Questions, answered.

Bookkeeping, payroll, and back-office support for small businesses and self-employed professionals across Canada. Clean books, management reports and a monthly summary of what's working and what needs attention.

Professional services, digital creators, wellness practices, and founder-led companies of all kinds. If you're running a small business in Canada, I can help.

Three situations where I'd point you elsewhere. If you need someone physically on site, handling paper, sitting in your office, picking up documents, this is a remote practice and that isn't what you'd be getting. If you run heavy inventory or warehouse retail, with real stock counts, landed costs and COGS across thousands of SKUs, that's specialist work and it isn't my strength; light product lines alongside a service business are fine. And if what you actually need is a T1 or T2 filed, or tax planning advice, that's a CPA's work, not mine. I'll say so during the diagnostic rather than after you've signed something. The diagnostic is also how I find out, so if you're unsure, that's the best way to check.

Bookkeeping & Reporting is the core monthly tier. Payments & Admin Support adds payroll, AP/AR, government filings, and the back-office admin around your team. One contact handles it all, not a different person for every task.

Yes. If you just need a one-time clean-up, a specific project or help getting through a busy season, I can do that too.

A bookkeeper keeps your financial records current and organized month to month. An accountant typically handles tax filing, financial statements and higher-level advisory work. I handle the ongoing bookkeeping and work directly with your accountant at year-end so both sides of that relationship are covered.

Your accountant works with your numbers at year-end. I keep those numbers clean, current and organized every month so when your accountant needs them they're ready. Most accountants prefer working with clients who have proper monthly bookkeeping in place. It saves time and usually reduces your accounting bill.

Nothing. Slots are limited because I do every diagnostic myself, start to finish. Answer the 5 questions, which takes about a minute. Then send your transactions or give me read-only access. I go through the books and reports, walk you through what I found on a short call, and send a written report with a fixed quote. The findings are yours whether or not you go ahead with an engagement.

It covers books up to roughly twelve months behind. That is enough to see the real condition of the file and scope the work properly. If you are further back than that, the review itself becomes a project, so I quote the review first and you approve that number before I start.

The diagnostic assesses the current state of the books first. If catch-up is needed, it is quoted as a fixed-scope project in writing before monthly service begins. You approve the number before any work starts.

No. A catch-up, migration, or coaching project ends with a clean handoff, and that is the end of the commitment. Many clients choose monthly support afterwards, but that is a separate decision with its own written proposal. There is no subscription attached to a project.

After the diagnostic, I put together a fixed monthly quote based on your volume, complexity and the services you need. The number doesn't move until your scope does.

Start with the diagnostic or request a discovery call. The diagnostic is the front door whether you need a one-time project or monthly support. You come out of it with a written report and a fixed quote, and you decide what happens next. If you'd rather not share your books yet, the discovery call is a conversation first, with no financial information involved.

No. I'm based in North Vancouver but work with small businesses across Canada. Everything runs remotely through video calls, shared documents and cloud-based tools. Being local is never a requirement.

The earlier you start, the less you have to fix later. Get three things right from day one and you save significant time and money later: separate business and personal money, track income and expenses, and know where you stand on GST/HST. I work with businesses at every stage, including brand new ones.

Not necessarily. Simple finances still benefit from being done correctly. Clean books, proper expense tracking, and knowing your GST/HST position cost far less than fixing a year of errors later. Bookkeeping on its own is the smallest monthly engagement I offer, and it's built for exactly this kind of situation.

Founders First gives select solo founders free bookkeeping coaching and setup: software setup, a chart of accounts built around your business, workflow design, a written guide, and owner coaching with a review of your books. It's designed for early-stage founders who need a solid foundation but aren't yet at the stage where monthly support makes sense. You run the books yourself and have the option to hire FRS at an alumni discount of 25% off standard pricing. It's open to one-person Canadian businesses with no employees and no outside investors, either pre-revenue or under $75K a year. Read the full program details to see if you qualify.

Most of it runs in the background. Bank feeds and receipt capture are connected during setup, so transactions get categorized and reconciled as they flow through the month rather than in one batch at the end. Anything I can't source or that looks off is flagged when I hit it, not saved up. All I need from you is the occasional document or answer.

If an error is mine, I correct it promptly at no additional service fee and explain what changed. If the issue comes from missing or inaccurate source documents, I show you what is needed and help clean it up, with extra work scoped before it begins when needed.

You own the file. Your books live in your own accounts, not mine, and a documented handover is standard on every engagement. If I could not continue for any reason, your records would be current, reconciled, and readable by any bookkeeper or CPA you bring in.

I primarily work in QuickBooks Online and Xero. I am happy to work in other software where it is a good fit, and the goal is always a clean system that can be maintained every month. If you are already on something else, I look at it during the diagnostic and tell you plainly whether I can work in it or whether a migration is the better call.

You do not need to have anything set up before you reach out. If you already use QuickBooks Online or Xero, I pick it up as it is. If you are on another platform, I look at it during the diagnostic and tell you plainly whether I can work in it or whether moving is the better call. If you are not on anything yet, I set you up on QuickBooks Online or Xero.

Yes. Whether you're a few months behind or starting from a complete mess, catch-up bookkeeping is something I do regularly. I'll assess what's there, get everything organized and bring the books current before moving to ongoing support.

That's one of the most common situations I work with. I'll assess what's there, get everything organized and set up a clean system going forward. You don't need to have it together before reaching out.

Yes. For businesses that want to keep the owner removed from sensitive employment situations, I can serve as the administrative contact point for former employees, reference requests and employment record inquiries. It keeps things professional and documented on both sides. I'm not a substitute for an HR consultant or employment lawyer, and I route any sensitive employment situation back to the business owner or to a qualified professional.

No minimum term and no cancellation fees. Month-to-month: cancel any month, with no notice period. Let me know in writing and I'll wrap up cleanly. I'll make sure your books are current and organized before I hand everything over to you. The formal wording is in the Terms.

FRS does not file T1 or T2 income tax returns, but I keep your books clean and current year-round so there's no scramble when it's time. Your accountant gets organized, reconciled books and I'll work directly with them through the handoff.

Yes. With your authorization, I can coordinate directly with your CPA or tax preparer, answer bookkeeping questions, provide reports and working papers, and help resolve bookkeeping-side follow-ups. They remain responsible for tax advice and tax filing.

Yes, if filings are in your scope. I calculate what's owing, prepare the remittance and make sure filings go in on time. On a bookkeeping-only engagement I just keep your GST/HST position accurate month to month.

There are two tests and they carry different deadlines. If your worldwide taxable supplies pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, you stop being a small supplier on the sale that took you over, and you have 29 days from that day to register. If instead you pass $30,000 across the four preceding consecutive calendar quarters without breaching it in any one of them, you stay a small supplier for one further month and register from there. The four-quarter test always looks back at the preceding quarters. Zero-rated sales count toward both totals, and so do sales made by associated businesses. I track the running total and flag it before you cross, so it is never a surprise. Getting this wrong has real consequences, so it's worth knowing early.

I can help you identify and categorize business expenses correctly throughout the year. Equipment, software, home office, travel, subscriptions and other legitimate business costs all need to be tracked properly. I don't file your taxes, but your accountant will have organized records to maximize what you can claim.

That's something I handle regularly. Whether income comes from several platforms, currencies or payment methods, I pull it all together into one clear picture so you always know what you're actually earning and where it's coming from.

Yes. High transaction volumes, tip income, subscription payments and cash-heavy operations are all manageable. The key is having a consistent process for capturing and categorizing everything. I'll set that up with you at the start.

Yes. Whether you're billing insurance directly, collecting through Jane App, running a spa with mixed service and retail revenue, or taking a combination of e-transfers and card payments, I handle the reconciliation and make sure everything is categorized correctly.

Yes. Split-fee models, room rentals, associate pay structures and contractor arrangements are all things I set up and manage properly. These get messy fast without a clear system, and I make sure the numbers reflect what was actually agreed.

Yes. Retainer income, milestone billing, hourly engagements and project-based revenue all need to be recognized correctly. I structure your books to reflect how you actually bill so your financials are accurate and meaningful.

If your industry requires a regulated trust account (legal, real estate, notary), I record the bookkeeping side under your firm's regulatory rules. Trust account compliance and reconciliation sign-off remain with the licensed practitioner.

Yes. If your work involves sensitive client information or you operate in a regulated industry and need a formal confidentiality agreement in place before sharing financial records, I'm comfortable with that.

Your client records stay with you. I only ever see financial information relevant to running your business, nothing clinical or personal about the people you work with. I handle everything under BC's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and federal PIPEDA, and I'm comfortable signing confidentiality agreements if your regulatory body requires it.

Client financial information is used only to deliver your services and meet recordkeeping requirements. I work with a small set of trusted, reputable tools, and your financial data is never sold, shared or used outside your engagement with FRS except where required to provide services or comply with law. FRS also uses Google Analytics for website analytics and Google Ads to measure which ads lead to an enquiry. Neither is used to identify you personally, and you can opt out through your browser settings. I don't discuss or disclose who my clients are, what they do, or what they earn. That includes your identity. Full details in the Privacy Policy.