Brookside CPA — Navbar

You run the job. We'll run the books.

Accounting and bookkeeping for trades and contractors, plumbers, electricians, HVAC, and framers, across Canada. We handle your GST/HST, T5018, payroll, and tax so you can spend your day on the tools, not the paperwork.

778-551-2532

Work with us your way, fully remote or in person, anywhere in Canada. Clear advice, fixed monthly pricing.

Built for Plumbers Electricians HVAC Framers & every trade
Sound Familiar?

The paperwork is costing you more than you think

You're great at the trade. But the books, the GST, the CRA letters, that's where good contractors quietly lose money and sleep. Here's what we hear every week.

Cash is tight even when you're busy

Money's coming in, but between materials, payroll, and waiting on invoices, you never quite know what's actually yours to keep.

GST/HST sneaks up on you

You collected it, you spent it, and now it's due. Without it set aside and filed on time, CRA adds penalties and interest fast.

T5018 and subcontractor reporting

If construction is more than half your income and you pay subcontractors $500 or more, CRA wants a T5018 contract payment report. Miss it and you're on their radar.

No idea which jobs actually make money

Some jobs feel busy but barely break even. Without tracking cost per job, you're quoting the next one half-blind.

Personal and business money are mixed

One account for everything, the truck, the groceries, the materials. Come tax time it's a mess, and you miss deductions you earned.

Truck, tools & mileage write-offs missed

Your vehicle, tools, gear and phone are deductible, but only if they're tracked properly. Most trades leave thousands on the table.

Money You're Leaving On The Table

Where trades quietly lose money every year

Three places the cash slips away when the books aren't handled, and what it really means for a working trade.

$1,000s
Write-offs you never claimed. Your truck, fuel, tools, phone, and home office are all deductible, but only if they're tracked. Untracked, they're money handed to CRA you never had to pay.
+ Interest
GST/HST filed late. CRA charges a penalty on what you owe, plus interest compounding daily until it's paid. See exactly how it adds up below.
Your time
Nights spent on the books. Every evening sorting receipts is an evening you're not billing, or not resting. At your hourly rate, that's real money the paperwork is costing you.
Real CRA Example

A late GST/HST filing, by the numbers

Say you owe $10,000 in GST/HST and file 6 months late. Here's what CRA's penalty formula actually adds:

ABase penalty (1% of $10,000)
$100
BMonthly penalty (0.25% × 6 months)
$150
=Penalty owing
$250
Plus interest at the CRA prescribed rate (7% for early 2026), compounding daily until it's paid

Formula: penalty = 1% of the amount owing + 0.25% for each full month late, up to 12 months (max 4%), plus daily-compounded interest. And on a bigger balance it scales fast, a $50,000 GST debt filed 6 months late is a $1,250 penalty before interest. We make sure it never gets to this.

Figures use CRA's published GST/HST late-filing penalty formula and the prescribed interest rate for early 2026. Illustrative example only, not a quote or a promise. Your actual amounts depend on your situation.

The Difference

From shoebox to in control

Here's what changes when a CPA who gets trades takes the books off your plate.

Before
  • Receipts in the glovebox and a shoebox
  • GST due dates that catch you by surprise
  • Guessing whether you can afford to hire
  • A tax bill that's a yearly shock
  • Evenings and weekends lost to paperwork
With Brookside
  • Snap a photo, we handle the rest
  • GST set aside and filed on time, every time
  • Clear numbers to grow and hire with confidence
  • Tax planned ahead, no nasty surprises
  • Your evenings back
vs
How We Help

Accounting for trades, everything handled

One CPA firm for your whole back office, bookkeeping, GST/HST, T5018, payroll, and tax, so you can put the phone down and pick the tools back up.

Monthly bookkeeping

Snap a photo of receipts and invoices and we keep your books clean, current, and ready, no shoebox, no spreadsheets, no chasing.

GST/HST set aside & filed

We track what you owe, tell you what to set aside, and file on time, so it's never a surprise and never late.

T5018 & payroll

Contract payment reporting (T5018) when construction is your main business, plus payroll, remittances, and T4s for your crew, all done right and on schedule.

Tax filing & planning

Personal and corporate tax, every deduction you've earned, and a plan for incorporation, vehicles, and tools so you keep more of it.

Getting Started

Simple to switch, easy to run

No accounting headaches, we do the heavy lifting.

1

Free call

Tell us about your trade and where things stand. We'll show you the gaps and what we'd fix first.

2

We set you up

We get your books, GST, and accounts organized and connected, you barely lift a finger.

3

Snap & send

Photo your receipts and invoices from your phone. We handle the bookkeeping and filings.

4

Stay ahead

Clear monthly numbers, on-time filings, and tax planned in advance, with us a call away.

Let's Talk

Get your evenings back. Let us handle the books.

Book a free consultation. Tell us about your trade and we'll show you exactly how we'd take the paperwork off your plate, before you commit to anything.

778-551-2532
CPABC Licensed CPA Fixed monthly pricing Remote & in-office, Canada-wide