Industries · Startups & New Corporations
Start clean.
Stay clean.
The cheapest time to set up your finances properly is before the first transaction. We set up your accounting system, chart of accounts and filing calendar, so the first year-end is routine and investor questions are easy to answer.
Sound familiar?
You just incorporated and have a business number.
Founders paid for early expenses personally.
Someone mentioned SR&ED and you’re not sure if it applies.
Challenges
The bookkeeping problems we see most often.
- AFounder expenses
- Costs paid personally before or after incorporation need to be recorded properly, often through a shareholder loan account.
- BShare capital
- Share issuances and founder contributions should be reflected correctly from the start.
- CBurn and runway
- Early companies live on cash runway. You need it monthly, not annually.
- DGrants & credits
- Government programs and tax credits often require clean records to claim.
Tax notes
Tax considerations
General information based on standard CRA rules — not advice for your situation. We’ll confirm what applies to you.
- Choosing a year-end
- A new corporation chooses its fiscal year-end on its first return. The choice affects filing timing for years.
- First T2
- Due six months after the end of the first fiscal year, even if there was little activity.
- SR&ED
- Scientific research and experimental development tax credits may be available to eligible work. Claims benefit from contemporaneous records; specialist preparers are often involved.
- Ontario annual return
- Ontario corporations also have an annual return obligation with the Ontario Business Registry.
Workflow
A typical year with us
- 01
Set up
Software, chart of accounts, bank feeds and a filing calendar.
- 02
Record the start
Share capital, founder loans and pre-incorporation costs recorded.
- 03
Monthly
Books closed with burn and runway reported.
- 04
Year one
First T2, Ontario annual return and planning for year two.
Reporting
What you’ll see each month
- Monthly burn and cash runway
- Spend by category
- Shareholder loan balances
- Clean statements for investor conversations
Tools we commonly work with
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Corporate cards
- Payroll software
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Let’s talk about your business.
Tell us where things stand. We’ll review it, talk it through with you, and send a written scope before any work begins.
- 01Tell us about your situationA short form — no documents needed.
- 02We talk it throughA conversation about what you need and what you don’t.
- 03You get a written scopeClear deliverables and a quote before anything starts.