Nobody Talks to You About Tax Planning
Your accountant should raise planning questions before year end, not after. If you only hear about tax when the bill arrives, you are missing savings.
Case Study: Fixing a First-Year Business Before the CRA Did
As told by Haseeb Hamdani, Director, Accounting and Taxation at Bestax Accountants. Client details are withheld for confidentiality.
1. The Problem
“A newly incorporated contracting business in the GTA came to us after its first CRA letter. The owner had hired a small crew but never opened a payroll account. Sales had passed $30,000 months earlier, with no GST/HST registration. Personal and business spending ran through one bank account.”
2. What We Did
“First, we registered the GST/HST and payroll accounts from the correct effective dates. Next, we separated personal and business transactions and rebuilt the books in QuickBooks. Then we filed the overdue returns and remittances, and dealt with the CRA on the owner’s behalf.”
3. The Result
“The owner’s filings are now current, and every deadline sits in a written calendar. Payroll and GST/HST now run on time each month, with a monthly report to the owner. Most first-year problems are cheap to fix early and expensive to fix late.”
Why Business Owners Choose Bestax
Bestax Accountants has served Canadian businesses for more than 10 years from its Mississauga office. More than 35 qualified professionals serve more than 1,000 clients. Bestax is a CRA EFILE service provider.
You work with Bestax in five steps:
- Free call. A 20-minute call about your business, your deadlines and any CRA letters.
- Fixed fee. A written scope and fee before any work starts.
- Handover. We take over from your previous accountant. You approve, and we file.
- Monthly support. Books, payroll and GST/HST each month, with one named accountant.
- Year-end planning. Before each year end, we review your results and your tax position.
If you want the best accountants for your business, look for one team that handles your books, returns and planning together. Bestax holds a 4.9 rating on Google and 4.6 on Trustpilot.
“Most owners come to us after a missed deadline or a surprise tax bill. The right accountant prevents both, because they talk to you all year, not only in April,” said Haseeb Hamdani, Director, Accounting and Taxation at Bestax Accountants.
About Bestax Accountants
Bestax Accountants is an accounting and tax firm for businesses and individuals in the GTA and across Canada. The firm has an office in Dubai and a presence in the USA and Panama. Its services include bookkeeping, payroll, GST/HST, personal and corporate tax, company setup and CRA audit support.
Media contact: Bestax Accountants, 1470 Hurontario St, Suite 100, Mississauga, ON L5G 3H4. Email: info@bestax.ca. Phone: +1 416-991-0900.
