Bookkeeping software for Canada: bank feeds, receipts and categorization
Finn keeps a full double-entry ledger in Canadian dollars. You import bank and card statements as CSV or PDF, and Finn reads whatever layout your bank uses, so there is no per-bank setup to maintain. Every transaction is categorized with the context of your business, your open invoices and your earlier activity. You only see the items Finn is unsure about.
Receipts do not need a special app. Forward them by email, or send a photo through WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack, and Finn extracts the vendor, date, amount and tax, then links the document to the matching bank transaction. Stripe, Wise, Mercury and Revolut can also be connected where you use them. Foreign currency amounts are converted and recorded against the Canadian dollar ledger.
15 OctThe Payroll remittance, Sept lands on 15 Oct. Finn has the figures ready from the ledger two weeks before, with the source beside each box.
GST/HST return software: registration, rates and the Quick Method
Federal GST is 5% across Canada. Ontario charges 13% HST, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island charge 15%, and Nova Scotia charges 14% since 1 April 2025. British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan add a separate PST on top of GST, and Quebec adds QST at 9.975% through Revenu Québec. Alberta and the territories are GST-only.
You must register once worldwide taxable revenue passes CAD 30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, or in a single quarter. Filing frequency follows your taxable supplies: annual up to CAD 1.5 million, quarterly up to CAD 6 million, monthly above that. Finn tracks the tax on every sale and purchase and prepares the figures for your return. You file through the CRA portal, and Finn does not file with the CRA for you.
The Quick Method lets a business with taxable supplies of CAD 400,000 or less remit a flat percentage of GST/HST-included sales instead of tracking input tax credits. The rate depends on your business type and province, and you must elect it. Finn can show what each method would mean for your numbers, but the election is your decision.
T2 corporate tax software: the small business deduction and payment dates
The federal general corporate rate is 15%, built from 38% less a 10% abatement and a 13% general reduction. A Canadian-controlled private corporation, known as a CCPC, pays 9% federal tax on the first CAD 500,000 of active business income under the small business deduction. Provincial tax stacks on top, so the combined general rate runs from about 23% to 31%, and the small-business rate from about 9% to 12.2%.
The T2 corporation income tax return is due within six months of your fiscal year-end. The tax balance is due two months after year-end, or three months for an eligible CCPC claiming the small business deduction. Finn keeps your books current through the year, prepares the profit figures the return is built from, and reminds you of each date. Your accountant or your own filing software submits the T2 to the CRA.
Two grinds can reduce the deduction. The passive-income clawback cuts the limit by CAD 5 for every CAD 1 of adjusted aggregate investment income over CAD 50,000, and it is eliminated at CAD 150,000. The taxable-capital grind applies over CAD 10 million and is eliminated at CAD 50 million. Finn flags these when your figures come close.
Canadian payroll: CPP, EI and T4 slips
For 2025, the Canada Pension Plan takes 5.95% from the employee and 5.95% from the employer on earnings between the CAD 3,500 basic exemption and the CAD 71,300 earnings ceiling. A second tier, CPP2, adds 4% each on earnings between CAD 71,300 and CAD 81,200. Self-employed people pay both halves, which is 11.90%.
Employment Insurance outside Quebec is 1.64% for the employee and 2.296% for the employer, on maximum insurable earnings of CAD 65,700. Quebec has a lower employee rate because of its own parental insurance plan, so Finn refers Quebec payroll to a CPA. Employers withhold income tax, CPP and EI from each pay and remit them to the CRA from a payroll program account.
T4 slips, and T4A slips for other income, are filed with the CRA and given to employees by the last day of February. Finn records payroll journals, tracks what you owe the CRA, and prepares the figures that go on the slips. Payroll runs and remittances themselves stay with you or your payroll provider.
Corporations Canada and your Business Number: entity types and annual filings
You can incorporate federally under the CBCA with Corporations Canada, or provincially. A corporation is a separate legal person and can qualify as a CCPC. Other structures are the sole proprietorship, taxed on the owner's personal return, partnerships including limited and LLP forms, and co-operatives. There is no minimum share capital. A federal corporation still needs extra-provincial registration where it operates.
The CRA identifies your business with a nine-digit Business Number. Program accounts add a two-letter code: RC for corporate income tax, RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll and RM for import and export. A corporation also has its own Corporations Canada corporation number. Finn stores these identifiers against your company and uses them to prepare the right reminders for each account.
Sole proprietors, freelancers and the small supplier rule
A sole proprietor is taxed on the personal T1 return, which is due 30 April. Self-employed people and their spouses have until 15 June to file, but any balance owing is still due 30 April. Instalments, where required, fall on 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December. Finn tracks income and expenses through the year so the figures are ready well before those dates.
Federal personal tax for 2025 runs at 14.5%, 20.5%, 26%, 29% and 33% across the brackets, with a basic personal amount of CAD 16,129. The lowest rate is 14% for 2026. Provincial brackets stack on top. Under CAD 30,000 of taxable revenue you are a small supplier, and GST/HST registration is optional. Finn tells you when you are approaching the threshold.
QuickBooks alternative for Canada: switching from Wave, QuickBooks or Sage
Most Canadian small businesses arrive from QuickBooks, Wave or a spreadsheet. Export your transactions, your chart of accounts and your contacts as CSV files, then upload them to Finn. Finn maps your accounts and columns to its own structure, so you do not build a mapping by hand, and it asks you about anything it cannot place with confidence.
There is no lock-in. Your data stays exportable, and you can run Finn alongside your current software for a period before you change over. Keep your old tool's export as a record of the prior years. Finn then takes over the bookkeeping, the GST/HST tracking and the deadline reminders, and you review what it prepares rather than typing it in.