For YouTubers, streamers, influencers and anyone paid by platforms and brands. 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 Nanaimo (about 100,000 people) keeps track of in 2026. Rates change, so check with your accountant before you file.
Creators in Nanaimo, by the numbers
Nanaimo has 11 independent artists, writers and performers 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 creators need different books
Money from platforms in other currencies, brand deals paid on their own terms, gear and props, software, travel for content and income that changes every month. Most creators find out what they owe at tax time, which is the problem.
What a bookkeeper for creators in Nanaimo keeps track of
Platform payouts, often in US dollars
Brand deals and sponsorships
Gear, props and software
Travel for content
Tax to set aside
Taxes for creators in British Columbia
Sponsorships from Canadian brands in British Columbia take 5% GST plus PST once you're registered.
Register for GST/HST once your income passes $30,000 in four quarters in a row; payments from platforms outside Canada are often zero-rated.
Digital platforms now report sellers' income to CRA.
US dollar income is converted at the Bank of Canada rate for the day it arrives.
What SumSwift does for creators and influencers, for $79 CAD a month
Platform and brand payments sorted, in US dollars and your own currency
What to set aside for tax, with the payments and their due dates
Big purchases get one question, "Is this equipment?", so they're written off over the right years
Subscriptions watched for price rises
Invoices made, emailed and chased in SumSwift, with a pay link your customers can use
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 creators cost in Nanaimo?
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 creators. SumSwift does the monthly work for $79 CAD a month, the day you upload your statements.
How much should creators set aside for tax?
Often 25% to 35% of profit. SumSwift works it out from your real income and costs.
Can I write off my camera and computer?
The business share of them, yes. SumSwift asks once whether a big purchase is equipment.
Does SumSwift know British Columbia's tax rules?
Sponsorships from Canadian brands in British Columbia take 5% GST plus PST once you're registered. Register for GST/HST once your income passes $30,000 in four quarters in a row; payments from platforms outside Canada are often zero-rated.
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.