I know that bookkeeping is typically the least favourite job of any small business owner or side hustler. Quickbooks is confusing (and expensive – and you have to pay for it forever), the CRA’s website can be less than helpful at best – and when do you have to start charging GST?!?!
But there are so many benefits to keeping on top of your business books throughout the year.
With the right system in place you could spend 10 minutes a week on your books and have not only a crystal clear picture of your business’ financial health but also a document ready to hand over to your accountant at tax time (with very few follow-up questions!)
I’m curious, show me this spreadsheet!
Absolutely, click the button below to take a look at the demo version of the sheet.
The #1 Question: How Much Does It Cost?
Two options:
Buy it outright, 1 payment
$400 CAD + applicable taxes
- Pay once, that’s it.
- Get immediate access
- You own your copy of the spreadsheet for life!
- Includes support via email & our community
- Quickbooks starts at $30 CAD per month, and you have
to pay them forever 🫤
12 Month Payment Plan
$45 CAD + applicable taxes/month
- Pay once a month for 12 months
- Get access within 72 hours
- No further payments after the 12 instalments, unlike Quickbooks which will charge you for the rest of your life 🫤
- Includes support via email & our community
What’s Inside the Spreadsheet
- All your typical bookkeeping spreadsheet stuff: a Profit & Loss statement, monthly tracking sheets for your incoming & outgoing money, PLUS…
- Import transactions from your bank & credit card statements with the click of a button
- Automatic calculations for things like:
- GST/HST/PST collected (and paid on expenses)
- How much you can write off for your business use of home & vehicle
- How income & expenses should be categorized
- Overall business health (what’s being spent vs. what’s coming in)
- Approximately how much you should be setting aside for income tax & how much you should ‘paying yourself’ (using guidelines of the Profit First system)
- The numbers you will need for your GST/HST/PST reporting
- How much you can write off for any medical & dental expenses you have paid out of pocket
- How much you can write off of expenses that are partially for personal use and partially for business use, such as your cell phone
Full disclosure…
I am still developing the transaction import from bank account & credit card statements – I haven’t been able to test with every major bank in Canada yet as I only have access to statements from a couple. To date (April 2026) the PDF import has been tested with:
- Royal Bank of Canada account & Visa statements
- CIBC account statements
- PC Financial Mastercard statements
- Simplii Financial account statements
If you are with a different institution the statement import might work no problem, but if not no worries! If I can get a copy of a PDF statement that you are trying to import then I can update the import code to work with your bank. I have a legal agreement that we can both sign to make sure your information is protected.
The trouble is that every financial institution formats their PDF statements slightly differently. I have tried to make my import code as universal as possible, but quirky things can always come up!
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you will need to download your statements from your bank and import them into the spreadsheet – this is easy to do and I have a walkthrough on how it works!
I did look into being able to connect the spreadsheet and automatically download transaction, but Canadian security regulations for online banking are pretty strict – which is not a bad thing! There just wasn’t a good way to get it done securely, given that this is not software but rather a humble spreadsheet. The spreadsheet does do a lot, this was just one thing that was a no-go.
Not yet, but that is in the works! Bookkeeping for corporations is a little more involved as you need to do reconciliation for all accounts
If you’re interested in getting on the wait list for the corporate version please let me know by using the contact form below.
No. If you purchase the spreadsheet then it is either a one-time payment or 12 instalments if you’re on the payment plan. You own the spreadsheet for life and can use it for as many years as you want to. There are NO recurring or annual fees!
I am so tired of every single thing being a subscription these days. 🙄
I’m going to say that it most likely will not. This spreadsheet is very much set up for Canada’s tax filing requirements and federal/provincial taxes.
I can’t stop you from buying it if you run a business outside of Canada, but I won’t be able to provide support or documentation.
No. If you have regular employees and are running payroll and need to remit taxes on their behalf and issue T4 statements, then you need a higher touch service that is specifically set up to be able to handle that. I have never owned a business that had regular employees, so I’m afraid I don’t have any experience or recommendations in that area!
If you hire contractors then this will work just fine for you – there is an expense category built-in to track how much you spend on contract services.
You bet. Please get in touch first, and I can quote you on what that will cost.
Other questions?
Please get in touch using the form below with any further questions that you might have – I promise to get back to you within 3 business days. Always best to ask if you’re unsure!
Praise for The Canadian Small Biz Bookkeeping Spreadsheet:
Best decision ever! Backstory, I was so sick of Quickbooks and had just left a bookkeeper that wasn’t right for me. I felt like I was spending money and still had no idea what was going on in my business. I was frustrated and just wanted a system that wouldn’t drain my soul or be so confusing I bounced off of it the moment I logged in. Buying The Canadian Small Biz spreadsheet was a game changer. Lisa helped me set it up and I was so happy with how things were going, I had her redo all of last year’s bookkeeping too. I can’t express how much it was worth the money. I actually understand my business finances for the first time and I have goals I can hit. My new bookkeeper did my entire Q1 in 5 hours. Also, she colour coded my spreadsheet to my business’ branding colours, and honestly, it just adds that little big of joy when I look at it. If you want the number to start making sense and you want to breakup with Quickbooks forever, this is it. – Kara, Rainbow Raptor Studio