For hair salons, barbers, nail and beauty studios and spas. Your books done the day you upload your statements, for $79 CAD a month.
Free to join. The first 1,000 in get their catch-up free.
Sales tax
Ontario charges 13% HST on most sales. Once your sales pass $30,000 in four quarters in a row (or in one quarter), you register, charge it and file GST/HST returns.
Income tax
Ontario taxes income at 5.05% to 13.16% in 2026, on top of federal tax of 14% to 33%, on the profit from your business.
CPP
Working for yourself, you pay both halves of CPP: 11.9% of your earnings from $3,500 to $74,600 in 2026, plus 8% more up to $85,000.
Deadlines
Sole proprietors file by June 15 and pay by April 30. Once you owe more than $3,000, CRA asks for instalments on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15.
Contractors
Paid someone more than $500 for services in a year? They may need a T4A slip by the end of February.
What every business here keeps track of in 2026. Rates change, so check with your accountant before you file.
Why salons need different books
Card and cash sales every day, tips to pass on, products you sell next to services, stylists who rent a chair or are on staff, and a point of sale that knows more than the bank does. A salon's books live in the gap between the POS and the deposits.
What a bookkeeper for salons in Ontario keeps track of
Daily sales from your point of sale, services and products apart
Tips owed to staff
Booth or chair rent from stylists
Retail products bought and sold
Card fees taken from payouts
Taxes for salons in Ontario
Services and products in Ontario take 13% HST once you're registered.
Salon services and products take GST/HST once you're registered.
Voluntary tips carry no GST/HST.
Chair rent from stylists is income and can take GST/HST too.
What SumSwift does for salon and spa owners, for $79 CAD a month
Point of sale reports from Square, Clover, Lightspeed and others split into cash, card, tips and gift cards
Tips kept apart as owed to staff
Products kept item by item, with what each one makes
Payroll worked out each payday, with the deposit file for your bank and the remittance to send
Every statement checked against the balances your bank printed, to the cent, with personal spending kept off your profit
Receipts snapped with your phone or forwarded by email are read and matched to the charge
Up to 3 accounts included. Prices in CAD. Your accountant still files your tax return, with clean books and free access.
Questions.
How much does a bookkeeper for salons cost in Ontario?
Published price guides put most small businesses at $300 to $1,500 a month for a bookkeeper, more when the books are busy, as they often are for salons. SumSwift does the monthly work for $79 CAD a month, the day you upload your statements.
Should I charge booth rent or hire stylists?
That's a business and tax decision for you and your accountant. SumSwift keeps the books either way: rent as income, or payroll for staff.
How are tips handled?
They're kept out of your sales and tracked as owed to staff until they're paid out.
Does SumSwift know Ontario's tax rules?
Services and products in Ontario take 13% HST once you're registered. Salon services and products take GST/HST once you're registered.
Behind on my books. Can you catch me up?
Yes. A catch-up of up to 12 months is $599, once, checked against your bank to the cent.