Accounting for event planners in Ontario
Event planners take deposits far ahead of events, pass through vendor costs, and see seasonal, lumpy revenue, so deferred revenue and cash flow are the crux.
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taxifi · Event Planners
This month
- Bookkeeping Current
- Payroll & source deductions Filed
- HST Filed
- Year-end tax (T2) On track
The problems we take off your plate
Deposits taken far ahead
Client deposits are treated as deferred revenue and recognized when the event happens, so income isn't overstated.
Vendor costs passed through
Vendor pass-through is tracked so money you're just routing doesn't inflate your revenue.
Seasonal, lumpy income
We keep the books current so tax is set aside through the peaks and the quiet stretches alike.
What’s included
Published prices for incorporated Ontario event planners. Everything below is handled.
- Deposit and deferred-revenue bookkeeping
- Vendor pass-through tracking
- HST returns prepared and filed
- Year-end corporate tax (T2), from $1,000 a year
- Cash-flow-aware owner pay planning
| 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 |
Agent or principal? It changes your revenue and your HST
The defining accounting question for an event planner is whether you are acting as an agent arranging suppliers or as a principal reselling them. If venue, catering, and AV costs flow through your invoices as your own supplies, your revenue and HST collected include them. If you are genuinely an agent passing disbursements through, the treatment can be quite different.
This is not a cosmetic distinction: it changes reported revenue dramatically, affects your small-supplier threshold, and determines what your HST return should say. Deposits compound it — money taken months before an event is a liability until the event happens. Both questions are answered by how your contracts are written, which makes this a conversation to have before the next contract, not after year-end.
Common questions
How are deposits handled?
Client deposits are treated as deferred revenue and recognized when the event happens, so income isn't overstated.
Do you work with incorporated planners?
Yes. Incorporated event businesses are a fit.
Should supplier costs appear in my revenue?
It depends on whether you contract as principal or as agent. Costs you incur as principal and rebill generally form part of your own revenue and HST; genuine agency disbursements can be treated differently. Because the answer follows your contract terms, planners should settle the model deliberately rather than discovering it at year-end.
When is a client deposit revenue?
Generally when the event is delivered, not when the deposit arrives. A deposit taken in spring for a fall gala is a liability until the gala happens. Recognizing deposits early makes booking months look profitable and delivery months look weak, which is the opposite of useful.
Books and taxes for your event planning business, 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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