Accounting for engineers in Ontario
Engineering firms bill by project or retainer, may carry work in progress, and often run a professional corporation.
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taxifi · Engineers
This month
- Bookkeeping Current
- Payroll & source deductions Filed
- HST Filed
- Year-end tax (T2) On track
The problems we take off your plate
Work in progress
Long projects mean revenue you've earned but not yet billed. We track WIP so your income reflects the work actually done.
Subconsultants and staff
Subconsultant payments and staff payroll are tracked and reported correctly, with the right slips at year-end.
Your professional corporation
The corporate books and year-end T2 are handled, with owner-pay planning built in.
What’s included
Published prices for incorporated Ontario engineers. Everything below is handled.
- Project and retainer bookkeeping
- Work-in-progress tracking
- Payroll for staff and subcontractor reporting
- 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 |
Work in progress is taxable before you invoice it
For most professionals, the ability to exclude work in progress from income has been phased out: unbilled work is generally brought into income as it accrues rather than when the invoice goes out. For an engineering firm with long projects and phased billings, that means the year-end picture depends heavily on how carefully WIP is tracked all year.
The second structural question is the professional corporation. Ontario engineers can practise through one, and whether it saves money depends on how much income the corporation can retain rather than distribute to you. Both questions want the same input: books that are current, so the answer is a calculation on real numbers instead of an estimate built in March. See our note on the compensation side in the salary-versus-dividends guide.
Common questions
Can you track work in progress?
Yes. WIP is tracked so revenue reflects the work actually done.
Do you work with engineering professional corporations?
Yes. Incorporated firms are a core fit.
How is an engineering firm's work in progress taxed?
Generally, WIP is brought into income as it accrues rather than when billed, since the old professional exclusion has been phased out. Practically, unbilled time is not invisible to tax — a firm tracking WIP monthly plans for it, while a firm that does not meets it at year-end as a surprise.
Should I set up a professional corporation?
It depends on whether the corporation can retain earnings rather than pay everything out to you. Retained profits taxed at the small business rate are where the benefit comes from; if you spend everything you earn, incorporation adds administration without much saving. It is a calculation from your numbers, and the planning is included in taxifi's service.
Books and taxes for your engineering 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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