For shops, boutiques and stores with a 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
Newfoundland and Labrador charges 15% 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
Newfoundland and Labrador taxes income at 8.7% to 21.8% 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 St. John's (about 110,000 people) keeps track of in 2026. Rates change, so check with your accountant before you file.
Retail stores in St. John's, by the numbers
St. John's has 588 stores 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 retail stores need different books
Stock bought before it sells, a point of sale with every sale on it, cash and cards and gift cards, sales tax on most of it, and counts that never quite match. A store's real profit depends on knowing what the stock cost.
What a bookkeeper for retail stores in St. John's keeps track of
Daily sales from your point of sale
Stock bought, sold and counted
Sales tax collected
Cash counted against the till
Card fees
Taxes for retail stores in Newfoundland and Labrador
Most goods in Newfoundland and Labrador take 15% HST.
You charge GST/HST and, where there is one, PST on most goods.
Stock is valued at cost, first in first out or average, the same way every year.
Gift cards carry no GST/HST until they're used.
What SumSwift does for shop owners, for $79 CAD a month
Point of sale reports read and booked day by day
Stock kept item by item with barcode scanning, counts and purchase orders
Till counts with over or short
Sales tax or GST/HST and PST worked out from the real sales
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 retail stores cost in St. John's?
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 retail stores. SumSwift does the monthly work for $79 CAD a month, the day you upload your statements.
Does SumSwift track inventory?
Yes, item by item, first in first out or average cost, with counts, purchase orders and barcode scanning on your phone.
Can it read my point of sale?
It reads daily reports from Square, Shopify, Clover, Lightspeed, Toast and others.
Does SumSwift know Newfoundland and Labrador's tax rules?
Most goods in Newfoundland and Labrador take 15% HST. You charge GST/HST and, where there is one, PST on most goods.
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.