You sell creativity. Don’t spend it on bookkeeping.
Bookkeeping, payroll, HST, and year-end tax for incorporated marketing and creative firms. Retainers, freelancers, USD clients, and pass-through ad spend, all handled monthly.
CRA EFILE authorized · Every file reviewed by an accountant · Built in Ottawa, Canada
taxifi · Margin report
June 2026
- Retainer revenue Recognized as earned
- Client ad spend Pass-through
- Freelancer costs Mapped to projects
- True gross margin On one page
The problems we take off your plate
Retainer revenue, recognized right
A retainer paid in January is not all January revenue. We recognize retainer and project income in the months you earn it, so your monthly numbers show real margins instead of cash-flow noise.
A roster of contractors
Designers, writers, developers, editors. We track every freelancer payment through the year and prepare and file T4A slips at year-end, so your contractor roster never becomes a CRA problem.
USD invoices, FX, and zero-rated exports
American clients mean USD invoices, exchange rates, and HST questions. We record FX correctly and apply zero-rated treatment to qualifying exported services, with the documentation to support it.
The SaaS stack and pass-through ad spend
Twenty subscriptions and client ad spend running through your cards can bury your real costs. We separate pass-through spend from your own expenses, so you can see what the firm actually spends to operate.
What’s included
One flat monthly price. Everything below is in it.
- Monthly bookkeeping and every account balanced
- Retainer and project revenue recognition
- Payroll runs and payroll taxes sent to CRA
- HST returns prepared and filed
- T4 and T4A slips at year-end
- Year-end corporate tax return (T2)
- USD clients, FX, and zero-rated exports handled, so your margins are real
- Business advisory from your accountant: pricing, margins, and hiring
- Unlimited questions to an accountant
| Area | A typical setup | With taxifi |
|---|---|---|
| Your margin | A guess, inflated by ad spend | Real, on one page, every month |
| Freelancers | Reconstructed every February | T4As from a running roster |
| Year-end | The annual scramble | Just another month-end |
Common questions from creative firms
Most of our clients pay in USD. Can you handle that?
Yes. We record USD invoices and deposits at the correct exchange rates, track gains and losses on conversion, and keep your reporting in Canadian dollars where CRA needs it. You see clean numbers in both directions.
We use a lot of freelancers. What do you need from us?
Almost nothing. Pay your freelancers however you do now and we track the payments as they happen. At year-end we prepare and file the T4A slips. If a contractor relationship starts to look like employment, your accountant will flag it before CRA does.
Client ad spend goes on our company cards. Is that a problem?
It is a common setup and it works fine if the books treat it properly. We separate pass-through ad spend from your operating expenses so your revenue, margins, and HST are all reported correctly, and you can see what each client actually costs to serve.
Can you tell me if our retainers are actually profitable?
With revenue recognized in the right months and costs categorized consistently, your monthly statements show real margin by month. From there your accountant can help you look at profitability per retainer, and whether your pricing is keeping up with your costs.
Spend your hours on client work, not categorizing
Stop wondering whether the retainer is profitable. One discovery call gets you a flat monthly price, and the decision stays yours.
Book a discovery call