When Can I Start Filing Taxes For 2021?

it is tax season for 2021

Tax season is finally here, and though there are some exceptional circumstances this year, as of the writing of this article, one thing has stayed the same: your taxes are due at the end of April. That means by April 30th, 2021, your 2020 taxes must be filed. Before we go any further, it’s worth noting that we’re assuming people … Read More

What Is An Accounting Period?

accountant is going through reports for a client

Sometimes, terms are deceptively simple. This is not the case with today’s term – it’s exactly as simple as it seems. An accounting period is, quite literally, a period of time in which accounting is being done. Your first quarter is an accounting period, and so is the fiscal year. What makes accounting periods interesting is that they don’t necessarily … Read More

7 Things You Can Do To Support Local Businesses

supporting small and local businesses

Supporting local businesses has always been important. By supporting the people who live and work in your neighbourhood, you’re helping your community grow and flourish. Culture and commerce thrive when local businesses do. This year, many local businesses have had to shutter their doors. In the retail space, these businesses may usually rely heavily upon foot traffic – which, for … Read More

How To Prepare For A Government Audit

getting a letter that you are being audited

  Whether you run a Canadian business or you’re a Canadian citizen, you can get audited by the CRA. There are a lot of potential triggers for audits – the CRA has risk assessment algorithms they use to determine whether or not an entity should be audited. Regardless of why you’re audited, it’s important to know the steps you can … Read More

Winnipeg Registered CPA Firm Turns Focus Towards Improving The Remote Accounting Experience To Assist Clients During COVID-19

WINNIPEG, Canada – Compass Accounting, a forward-thinking and innovative registered CPA firm based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is proud to announce that they have turned their focus toward remote accounting to better assist their clients during the current pandemic.  The company understands that business owners are facing a range of different issues due to COVID-19, and so rather than adding to … Read More

What Is The Difference Between Business & Professional Income?

showing different streams of income

Go to the Government of Canada’s webpage on Business and Professional Income, and you’ll be greeted with – well, a lot more information than you might need. You have to do a lot of looking around to figure out what the difference is. You might think it’s a good idea to go to the Business or Professional Income page, but … Read More

Payroll Deductions – The Basics For An Employer

showing how your pay cheques get deducted and who is the one deducting them

Payroll Deductions can seem complex – we’re going to go over the basics in an effort to simplify things. For our purposes, we’re going to analyze payroll deductions in Manitoba, as that’s where most of our readership lives. That said, the basics are the same for every province. You must deduct for: Federal income tax Provincial income tax The Canada … Read More

How To Recognize & Avoid Phishing Scams

how to stop getting scammed online and prevent hackers from getting into your computer

Warning: very mild Mr. Robot spoilers ahead. One of the most important lessons in Mr. Robot, the dystopian alt-present hacker show by Sam Esmail, is that the best hackers aren’t necessarily using algorithms to crack your password. In the IT world, it’s much easier to defend than it is to attack, and high-level encryption is almost impossible to hack unless … Read More

5 Small Business Marketing Ideas For Fall

outside during the fall

There are a lot of reasons to focus on seasonal marketing. You might have seasonal inventory you’re excited to sell, you might want to profit from seasonal trends, or you might quite simply love getting into the spirit of each season. No matter what your reason, there are many ways you can tailor your marketing to fall shoppers: Focus on … Read More

7 Common Payroll Challenges

going over the payroll sheets to ensure everything is in good order

Payroll is one of the more complicated elements of business finance and accounting. We’re going to go over a few of the common challenges you might experience when dealing with payroll, and how to tackle those challenges: Employee Classification Is the person working for you an employee or a contractor? You have very different responsibilities to the two. When you … Read More