We are joined by Jami Monte – CPA, bookkeeping coach and owner of Monte CPA. Jami empowers small business owners by coaching them on how to manage their own bookkeeping and how to leverage the financial data. We discuss how having a clear understanding of your business’s finances can help owners make strategic business decisions. We also get real about write-offs and P/L reports.

How do you organize your bookkeeping for a more productive year?

Contrary to what entrepreneurs may believe about bookkeeping, you don’t have to wait until the end of the year to get organized. We can do many things throughout the year to set ourselves up for success, and my guest Jami Monte is a wealth of knowledge in getting entrepreneurs on track.

I know we have government rebates for EVs in Canada, but do we have tax credits like they do in the United States? – Jon, Ottawa

Canada doesn’t have a tax credit for electric vehicles – but if you’re self-employed or have to use your car for your job, you could write off thousands of dollars at tax time on the purchase price of a new EV. But that’s only if you turned down the $5,000 federal incentive when …

The digital economy has created a new wave of gig workers, contractors and self-employed people. A recent survey by TurboTax found 23 per cent of Canadians have a side gig from their primary employer.

But the transition into this form of work doesn’t come with a handbook that warns how complicated your taxes are about to become.

But she says parsing through these complicated matters is part of the job, and tax professionals are ready to help you out no matter how bad a job you did keeping receipts.

“Your goal is to generate income, not keep track of your taxes,” said Ms. Monte.

“There are credits that you may be used to getting, if you’re a single person,” said Stefanie Ricchio, a Toronto-based CPA.

“There is a little element of surprise.”