My fiscal year ended May 31. On June 1, I filed my Corporate Tax Return and HST. Since I use Xero for my accounting and TaxCycle for my tax returns, I was able to sync my books directly to my tax return and then add capital assets (Schedule 8), and my shareholder loan info (Schedule 11).
I was able to do this because I spent a bit of time on a regular basis to ensure my accounts were reconciled, and that things were where they needed to be. In fact, in my own books, I needed to make 2 year-end journal entries. One to move some HST ($10.15) that was double counted from my Wagepoint bi-weekly salary entry (I had the Sales Tax in the wrong account) and the other was to record my income tax provision.
I didn’t need to spend time with sorting out my fixed assets (and there were a few this year) as I was using the Fixed Asset Management in Xero which allowed me set up and run depreciation automatically.
I didn’t need to make any year end accruals to cover off my shareholder loan because I was aware of what was going through it, and I made the conscious decision to pay for corporate items with my corporate credit card. For the few items I did pay personally, I recorded an employee expense report so that I could correctly claim the input tax credits and paid it through the shareholder loan.
I didn’t need to do a lot of fussing with my tax return because I had set up my chart of accounts so that I could use the GIFI codes with my tax return. And for me, this has been a game changer because the raw data is imported directly into the return, and I don’t have to fuss around looking for the number whose sign I flipped. Instead, I could focus on items I haven’t set up templates for and reviewing the overall return.
I didn’t need to spend that time because I had invested a little bit of time regularly to ensure my books were balanced and reconciled, items classed appropriately, and that I was on top of my shareholder loan.
I didn’t need to spend that time because I can access my books through any browser (securely with two-factor authentication) without having to shuttle backups back and forth. This leads to more collaborative experience and more solid picture of your business.
Imagine of instead of a dump and run for year end, you had an ongoing collaboration with your accountant where your books are tended to and the stress of year end eliminated.
As we get to June 30, and the December 31 year ends need to be filed, if you’re thinking to yourself, “ugh, I’ll do it differently next year”, I’m happy to chat and help you turn that thought into reality.
