WE’RE LIVING IN A DIGITAL WORLD…
And I am a digital girl. Are you?
Please re-read that while channeling your inner Madonna, to the tune of Material Girl. Sounds so much cooler right?
Now that I have that song stuck in your head (you’re welcome), I want to talk about today’s reality. Spoiler alert – everything is moving online. Pretty obvious, I know, but there are still so many entrepreneurs that don’t have access to some important online accounts and it’s keeping them in the dark about their finances. Let’s go through some key accounts you need, in order to stay on top of your business situation.
CRA MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT
Of course, this is the first one on my list – I am a tax and money person after all. But even if I wasn’t, being able to see what CRA says you owe them is critical to staying in their good books. CRA is moving away from paper mail and will soon ONLY send you information through your online portal, so getting this set up is priority #1.
What’s there? Your My Business Account will show you each of your different CRA accounts – GST, Payroll, and Corporate Taxes are the main ones, but you might also have RZ (information returns), RD (excise), or RM (exporting) accounts as well. Check THIS POST to read about the different taxes. Within each, you can see a) how much you owe them, b) if there are any outstanding reports required, or when your next report is due, and c) in some cases, the ability to pay your balances owing. Each account will also have some more specific things you can do within it – poke around and explore!
If you don’t have access already, here’s what you need to do:
Go to the CRA Login Page
Scroll down to OPTION 2 and click CRA REGISTER
Enter your SIN – click NEXT
Enter your Postal Code, Birthdate, and some piece of info from your recent tax return – this will be VERY specific and it varies, so make sure you have your actual T1 tax return with you when you go to do this; your Notice of Assessment won’t always have the info needed. – click NEXT
Then it’s going to get you to confirm your address, create a User ID and Password, set up security questions, and set up your authentication
FINALLY, it will ask you for your business number and will tell you it’s sending you a security code in the mail
When you get that code in the mail, return to the link above and this time click to SIGN IN. Use the User ID and Password you created in #5. From here it will ask you to enter the security code and then you’ll get into your account.
BUSINESS REGISTRATION ONLINE
This is a CRA tool that allows you to create a business number and/or register for new CRA programs (i.e. GST, payroll, etc). When you INCORPORATE a new business, the Registry Office will generate a business number for you, but you’ll need to use this tool to create your GST account when/if you need it. If you are a SOLE PROPRIETOR you’ll use this to create your business number AND GST account.
Go to THIS PAGE and click the blue button that says REGISTER NOW, then follow the steps below.
Enter you SIN
Enter your Last name, Birthdate, and Postal Code
Agree to all the things
Enter your phone number
Select whether you have or need a business number
From here, it will ask you what you’re wanting to register/create and will take you through the steps and info needed for each. It varies depending on what you’re wanting to do.
ALBERTA FINANCE
When you file your corporate taxes, you are also filing your provincial tax return too. In order to see what is going on with your provincial tax account, you can access TRACS as follows:
Go to the Enrolment Request form
Enter your name, program (i.e. Corporate Income Tax), account number (this is the corporate access number that is on your certificate of incorporation), and postal code. Click CONTINUE
Make sure it’s right and click SUBMIT. They’ll send you a letter with a PIN code to create your account.
While you wait for the code, if you don’t have it already, create an alberta.ca account and scroll to the blue button at STEP 2.
When you get the code you can log in, enter your account number and PIN and you should be good to go.
BANK and CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS
This varies by bank, but you should be able to register and set up your online access as long as you have your bank or credit card. I’m sure we all have access to our bank accounts but be sure to set up the credit card ones too. You want to be able to view your monthly statements and view details on your transactions. If you’re a sole proprietor, you’ll need to see your annual mortgage statement so you can get that MORTGAGE INTEREST number for your taxes.
Create away!! And be sure to reach out if you get stuck.