Page 3 - CBS Client Handbook

2. Use business bank accounts and credit cards.​ Things can also get messy when you are using
a personal account. It opens the door for CRA to start digging into your personal income and
spending and makes it more time consuming to track the expense to the proof of payment. Best
practices are to designate a single bank account and credit card for business expenses.
3. Provide all receipts. ​ We will provide you with access to Receipt Bank, which is a phone app we
use to obtain your receipts in real time. You can forward via email, snap a picture with your
phone, or upload directly through your computer. It is important that we have your receipts in
order to stay CRA compliant. Missing receipts may result in making these amounts unclaimable.
4. Paying cash for expenses.​ If you happen to pay cash or from your personal account or credit
card for any reason, please let us know. A note on the receipt to let us know you paid cash,
personal bank or credit card will help us to keep your flow moving along swiftly.
5. Meals & Entertainment.​ You can only claim 50% of your business meals and entertainment.
This is reserved for taking clients or prospective clients for the purpose of obtaining or maintaining
their business. In order to satisfy CRA, please make sure that the receipt has the name of the
person you took out. This will ensure that CRA can have an easy confirmation and not decline any
of these expenses. You may claim 50% of your Travel meals. This does not mean that you have
grabbed lunch on the go during business hours. This is reserved for when you are out of your
area, travelling for business. The rule of thumb is if you are far enough that you have to stay
overnight, this is allowable.
6. Keep a mileage log. ​ We have an easy to use ​mileage log​ in excel you can download from our
website to use or you can use an app. We recommend MileIQ and can provide you with a 20% off
discount code.
7. Employees vs Subcontractors.​ When hiring, first you will need to determine if the person is
considered an employee or subcontractor for CRA purposes. You can access a simple checklist
here​. If they are determined to be an employee, we need the employee to complete information
right away. Before they start working. We have on our website all the forms you will need your
new employee to complete. We have also added in a sample employee handbook that you can
easily customize in about an hour. You can access the payroll resources ​here ​. The password to
access this page is Growing

If you are letting go of an employee, we need this information right away to issue the appropriate
paperwork and record of employment. This needs to be issued within 5 days, and we need time to
do things on our end. If you can let us know in advance, we can be sure to let you know if you are
required to provide notice of termination, or pay in absence of notice. If you cannot let us know in
advance, let us know the day you are letting them go. If this is planned in advance, we may be
able to arrange to have the final pay details and ROE to you for when you let the employee go.

8. Planning for tax time. ​ It is helpful for you to budget to put aside your HST collected, yourpayroll
taxes as well as your income taxes you will owe. We can help you to determine an estimate so
that you can put the money aside as you receive it. This keeps the CRA happy, as well as helps
you avoid penalties and interest. We recommend a separate savings account and transfer the
money monthly. Trust us, these due dates will approach quickly if you aren’t planning for them.
9. Communication is Key. ​The bottom line is that we want to help you to set up successful flows
and practices to keep you on track. This means that we need to have a great communication

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