For most self-employed Canadian tradespeople, the realistic choice of bookkeeping software comes down to a paid cloud tool such as QuickBooks Online or Xero, a free option such as Wave, or a desktop product such as Sage 50. All of them handle Canadian GST/HST. The right pick depends on your budget, whether you have a team, and how much you want automated. Pricing on every one of these changes regularly, so treat the figures below as indicative and check the current price on the vendor's site before you subscribe.
The realistic options
- QuickBooks Online (QBO). The default many Canadian accountants and trades-management apps expect. It applies GST/HST automatically once you enter your rate and registration number, tracks input tax credits, connects to the major Canadian banks, and syncs with job-management tools such as Jobber. It is a paid subscription with tiers from a solo plan up to a multi-user advanced plan. Confirm the current Canadian price at the QuickBooks site.
- Wave. Free for invoicing and income and expense tracking, including GST/HST tracking, which makes it a strong fit for a sole proprietor on a zero software budget. The trade-off: tax has to be applied transaction by transaction, with no rule to auto-tag a whole category, and Wave charges separately for payroll and payment processing.
- Xero. Comparable to QBO, handles Canadian GST/HST, has solid bank feeds, and is popular with accountants. It runs frequent introductory discounts, so the headline price and the renewal price can differ. Confirm both before committing.
- Sage 50 Canada. A desktop-first product common in larger small businesses and those with complex inventory. Usually sold as an annual licence. Check the current Canadian pricing with Sage.
- FreshBooks. Focused on invoicing and client management, used by some Canadian solo operators. Confirm current Canadian pricing on the FreshBooks site.
Pick one before you send your first invoice. Switching software mid-year is more painful than choosing carefully up front.
GST/HST tracking in the software
All four major platforms support Canadian GST/HST. In QBO and Xero, once you enter your GST/HST rate and registration number, the software calculates tax on each invoice, keeps it separate from revenue, and populates the figures you need for your return. Wave does the same job but requires you to apply the tax code on each transaction yourself. Whichever you use, the software produces the GST/HST collected and the input tax credits you then file through CRA My Business Account.
Bookkeeper vs accountant, and when to hire one
These are two different roles that work in sequence, not in competition:
- A bookkeeper does the day-to-day: data entry, bank reconciliation, invoicing, payroll input, and GST/HST tracking. They keep the records clean all year. Many trades businesses use a part-time bookkeeper on a monthly retainer.
- An accountant (CPA) uses those clean records at year-end for financial statements, your tax return, and planning. If you are incorporated, a CPA-prepared corporate T2 return is effectively mandatory.
Hourly and monthly rates for both vary widely by region and scope, so get a quote rather than relying on a single number.
When to bring in help:
- Bookkeeper: as soon as transactions become too many to track casually. There is no CRA threshold for this; it is a practical call based on your volume.
- Accountant: at minimum for your annual return if you are incorporated. Also worth a conversation before you incorporate, before you hire employees, when the CRA sends a letter, or when you are planning a major equipment purchase.
Common mistakes
- Starting with a spreadsheet and switching later. Migrating a half-year of ad-hoc records into software wastes a weekend you did not need to lose.
- Not entering your GST/HST registration number. The software cannot track input tax credits properly until it is set up, and your invoices will be non-compliant. See Invoicing and Getting Paid Faster.
- Treating a bookkeeper and an accountant as interchangeable. They do different jobs at different times of the year.
- Choosing on price alone. Free software that you apply tax to by hand can cost more in errors than a paid plan that automates it.
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