Accounting for architects in Ontario
Architecture firms run long project cycles with phased billings and consultants, which makes revenue timing the heart of the books.
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taxifi · Architects
This month
- Bookkeeping Current
- Payroll & source deductions Filed
- HST Filed
- Year-end tax (T2) On track
The problems we take off your plate
Phased billing across long projects
Revenue is recognized as project phases are billed and delivered, so your books track reality rather than deposits.
Consultants and pass-through costs
Engineers, renderers, and other consultants are tracked so their costs don't inflate your revenue.
Your professional corporation
The corporate T2 is handled and your accountant plans how you draw from the firm.
What’s included
Published prices for incorporated Ontario architects. Everything below is handled.
- Phased project billing and WIP tracking
- Consultant and subcontractor payments tracked
- Payroll for staff
- HST returns prepared and filed
- Year-end corporate tax (T2), from $1,000 a year
| Area | A typical setup | With taxifi |
|---|---|---|
| Your books | Weeks or months behind | Current every day |
| Year-end (T2) | A spring scramble, billed extra | Included, no surprise invoice |
| Your accountant | Metered by the hour | Unlimited questions, flat monthly |
Phased billings, WIP, and the professional corporation question
Architecture runs on long project cycles, phased billings, and consultants, which makes revenue timing the heart of the books. Work in progress is generally brought into income as it accrues rather than when invoiced, so unbilled design time is not invisible to tax. A firm that tracks WIP monthly plans for it; a firm that does not meets it as a year-end surprise.
Consultant payments are the second timing issue: engineers, specialists, and renderers may need information slips depending on how they are engaged and whether they are incorporated. And Ontario architects can practise through a professional corporation, where the benefit depends on retained earnings rather than pass-through income. All three questions are answered from current books, not reconstructed ones.
Common questions
Can you handle phased billings?
Yes. Revenue is recognized as project phases are billed and delivered.
Do you work with incorporated firms?
Yes. Incorporated architecture firms are a core fit.
How is an architecture firm's work in progress taxed?
Generally, WIP accrues into income rather than waiting for the invoice, since the old professional WIP exclusion has been phased out. For a firm with multi-month projects, that means the tax picture depends on tracking unbilled work all year rather than counting invoices issued.
Do I need to issue slips to consultants I hire?
It depends on the consultant. Payments to unincorporated individuals for services generally require a T4A above the reporting threshold, while payments to corporations generally do not. If any part of the work is construction, T5018 rules may apply instead and they catch incorporated payees too. Worth settling once for your standard consultant roster.
Books and taxes for your architecture firm, done
Bookkeeping from $99 a month, accountant-reviewed from $299, corporate T2 from $1,000 a year. Prices are published; a call confirms the fit.
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