Bookkeeping for Fraser Valley contractors and trades

From Langley to Abbotsford, valley trades build industrial, farm and residential work, and many run lighter crews through the wet months. We keep your books by job and your payroll through the slow season.

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From $225/month

Progress draw 2

Example

Foundations and slab, industrial building

Billed this draw
$57,300.00
Held back, 10%
−$5,730.00
Paid to you
$51,570.00
Holdback waits on the jobPayable 55 days after completion

Amounts before GST.

Langley to Abbotsford

A lot of the valley's construction follows its highways. The Province is widening Highway 1 through the Township of Langley toward Abbotsford, and the SkyTrain extension will reach Langley City Centre, with service expected in late 2029. Around them, industrial buildings, farm buildings and new neighbourhoods keep concrete, framing and mechanical trades busy.

Much of that work is outdoors, so crews grow in the dry months and shrink in the wet ones. Payroll has to follow: hourly crews on timesheets, overtime when the weather is good, and layoffs with their paperwork when it isn't.

  • Highway work sits outside the Lien Act

    The Builders Lien Act doesn't apply to highway work done for the Province or a municipality, so on that kind of subcontract any holdback is whatever your contract says. It is recorded the same way, with a note of where it comes from.

    Source: BC Laws

  • Crews that change size

    We run payroll for crews that grow and shrink through the year: ROEs with the final pay when people are laid off in the slow months, and the same records when they come back in spring.

  • One licence across the valley

    A trades contractor can add the Fraser Valley inter-municipal business licence to cover Abbotsford, the City of Langley, Surrey, Mission, Chilliwack and other participating communities.

    Source: Township of Langley

The rules on every BC job

The same in the Fraser Valley as anywhere in the province, and kept in your books every month.

  • 10%

    Holdback on every draw

    Whoever pays you on a contract or subcontract keeps back 10% of each payment. We record it as holdback receivable against the job, not as revenue you lost, and you keep 10% from your own subs as holdback payable.

    Source: BC Laws
  • 55 days

    Until a holdback can be paid

    The holdback period ends 55 days after a certificate of completion, or after the head contract is completed. The Construction Prompt Payment Act, not yet in force, will shorten it to 46.

    Source: BC Laws
  • $500

    A T5018 slip per subcontractor

    If construction is more than half your business income, payments to a subcontractor over $500 in the period (before GST) are reported on a T5018, due six months after the calendar or fiscal year you report on.

    Source: CRA
  • PST

    Paid on materials, not charged on install

    Contractors pay PST on materials bought for a job, lump sum or time and materials, and generally don't charge it when those goods become part of the building. That PST is part of the job's cost; only the GST comes back as an input tax credit.

    Source: Province of BC
  • Before and after

    A WorkSafeBC clearance letter for each sub

    If a sub you hired doesn't pay its WorkSafeBC premiums, you can be liable for them. A clearance letter addressed to you, before and after the work, is what protects you.

    Source: WorkSafeBC
  • 1.5×

    Overtime for hourly crews

    Time and a half after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, and double time after 12 in a day, unless an averaging agreement applies. Payroll is run from the timesheets.

    Source: Province of BC
  • 5 days

    To issue an ROE after a layoff

    On a weekly, biweekly or semi-monthly payroll, an electronic Record of Employment is due within 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which someone's earnings stop.

    Source: Service Canada

Kept by someone from the trade

Liam keeps these books. Before Tallyforth he spent his career in concrete construction as a detailer, surveyor, estimator and quantity takeoff specialist, so a draw schedule, a holdback and a back-charge read to him the way they read to you.

What it costs

Monthly bookkeepingReconciled, closed and reported every month
$225/month
PayrollHourly crews, remittances, T4s and ROEs
$100/month and up
Year-end, corporationsT2 prepared and filed by a licensed CPA
$1,325/year

A contractor with a crew and a holding company

$1,950 to $2,438/month

An example estimate from our pricing page.

Estimates only, confirmed after we review your books. Plans have a 3-month minimum, and prices are before applicable sales taxes.

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Questions from contractors in the Fraser Valley

We lay off part of the crew every winter. What has to be filed?

A Record of Employment for each person whose earnings stop. Filed electronically on a weekly, biweekly or semi-monthly payroll, it's due within 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the earnings stop. We prepare the ROEs with the final pay run, so nobody waits on theirs.

Does one business licence cover Langley and Abbotsford?

A trades contractor can add the Fraser Valley inter-municipal business licence to the licence from their home municipality. Abbotsford and the City of Langley are both in it, along with Surrey, Mission, Chilliwack, Maple Ridge and others. Check the current list of participating communities before relying on it for a job in the Township of Langley.

More for contractors

Sources