For restaurants, cafés, bars and food trucks, where most of the money moves through the till. Your books done the day you upload your statements, checked against your bank, for $79 CAD a month.
Free to join. The first 1,000 in get their catch-up free.
Sales tax
British Columbia charges 5% GST plus 7% PST, which you file with the province, not CRA. GST registration starts once your sales pass $30,000 in four quarters in a row (or in one quarter).
Income tax
British Columbia taxes income at 5.6% to 20.5% 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 in Burnaby (about 250,000 people) keeps track of in 2026. Rates change, so check with your accountant before you file.
Restaurants in Burnaby, by the numbers
Burnaby has 623 restaurants, cafés, bars and caterers with employees (Statistics Canada, December 2024).
Every one of them has books to keep: sales to match to the bank, costs to sort and tax to work out.
Why restaurants need different books
Card sales land a few days later with the processor's fees taken out, cash goes into the till and the bank on its own schedule, tips belong to staff, delivery apps pay you less their commission, and food costs move every week. Getting from all that to a real profit number is a restaurant bookkeeper's whole job.
What a bookkeeper for restaurants in Burnaby keeps track of
Daily sales from your point of sale, split into cash, card and gift cards
Card payouts net of fees, matched to the day they came from
Tips owed to staff, kept out of your sales
Delivery app payouts, split into sales and commission
Food and drink costs as a share of sales
Cash counted against what the till says
Taxes for restaurants in British Columbia
Meals in British Columbia take 5% GST, and alcohol can carry provincial tax too, so check the province's rules for liquor.
Restaurant meals take GST/HST. Voluntary tips don't, but a mandatory service charge does.
Gift cards carry no GST/HST when you sell them, only when they're used.
Delivery apps pay you less their commission, so the deposit isn't your sales.
What SumSwift does for restaurant and café owners, for $79 CAD a month
Point of sale reports read from Square, Toast, Clover, Lightspeed, TouchBistro and others, each day split into cash, card, tips and gift cards
Card payouts matched to their days, with the processor's fees split out
Uber Eats, DoorDash and SkipTheDishes payout reports split into sales and commission
Till counts with over or short, and cash deposits matched
Recipes and food cost, actual against what sales should have used
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
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 restaurants cost in Burnaby?
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 restaurants. SumSwift does the monthly work for $79 CAD a month, the day you upload your statements.
What's a good food cost percentage?
Many restaurants aim for food cost around 28% to 35% of food sales. SumSwift shows yours each month from your real purchases and sales.
Why don't my deposits match my sales?
Card processors and delivery apps take their fees before paying you, and cash goes in on its own schedule. SumSwift matches each payout to its sales day and splits out the fees.
Does SumSwift know British Columbia's tax rules?
Meals in British Columbia take 5% GST, and alcohol can carry provincial tax too, so check the province's rules for liquor. Restaurant meals take GST/HST. Voluntary tips don't, but a mandatory service charge does.
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.