Payroll Services for Small Business in Canada

Outsourced payroll handled end to end. Our team pays your employees on time by direct deposit, remits CPP, EI and income tax to the CRA before the due date, files your WSIB reports and Ontario Employer Health Tax returns for you, and prepares your T4s, T4As and ROEs. A CPA reviews every payroll file, and you get a fixed quote in writing before we start. We serve employers everywhere in Canada except Quebec.

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Last updated: October 14, 2026

Why payroll is worth getting right

Payroll looks like one task. In practice it’s a chain of small jobs, and every link has a deadline. You work out gross pay, take off CPP, CPP2, EI and income tax, add the employer’s share, pay each person on the right day, remit to the CRA on your remitter schedule, track vacation pay and public holiday pay, report to the WSIB, keep an eye on the Ontario EHT exemption, and then reconcile the whole year onto T4 slips. Then you do it all again two weeks later.

A slip anywhere in that chain costs real money. A late remittance draws a CRA penalty starting at 3% and rising to 10%, plus daily compound interest. Deductions you forgot to take can be assessed against you, not the employee. Directors can be held personally liable for source deductions the company didn’t send in. And an employee who is paid wrongly, or whose Record of Employment holds up their EI claim, tells everyone.

I’m Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA. I started my career in audit at KPMG and later worked as an independent contractor for a tax filing company, so I know how easily small payroll mistakes pile up. At T-Ledgers, our team takes the whole cycle off your hands. You tell us who worked and what changed. We run the pay, remit and file what’s owed, and send you a short summary of what went out and why. A CPA reviews every payroll file, and the fee is agreed in writing before we start, so a busy month with overtime and a new hire doesn’t come with a surprise bill.

Law: Income Tax Act s.227(9) (failure to remit penalty).

What's included in our payroll services

Every payroll client gets the same core service. What varies is the size of the job: how many people you pay, how often, whether you have commissions, tips, taxable benefits or staff in more than one province, and whether anything is behind.

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Included in every engagement	What it means for you
Pay runs on your schedule	Weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly, for salaried, hourly and commissioned staff
Direct deposit and pay stubs	Employees are paid into their bank accounts on payday and get clear, readable stubs
Source deductions and CRA remittances	CPP, CPP2, EI and income tax calculated every pay and remitted by your due date
WSIB reporting (Ontario)	Premiums calculated from payroll and reported for each period
Ontario Employer Health Tax	Payroll tracked against the exemption, with instalments and the annual return filed when they apply
Vacation pay, holidays and leaves	Tracked under the employment standards rules of each employee's province
New hires and terminations	TD1s, final pay, vacation pay owing and ROEs
Year-end slips	T4, T4A and T5 slips and summaries, reconciled and filed electronically
Payroll reports	A summary after every run, plus reports for your books, lender or accountant when you need them
A CPA review	A second person checks each run before it's released

Law: Income Tax Act s.153(1) (withholding); Canada Pension Plan s.21(1) (employer deducts and remits CPP); Employment Insurance Act s.82(1) (deduction and payment of EI premiums).

Payroll runs on your schedule

We process payroll weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly, whichever you use now. For each run we calculate gross pay from hours, salary, overtime, commissions, bonuses or tips, apply the deductions, and produce pay stubs your employees can read without having to call you. Mixed teams are normal: salaried managers, hourly staff paid overtime, and part-timers on changing schedules can all sit on the same payroll.

Before anything is released, we compare the run with the previous one. If someone’s net pay jumped or dropped for no obvious reason, we ask you before the money moves, not after. That one check catches most payroll errors: a missed timesheet, a doubled bonus, a rate change entered against the wrong person.

Direct deposit and pay stubs

Your employees are paid by direct deposit straight into their bank accounts on payday. No cheques to sign, no trips to the bank, and nobody waiting for their pay because you were away. We agree a cutoff for hours that works with your payday, so each run is checked and approved in good time. Pay stubs show gross pay, each deduction, vacation pay accrued or paid, and year-to-date totals, delivered electronically through the payroll platform.

Source deductions and CRA remittances

This is the part most small employers worry about, and with good reason. Every pay, we calculate each employee’s CPP (including the second-tier CPP2 contributions on higher earnings), EI premiums, and federal and provincial income tax. We add the employer’s share of CPP and EI, then remit the total to the CRA by your due date.

The rates and maximums change every January, so we don’t hard-code them on this page. See the CRA’s current CPP rates and maximums, CPP2 rates and EI premium rates. Our summary of EI and CPP rates explains them in plain English.

Key 2026 figures at a glance (check the CRA links above for the current year):

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2026 (outside Quebec)	Rate, each of employee and employer	Earnings ceiling	Maximum contribution (2026)
CPP	5.95% (above the $3,500 basic exemption)	$74,600 (YMPE, maximum pensionable earnings)	$4,230.45 each for employee and employer
CPP2	4% on earnings between the two ceilings	$85,000 (YAMPE)	$416 each for employee and employer
EI	1.63% for the employee; the employer pays 1.4 times the employee premium	$68,900 (maximum insurable earnings)	$1,123.07 employee; $1,572.30 employer

The CRA has already published 2027 EI figures, which is why we link to the source instead of keeping numbers on this page.

Which remitter type are you?

Your remitter type sets how often you send deductions to the CRA. It is generally based on your average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) from two calendar years earlier, which the CRA reviews every year. We work out your type and track the deadlines for you. Most small employers are regular remitters, with deductions due on or before the 15th of the month after the month they paid employees. Our guide to payroll remittance due dates goes into more detail.

CRA remitter types at a glance

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Remitter type	Who it applies to	How often you remit	When it's due
Quarterly	Small employers who pass all of the CRA's tests (see below)	Once a quarter	April 15, July 15, October 15 and January 15
Regular	Most small employers (AMWA under $25,000)	Monthly	On or before the 15th of the month after the month you paid employees
Accelerated (threshold 1)	AMWA from $25,000 to under $100,000	Up to twice a month	Pay from the 1st to the 15th: by the 25th of the same month. Pay from the 16th to month-end: by the 10th of the next month
Accelerated (threshold 2)	AMWA of $100,000 or more	Up to four times a month	Within three working days after the end of each remitting period

The quarterly-remitter tests. You can remit quarterly only if you meet one of these two sets of conditions:

Small employer: your payroll account has been open at least 12 months, your AMWA is under the CRA's quarterly threshold (currently $3,000), and you have a perfect compliance record for the past 12 months. The CRA tells you in writing when you qualify.
New small employer: your account has been open less than 12 months, your monthly withholding is under the CRA's new-employer threshold (currently $1,000), and you have a perfect compliance record. No application is needed.

A “perfect compliance record” means that over the past 12 months you had no late remittances, no failure-to-deduct or failure-to-remit penalties, and no overdue information returns, and that your GST/HST account is also up to date. If a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the payment is on time if the CRA receives it the next business day. Source: CRA, When to remit (pay).

Late or short remittances: what the CRA charges

This is where payroll gets expensive. The CRA’s late-remittance penalty depends on how late the payment is:

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How late	Penalty on the amount due
1 to 3 days	3%
4 or 5 days	5%
6 or 7 days	7%
More than 7 days, or not remitted	10%
A second or later failure in the same calendar year, made knowingly or through gross negligence	20%

The penalty generally applies only to amounts over $500 unless the failure was knowing or grossly negligent, and the CRA also charges interest compounded daily at its prescribed rate. Source: CRA, When to remit.

Failing to deduct is a separate problem. If you don’t take CPP, EI or income tax off an employee’s pay, the CRA can charge a 10% penalty (20% for a repeat that was knowing or grossly negligent) and assess you for the amounts. Directors of a corporation can also be held personally liable for source deductions the company didn’t remit (CRA: consequences of not deducting or remitting). Keeping remittances on schedule is the main reason most of our clients hand payroll to us.

T4, T4A and year-end slips

At year-end we reconcile what you paid and remitted during the year, then prepare a T4 slip for every employee and the T4 Summary. We file them with the CRA and give slips to employees by the last day of February (the next business day if it falls on a weekend; for 2026 slips that’s Monday, March 1, 2027). If you pay independent contractors or other amounts that belong on a T4A, we prepare those too, along with T5 slips if you pay yourself dividends.

We file every slip electronically, which the CRA requires once you have more than five slips of the same type in a calendar year (CRA: how to file information returns). Late slips carry penalties per slip type, and filing on paper when you should have filed electronically has its own penalty. Not sure whether someone should get a T4 or a T4A? Our post on T4 vs T4A explains the difference, and the T4 filing deadline post has this year’s date.

Records of Employment (ROE)

When an employee leaves, starts a leave such as parental or sick leave, or has an interruption of earnings (for example, seven days in a row with no work and no pay), you need to issue a Record of Employment. We prepare and file ROEs electronically with Service Canada, with the right reason code and insurable earnings, usually within a few days of you letting us know. A wrong ROE can hold up someone’s EI benefits and lead to calls from Service Canada, so we take care with these. Service Canada’s ROE guide for employers sets out the rules, and our guide on when to issue an ROE covers the timing.

WSIB for Ontario employers

Workplace insurance is easy to forget until a worker gets hurt or the WSIB sends a bill for years you never reported. We handle it as part of payroll.

Do you need to register? If your business is in a mandatory industry, you must register with the WSIB within 10 calendar days of hiring your first worker, whether full-time, part-time or casual (WSIB: how to register). Mandatory industries include construction, restaurants and bars, manufacturing, trucking, and many others. Some businesses, such as banks, many salons, travel agencies and private daycares, aren’t required to register but can choose coverage. Business owners outside construction aren’t covered automatically and can buy optional insurance. Construction has its own, stricter coverage rules.

How premiums work. Your premium is your workers’ insurable earnings multiplied by your premium rate, expressed per $100 of insurable earnings. Under the WSIB’s current rate framework, your business is placed in an industry class based on its NAICS code, and then moved into a risk band based on your own claims history over several years. New businesses start at the class rate. (If you still see the term “rate group”, it’s from the system that ended in 2020.) The WSIB updates rates and the annual maximum every year (WSIB: understanding your rate). 2026: maximum insurable earnings are $121,700 per worker.

How often you report. Your reporting schedule depends on your annual insurable earnings. If they are $1,000,000 or more, you report and pay monthly, by the last day of the following month, and file an annual reconciliation by March 31. From $20,000 to $999,999.99, you report quarterly, by April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Under $20,000, you report once a year, by April 30. You must report even if your earnings for a period are zero (WSIB: how to report your payroll and pay your premiums; WSIB: premium reporting frequency). We set up the right schedule, calculate premiums from each payroll so they always agree with your books, file the reports, and do the annual reconciliation if you report monthly.

What we do: check whether you need to register (and register you if you do), confirm your industry class, calculate premiums every period, file your WSIB reporting, and keep WSIB clearance certificates current if your customers ask for them. If you have staff in another province, we work with that province’s workers’ compensation board instead.

Law: Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 s.75 (employer registration).

Ontario Employer Health Tax (EHT)

The Employer Health Tax is a payroll tax on remuneration paid to employees who work in, or report to, an Ontario location. Many small employers never pay it, because eligible employers get an annual exemption. The problem is the business that grows past the exemption without noticing, or the group of associated companies that each claim the full exemption.

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Ontario EHT point	What applies
Exemption	Currently $1 million of Ontario payroll a year, for eligible employers
Who is eligible	Generally private-sector employers whose total Ontario payroll, including associated employers, is $5 million or less
Associated employers	Share one exemption between them, using Ontario's allocation form
Rates	From 0.98% to 1.95%, depending on total Ontario payroll
Monthly instalments	Required once total Ontario payroll is over $1.2 million (2026)
Annual return	Due March 15 of the following year

Source: Ontario, Employer Health Tax (EHT). The exemption and thresholds are as of 2026; check Ontario’s page for the current figures.

What we do: total your Ontario payroll each month against the exemption, flag when you’re getting close, register you for an EHT account when you need one, calculate and remit instalments, and file the annual return. If you own more than one company, we work out how the associated employers should split the single exemption.

Law: Employer Health Tax Act s.2(1) (tax payable); Employer Health Tax Act s.5 (annual return).

Vacation pay, public holidays and leaves

We track vacation pay, public holiday pay and leave balances, so the amounts on each pay stub follow the employment standards rules in the employee’s province. In Ontario, vacation pay is at least 4% of wages, rising to 6% after five years with the same employer (Ontario ESA: vacation). Public holiday pay is calculated from each employee’s recent earnings, not a flat day’s pay, which trips up a lot of employers with part-time staff. When Ontario’s minimum wage changes each October, we update the rates for anyone it affects.

We also handle the payroll side of benefits: group insurance premiums the employer pays (which can be a taxable benefit for the employee), RRSP or pension deductions, union dues, garnishments and other court-ordered deductions. Employer contributions to a group health and dental plan (a private health services plan) are generally not a taxable benefit for the employee for federal tax (they are taxable for Quebec provincial tax), but employer-paid group term life insurance premiums are, so they go through payroll and onto the T4. In Ontario, group insurance premiums also carry 8% retail sales tax: the employer owes 8% RST on its contributions; the insurer or plan administrator usually collects and remits it, but an employer running its own plan may need to remit it directly (Ontario RST guidance).

Law: Employment Standards Act, 2000 s.33 (right to vacation); Employment Standards Act, 2000 s.35.2 (vacation pay); Employment Standards Act, 2000 s.24 (public holiday pay).

New hires, terminations and changes

When you hire someone, we set them up properly: TD1 forms, SIN, start date, pay rate, banking details and any benefits. Our guide to filling out the TD1 for new employees is a good one to send new staff. When someone leaves, we calculate their final pay, any vacation pay owing and any termination pay required under employment standards, and issue the ROE. Raises, address changes and taxable benefits are updated before the next run.

Law: Employment Standards Act, 2000 s.54 (no termination without notice); Employment Standards Act, 2000 s.57 (notice periods).

Payroll account setup

If you’ve never had employees, you’ll need a payroll program account (an RP account) with the CRA. The CRA’s rule is that it has to be open before your first remittance is due (CRA: determine if you need to register). Our advice is to open it before your first payroll, so your first remittance isn’t a scramble. We’ll register it for you, set up your remitting schedule, and, in Ontario, check whether you also need WSIB and EHT accounts. Once we have your employee details, payroll setup usually takes a few business days. See our post on CRA payroll account setup.

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How it works

A free 30-minute call. We talk about how many people you pay, how often, how you pay them today, and whether anything is behind, such as missed remittances or unfiled T4s. You’ll get a straight answer even if you decide not to work with us.
A fixed quote in writing. After the call we send you a fixed fee for payroll, mostly within one business day. It covers the work we agreed and only changes if your headcount, pay schedule or scope does. If you have a comparable written quote from another firm, show it to us before you sign our proposal and we’ll match it.
Setup or takeover. We register your CRA payroll account if you need one, or take over your existing payroll mid-year. When you switch mid-year, we bring over each employee’s year-to-date earnings and deductions so their T4 is right at year-end. We collect TD1 forms and banking details, set up WSIB and EHT where they apply, and connect payroll to your bookkeeping.
Every pay period. You send us hours and any changes by the cutoff. We run the payroll, a CPA reviews it, you approve it, your employees get paid, and the remittance goes to the CRA on time.
Year-end. We reconcile the year, prepare and file your T4, T4A and T5 slips, file the EHT annual return and WSIB reconciliation, and give you a year-end payroll summary for your accountant or your corporate tax return.

Between runs, you can reach our team by email, text or phone. We reply mostly within one business day, and our 24/7 receptionist means a real person answers.

What we need from you each pay period is small: hours or timesheets for hourly staff, tips if you pool or control them, and a note when someone starts, leaves, gets a raise or takes leave.

Key payroll deadlines we track for you

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Filing	Deadline	What we do
Source deduction remittances	Depends on your remitter type (see the table above)	Calculate, remit and confirm every payment
T4 slips and T4 Summary	Last day of February after the calendar year (next business day if it falls on a weekend)	Reconcile, prepare, file electronically and give slips to employees
T4A slips and T4A Summary	Last day of February after the calendar year (next business day if it falls on a weekend)	Prepare and file for contractors and other T4A amounts
T5 slips (owner dividends)	Last day of February after the calendar year (next business day if it falls on a weekend)	Prepare and file when you pay yourself dividends
Record of Employment (ROE)	Generally within five days (for electronic ROEs, five days after the end of the pay period in which it occurs, or, if you have 13 or fewer pay periods a year, 15 days after the first day of the interruption if that is earlier)	File electronically with Service Canada with the right reason code
WSIB registration (Ontario)	Within 10 calendar days of hiring your first worker, if your industry needs coverage	Check whether you need to register and set up premium reporting
WSIB premium reporting	Monthly (insurable earnings $1M+): last day of the following month, plus a March 31 reconciliation. Quarterly ($20,000 to under $1M): Apr 30, Jul 31, Oct 31, Jan 31. Annual (under $20,000): Apr 30	Calculate premiums from payroll and file each report
Employer Health Tax (Ontario)	Annual return by March 15, plus monthly instalments once Ontario payroll is over $1.2 million (2026)	Track your Ontario payroll against the exemption and file

Sources: CRA When to remit and When to file information returns; Service Canada ROE guide; WSIB; Ontario EHT.

Law: Income Tax Act s.153(1) (withholding and remittance); Income Tax Act s.227(9) (late remittance penalty).

Payroll compliance: what we keep you on top of

Most of the payroll problems I see when a new client comes to us aren’t dramatic. They’re small things repeated every pay period until they add up. Here’s what our team watches:

Remittance deadlines. Your remitter type sets your due dates, and it can change as your payroll grows. We track it, so a move from quarterly to monthly remitting doesn’t slip by.
PD7A reconciliation. The CRA’s remittance statement should agree with what payroll says you owe. We check it every period, so a payment applied to the wrong account or period is caught in weeks, not years.
Employee vs contractor. Calling someone a contractor when the CRA would see them as an employee can mean reassessed CPP and EI, with penalties and interest, for every year it went on. If you’re unsure, we’ll look at the working relationship with you. Our post on employee vs independent contractor explains the tests.
Taxable benefits. Company vehicles, cell phones, gift cards and employer-paid group insurance can be taxable benefits that belong on the T4, and we make sure they’re included. See our post on the tax impact of employee gifts.
Year-end reconciliation. The totals on your T4s have to agree with what you remitted during the year. If they don’t, the CRA can follow up with a Pensionable and Insurable Earnings Review (PIER). We reconcile before we file, not after the letter arrives.
Electronic filing. If you file more than five slips of the same type in a calendar year, the CRA requires them to be filed electronically. We file all slips electronically.
Owner pay. If you own the corporation, whether you take salary, dividends or a mix affects your CPP, your RRSP room and your personal tax. We’ll set up your own pay in the way that makes sense for you, and you can try our salary vs dividend calculator. Your owner pay ties into your corporate tax return, which we can prepare too.
Payroll costs are deductible. Wages, the employer’s CPP and EI, WSIB premiums and EHT are generally deductible business expenses. Clean payroll records make sure they’re all claimed.
Records. Payroll records generally have to be kept for six years. Ours are stored securely in the cloud with access limited to the people working on your file. Ontario’s employment standards rules separately require most employee records, such as hours worked and wages, kept for at least three years, and vacation time and vacation pay records for five years (Ontario ESA record keeping).

If your payroll is already behind, with unfiled T4s or missed remittances, tell us on the first call. We’ll quote the clean-up as a fixed-fee project and then move you onto regular payroll. If your books are behind too, our catch-up bookkeeping service works the same way.

Law: Income Tax Act s.230(1) (records and books); Employment Standards Act, 2000 s.15 (employer records).

Typical payroll situations we fix

These are typical examples of the work, not named client cases.

The first hire. A one-person corporation hires its first two employees. We open the RP account before the first payday, confirm whether the WSIB applies, set up direct deposit and a regular remitting schedule, and put the owner’s own pay on a planned salary and dividend mix.
The growing team that drifted. A business has grown from five to twenty staff and is still remitting as if it were small. We confirm its remitter type, catch up the missed WSIB reporting, check its Ontario payroll against the EHT exemption, and reconcile the year before the T4s go out.
The year-end that didn’t tie. T4 totals don’t match the PD7A. We find the differences (usually a missed remittance, a benefit left off the slips or a mid-year switch of payroll provider), correct them, and file amended slips if needed, before the CRA sends a PIER.

The law behind it (Acts we work under)

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Topic	Act and section
Deducting and remitting income tax	Income Tax Act s.153(1); Income Tax Regulations s.108 (remitter types and due dates)
CPP and CPP2 contributions	Canada Pension Plan s.8, s.9, s.21(1); CPP Regulations s.8
EI premiums	Employment Insurance Act s.67, s.68, s.82(1)
Late or failed remittance penalties	ITA s.227(9), (9.1); CPP s.21(7); EIA s.82(9)
Failure to deduct	ITA s.227(8); CPP s.21(2); EIA s.82(4)
Directors' liability	ITA s.227.1; CPP s.21.1; EIA s.83
T4 information returns and penalties	Income Tax Regulations s.200 and s.205; ITA s.162(7)
Records of Employment	EI Regulations s.19(3), (3.1)
WSIB registration and premiums	Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (Ontario) s.75 (registration); Part VII (premiums)
Ontario Employer Health Tax	Employer Health Tax Act (Ontario) s.2 (tax), s.2.1 (exemption), s.3 (instalments), s.5 (annual return)
Vacation pay, public holidays, tips	Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario) Part V.1 s.14.1–14.4 (tips), Part X (public holidays), Part XI (vacation pay)

Payroll platforms we work with

All our work is in the cloud, which is how our team looks after employers across Canada. We run payroll on two platforms only: QuickBooks Online Payroll and Wagepoint. We’ll recommend the one that suits your team, your pay schedule and your bookkeeping software, and if you’re on another payroll app today, we’ll move you across to one of them with your year-to-date figures intact.

QuickBooks Online Payroll. Many of our QuickBooks clients run payroll in QuickBooks Online Payroll. Pay runs post straight into your books, so wages, deductions and remittances show up in the right accounts without anyone re-keying them.
Xero with Wagepoint. Xero doesn’t run Canadian payroll in-house. In Canada, payroll runs in a connected payroll app that syncs into Xero (Xero: payroll in Canada). For our Xero clients, we run payroll in Wagepoint and make sure everything lands in the right accounts in Xero. You keep Xero for the books, and your payroll still ties out.
Dext. Employees can photograph expense receipts with Dext, and we review them and reimburse through payroll or accounts payable, so you’re not chasing paper.

Our post on the best payroll software in Canada compares the main options.

In-house payroll vs outsourced payroll

If you only have one or two employees on a fixed salary, you can probably run payroll yourself with good software. It gets harder with hourly staff, overtime, commissions, tips, people starting and leaving, staff in different provinces, and year-end. That’s usually when owners start losing their evenings to it.

Outsourcing to a CPA-led accounting firm gives you three things software alone doesn’t: someone who checks each run before it goes out, someone who knows what to do when the CRA, the WSIB or Service Canada writes to you, and payroll that ties to your books and your T2 at year-end.

Doing it yourself vs an in-house clerk vs T-Ledgers

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	Doing it yourself	In-house payroll clerk	T-Ledgers payroll BEST VALUE
Who checks each run	Usually nobody	Usually nobody else	A CPA reviews every payroll file
Remittance deadlines	On your calendar, if you remember	Depends on one person	Tracked by our team for every remitter type
WSIB and EHT	Easy to miss	Depends on experience	Reported and tracked as part of payroll
Year-end T4 reconciliation	Often done in a rush in February	Depends on experience	Reconciled to your remittances before we file
Holidays and sick days	Payroll waits for you	Payroll waits for them	A team, not one person
Letters from the CRA or Service Canada	You work them out	Often passed back to you	We answer them with you

Payroll works best alongside your monthly bookkeeping, so wages, remittances and benefits land in the right accounts every month. If you want help with cash flow, hiring plans or budgets, our virtual CFO service builds on the same numbers.

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Industries we run payroll for

We run payroll for small employers in many industries. Over my career I’ve managed payroll for businesses in real estate, IT, recruitment, health care and automotive services. Today our team works with employers such as:

Contractors and trades. Hourly crews, overtime, and the line between employees and subcontractors. Construction also has its own WSIB coverage rules. Our post on T-slips for construction contractors covers the reporting side.
Consultants and professional services. Small salaried teams, owner-managers deciding between salary and dividends, and year-end bonuses.
Health care practices. Clinics with a mix of employees and independent practitioners, where getting the employee/contractor line right matters.
Retail and e-commerce. Part-time and hourly staff, changing schedules, public holiday pay and vacation pay.
Startups and growing companies. First hires, owner pay, and the point where the remitter type, WSIB reporting or EHT starts to apply.
Franchises and multi-location businesses. Several locations or companies under one owner, where associated employers share one EHT exemption.

Payroll for hospitality: restaurants, cafés and catering

Hospitality payroll has more moving parts than most. Staff work split shifts and changing hours, many are part-time or seasonal, and turnover is high, so ROEs come up often. Restaurants and bars are a mandatory WSIB industry, so coverage starts with your first hire.

Tips need care. How tips are treated for payroll depends on who controls them. Controlled tips are tips you as the employer control or pay out, such as tips added to card payments that you pay to staff, or a pool you collect and share out. They go through payroll with income tax, CPP and EI deducted, and are reported on the T4. Direct tips are handed straight to a server by the customer. You don’t withhold or report them; the employee reports them on their own return and can choose to pay CPP on them using Form CPT20 (CRA: tips received by employees). Ontario’s Employment Standards Act also limits what you can do with tips. You can’t keep or deduct from staff tips, except to run a tip pool shared among employees. You can’t make deductions for breakage or losses. Owners, directors and shareholders can share in the pool only if they regularly do substantially the same work as the staff in it, and if they do, the policy must be posted in the workplace (Ontario: tips or other gratuities). We set up your tip process so it matches both sets of rules, put pooled and card tips through payroll correctly, and make sure public holiday pay and vacation pay are calculated on the right earnings. We also keep your hourly rates current when Ontario’s minimum wage changes each October.

Payroll for trucking and transportation

Trucking payroll rarely looks like a simple hourly payroll. Drivers can be paid by the mile, by the load, by the hour or by trip, sometimes with a mix in the same pay period. We set up pay rates for each method, track overtime under the rules that apply to your drivers, and handle travel allowances and meal reimbursements so taxable and non-taxable amounts are separated.

The biggest risk is classification. The courts ask one central question: is the driver in business on their own account? (This test comes from Wiebe Door and the Supreme Court’s decision in Sagaz.) The CRA weighs the same facts: how much control you have over the work; who supplies the truck and equipment; whether the driver can hire helpers or subcontract; the driver’s financial risk and investment; and their chance of profit or risk of loss. The contract’s wording counts only if the facts back it up (CRA: employment status, employee or self-employed). An owner-operator with their own truck and authority, who carries the costs and can take other loads, is often a contractor. A driver who uses your truck, runs your routes and follows your schedule usually isn’t, whatever the contract says. Getting it wrong can mean years of reassessed CPP and EI. Incorporating doesn’t fix it. A driver’s corporation that would otherwise be your employee can be a personal services business, which loses the small business rate and most deductions. This “Driver Inc.” model is a current federal enforcement target (Finance Canada: clamping down on Driver Inc.). Trucking is also a mandatory WSIB industry, and drivers who cross provincial lines can raise questions about which province’s tax tables and employment standards apply. We work through all of this with you before the first run.

We’re based in Ontario and run payroll remotely for employers across Toronto, the GTA and the rest of Canada, except Quebec.

Meet your CPA

Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA, Founder, T-Ledgers Accounting. Verify my CPA Ontario membership.

I started my career in audit at KPMG, which taught me to go back to the source and reconcile everything before anything gets filed. I later worked as an independent contractor for a tax filing company. I’ve practised in Canada since 2020 and founded T-Ledgers, a CPA-led accounting firm, in 2023.

Payroll is where small mistakes turn into real money, so our team handles it the way I learned in audit: check every run against the last one, reconcile remittances to the books, and make sure the year-end slips agree before anything is filed. The person who checks the work isn’t the person who did it. You can read more about the firm on our About page.

What our clients say

      
   T-Ledgers Accounting Inc.
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   Dan 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I highly recommend T-Ledgers. Their communication is exceptional. You won’t have to wait days for a response. Waji really takes his time to explain things in-depth with his clients. He provides the ins and outs behind every major decision. Our corporation was 2 years behind on filings and Waji and his firm got all the work done in a timely manner, as promised.
  
 
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   Umed Pulotov 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Wajahat is absolutely amazing. Very knowledgeable, professional, great customer service. I would highly highly recommend T-ledgers accounting for any accounting needs. 100/10!!
  
 
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   samer chamseddine 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. T-Ledgers has been nothing short of exceptional after my previous accountant had me in hot water. Wajahat explained things in detail throughout the whole process and still continues to keep me updated on my files regularly. Would highly recommend T-Ledgers to anyone who appreciates organization and efficiency
  
 
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   Kushtrim Carpentry 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I highly recommend **T Ledger's Accounting**. He has gone above and beyond for me every single time I’ve needed his help. Even when something is urgent or needs to be handled last minute, he gets it done right away and makes sure everything is taken care of properly.

He’s the type of accountant you can genuinely depend on. No matter what situation you’re dealing with, he takes the time to understand it, explains what needs to be done, and handles everything with a high level of professionalism.

Reliable, knowledgeable, responsive, and always willing to help. It’s hard to find someone you can trust to handle important financial and accounting matters, and I’ve had nothing but a great experience with T Ledger's Accounting.

**Beyond highly recommended. If you’re looking for an accountant you can rely on, this is the place to go.**
  
 
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   Ali Chaudhry 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I had a great experience working with Wajahat. He was very flexible, accommodating, and helpful with my schedule. He went out of his way to make the process smooth and stress-free. Highly recommend him to any business owner
  
 
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   hurmat shahid 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The client portal T-Ledgers uses makes the whole process much easier than dealing with emails and PDFs back and forth. Document sharing is simple, questions get answered quickly, and you can always see where things stand. It's a modern way of handling accounting and I appreciated that.
  
 
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   Asim Afzal 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. T-Ledgers handled my GST filing and corporate T2 together, which saved me a lot of time coordinating between different people. They understood my business quickly and flagged some bookkeeping gaps I needed to address. Took a lot of stress off my plate and I'll be using them again.
  
 
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   Atif Mahmood 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. T-Ledgers made filing my corporate taxes straightforward from start to finish. Wajahat was responsive throughout the process and clearly explained what documents I needed to provide and why. The turnaround was reasonable and everything was handled professionally. I'll definitely be coming back next year and would recommend them to any small business owner looking for a reliable accountant.
  
 
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   Moazzam Afzal 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I fully recommend Wajahat for one's tax filing needs. He will explain what he's doing and why, rather than just asking for documents and going silent, ensuring the customer is informed at every stage of the process. He is trustworthy and transparent when it comes to pricing and quality of the work for small business tax needs.
  
 
  
  
 
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Frequently asked questions about payroll services

What does an outsourced payroll service do?

We calculate each employee’s pay and deductions, pay them by direct deposit, remit CPP, EI and income tax to the CRA by your due date, track vacation pay, issue ROEs when someone has an interruption of earnings, and prepare and file T4 and T4A slips at year-end. In Ontario we also file WSIB and EHT for clients. A CPA reviews every payroll file.

How is payroll priced at T-Ledgers?

Every payroll is quoted individually, based on how many employees you have, how often you pay them, and extras such as commissions, tips, taxable benefits or staff in more than one province. You get a fixed quote in writing before we start, and it only changes if your headcount, pay schedule or scope does, so there are no surprise bills. If you have a comparable written quote from another firm, show it to us before you sign our proposal and we’ll match it.

How quickly can you set up my payroll?

Usually within a few business days of getting your employee details, banking information and TD1 forms. If you don’t have a CRA payroll account yet, we register it for you. Start before your first payday if you can, so the first run and remittance aren’t rushed.

Do I need a CRA payroll account before I hire?

You need a payroll program account (an RP account) with the CRA before your first remittance is due. We recommend opening it before your first payroll so your first remittance isn’t a scramble. If you don’t have one yet, we’ll register it for you and set up your remitting schedule.

Can you take over payroll partway through the year?

Yes. We bring over each employee’s year-to-date earnings, deductions and remittances so the year-end T4s are correct, and set up direct deposit and your remittance schedule. We’ll agree the switch-over date with you on our first call so nobody’s pay is disrupted.

When are payroll remittances due to the CRA?

It depends on your remitter type. Most small employers are regular remitters, with deductions due on or before the 15th of the month after the month they paid employees. Larger employers are accelerated remitters and remit up to twice or up to four times a month. We work out your schedule and remit on time for you.

Can I remit quarterly?

Only if you pass the CRA’s tests. An established employer needs a payroll account open at least 12 months, an average monthly withholding under the CRA’s quarterly threshold, and a perfect compliance record for the past 12 months. A new employer needs monthly withholding under the CRA’s new-employer threshold and a perfect compliance record. The CRA’s When to remit page has the current thresholds.

What happens if I remit source deductions late?

The CRA charges 3% if you’re 1 to 3 days late, 5% for 4 or 5 days, 7% for 6 or 7 days and 10% after that, plus daily compound interest. A second failure in the same calendar year can bring a 20% penalty if it was knowing or grossly negligent. Directors of a corporation can be held personally liable for deductions the company didn’t remit.

When are T4 and T4A slips due?

T4 and T4A slips, and their summaries, must be filed with the CRA and given to employees and recipients by the last day of February following the calendar year. If that date falls on a weekend, the deadline moves to the next business day. If you file more than five slips of the same type in a calendar year, you must file them electronically.

How soon do I need to issue a Record of Employment?

The ROE is generally due within five days (for electronic ROEs, five days after the end of the pay period in which it occurs, or, if you have 13 or fewer pay periods a year, 15 days after the first day of the interruption if that is earlier), for example after a layoff, resignation or the start of a leave. We file ROEs electronically with Service Canada as soon as you tell us.

Do I need to register with WSIB?

Most Ontario businesses with employees must register with the WSIB within 10 calendar days of hiring their first worker, though some industries aren’t required to and can choose optional coverage. If you’re outside Ontario, your province or territory has its own workers’ compensation board. We’ll check whether you need to register and include premiums in your payroll.

How are WSIB premiums calculated?

Your premium is your workers’ insurable earnings times your rate per $100 of insurable earnings. The rate comes from your industry class and your own claims history, and the WSIB sets new rates and a new annual maximum each year. We calculate premiums from your payroll each period, so they agree with your books.

Do I have to pay Ontario Employer Health Tax?

Only if your Ontario payroll is over your exemption. Eligible employers currently get a $1 million exemption each year, shared between associated companies, and employers with Ontario payroll over $5 million don’t get one. We track your payroll against the exemption and file instalments and the March 15 annual return when they apply.

How do you handle tips in a restaurant payroll?

It depends on who controls the tips. Tips the employer controls, such as service charges, card tips you pay out or an employer-run pool, go through payroll with income tax, CPP and EI deducted and are reported on the T4. Tips customers hand directly to staff don’t; the employee reports them. In Ontario you also can’t keep staff tips except to run a tip pool. We set up your process to match the rules and keep it consistent every pay.

Are owner-operator truck drivers employees or contractors?

It depends on the working relationship, not the contract’s label. The CRA looks at control, who owns the equipment, whether the driver can hire helpers, and the driver’s financial risk and chance of profit. Drivers with their own truck, their own operating authority and freedom over their work are often contractors. Drivers using your equipment on your schedule are usually employees, and incorporating (“Driver Inc.”) doesn’t change that. We look at the facts with you, because getting it wrong can mean reassessed CPP and EI.

Should I pay myself salary or dividends?

It depends on your income, your personal tax situation and whether you want CPP and RRSP room. Salary goes through payroll with source deductions and a T4. Dividends don’t, but you get a T5. We’ll look at the numbers with you and set up whichever mix makes sense.

Which payroll software do you use?

We run payroll on QuickBooks Online Payroll and Wagepoint only. QuickBooks Online clients usually run payroll in QuickBooks Online Payroll. Xero doesn’t run Canadian payroll in-house, so for Xero clients we run payroll in Wagepoint and make sure each run lands in the right accounts in Xero. If you’re on another payroll app today, we move you across to one of the two with your year-to-date figures intact.

Do you run payroll outside Ontario?

Yes. We run payroll remotely for employers in every province and territory except Quebec, using each province’s tax tables, employment standards and workers’ compensation rules. It doesn’t matter whether your staff are in Mississauga, Calgary or Halifax.

Can you pay salaried, hourly and commissioned staff in the same payroll?

Yes. We run all three in one payroll, along with overtime, bonuses, commissions and vacation pay. In Ontario, most employees earn overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate after 44 hours in a week, and we apply the rules of each employee’s province.

Can I get payroll reports when I need them?

Yes. You get a summary after every run, and we can prepare payroll registers, remittance summaries, year-to-date reports and cost-by-employee reports for your books, your lender or your accountant whenever you ask.

How do you keep payroll and employee data secure?

Employee details such as SINs and banking information are kept in the payroll platform and our secure cloud systems, not in email attachments, and access is limited to the people working on your file.

Who will actually run my payroll?

Our payroll team runs each pay period, and a CPA reviews every payroll file. You’ll always know who to contact. We reply mostly within one business day, and when you call, our 24/7 receptionist is a real person who answers.

Ready to hand off payroll?

Whether you’re hiring your first employee, tired of running payroll at night, or worried about remittances that are already late, the first step is a free 30-minute call. We’ll look at your payroll, tell you honestly what it’ll take, and send you a fixed quote, mostly within one business day. If you have a comparable written quote from another firm, show it to us before you sign our proposal and we’ll match it.

Book a Free 30-Min Call

Call (866) 254-5368 or email info@tledgers.ca. Our 24/7 receptionist is a real person who answers.

Related services: Bookkeeping · Catch-up bookkeeping · Corporate taxes and GST/HST · Virtual CFO · Contact us

Payroll rates and thresholds change every year, so we link to the official sources for the current figures.

Payroll Services for Small Businesses in Canada, Run by a CPA-Led Team

Why payroll is worth getting right

What's included in our payroll services

Payroll runs on your schedule

Direct deposit and pay stubs

Source deductions and CRA remittances

Which remitter type are you?

Late or short remittances: what the CRA charges

T4, T4A and year-end slips

Records of Employment (ROE)

WSIB for Ontario employers

Ontario Employer Health Tax (EHT)

Vacation pay, public holidays and leaves

New hires, terminations and changes

Payroll account setup

How it works

Key payroll deadlines we track for you

Payroll compliance: what we keep you on top of

Typical payroll situations we fix

The law behind it (Acts we work under)

Payroll platforms we work with

In-house payroll vs outsourced payroll

Industries we run payroll for

Payroll for hospitality: restaurants, cafés and catering

Payroll for trucking and transportation

Meet your CPA

What our clients say

Frequently asked questions about payroll services

Ready to hand off payroll?