For accounting firms
Busy season tax prep support
Busy-season T1 and T2 prep support gives Canadian accounting and tax firms extra hands before the April 30 payment deadline and the June 15 self-employed filing deadline: source documents organized, trial balances tied out and draft return input completed for your firm's own EFILE registrant to review, sign and transmit.
Engagement tracker
Illustrative client · August 2026
CAD
- Client file access set up under your firm's nameDone
- Monthly books prepared to your review standardDone
- Review notes cleared and loggedIn progress
- Reports sent to your partner for sign-offNext
- Year-end workpapers staged for your preparerNext
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
The problem this solves
Every Canadian firm knows the shape of tax season: the weeks before the April 30 payment deadline, the June 15 filing deadline for self-employed individuals and their spouses, and a T2 filing deadline that lands six months after each corporate client's own year end. Adding a full-time preparer for a few peak months rarely pencils out. Busy-season prep support is capacity you add before those dates and scale back after.
What our team actually does
Work starts with organizing the source documents a client has provided: T4s, T5s, T3s, prior-year returns, and the bookkeeping records behind them. We tie trial balances to supporting schedules, propose adjusting entries where the books and the return diverge, and complete input in your firm's return software so a preparer opens a file that is ready to review rather than a stack of receipts.
Why the EFILE line sits with your firm
CRA's EFILE program requires the transmitting registrant to be a Canadian resident holding a Social Insurance Number, a rule that structurally keeps transmission with your firm. We prepare the workpapers and the draft T1 or T2 input; your own EFILE-registered preparer reviews, signs and transmits every return. A firm that is paid to prepare more than 5 T1, T2 or T3 returns in a calendar year must file those returns electronically, a threshold that sits with your firm's own filing volume.
Ramping up and back down
Firms often add this capacity a few weeks before the April 30 payment deadline and taper it off once the June 15 self-employed deadline passes, or run a smaller version year round for T2 clients whose year ends fall throughout the calendar.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Busy season tax prep support
Who actually transmits the return through EFILE?
Your firm does. EFILE requires the transmitting registrant to be a Canadian resident with a SIN, so our team builds the workpapers and draft return, and your own EFILE registrant reviews, signs and transmits it.
Which Canadian deadlines does this line up with?
The April 30 balance-owing deadline, the June 15 filing deadline for self-employed individuals, and each corporate client's own T2 deadline, six months after their tax year end.
Can you handle both personal and corporate returns?
Yes, including T1 personal returns and T2 corporate returns, with all workpapers and draft input reviewed and transmitted by your own EFILE registrant.
How quickly can capacity ramp up before April 30?
Firms typically add support two to three weeks ahead of the deadline, though the ramp depends on how much prior-year file history needs review first.
What exactly is included in busy season tax prep support?
Source documents put in order and indexed by client and return type, and draft workpapers built to your firm's review standard. This work runs inside QuickBooks Online or Xero, whichever your business already has in place, and it rolls into your regular monthly close rather than sitting off to the side as a separate, unreconciled process.
Does your team sign or file anything?
No. We prepare workpapers and draft input for your credentialed preparers, who review and sign every return.
Can you flex up just for filing season?
Yes. Firms typically add this capacity a few weeks before a deadline and scale it back down after.
How is busy season tax prep support priced?
Pricing for busy season tax prep support depends on your transaction volume, the software you use, and how much cleanup is needed before ongoing work starts. Current ranges are published on the pricing page, and your exact fee is confirmed in writing before anything begins.
What software works with busy season tax prep support?
Busy season tax prep support runs inside QuickBooks Online or Xero, whichever you already use. If you are not yet set up in either, we can configure a file in your name so you keep ownership of it once the engagement is under way.
Related services
- For accounting firmsReview supportA second set of eyes on files your firm has already prepared, checking ties, disclosures and workpaper completeness before they reach your partner for sign-off.
- For accounting firmsOverflow cleanup projectsFixed-scope cleanup and catch-up projects your firm can hand off when a client's books are too far behind for your own staff to absorb without disrupting other work.
Industries
- Professional servicesBookkeeping for professional service firms such as engineering, architecture and IT consulting billing clients by project or retainer.
- Startups and VC-backed companiesBookkeeping and reporting for early-stage, venture-backed companies watching burn, runway and investor reporting closely.
- Ecommerce (Amazon and Shopify)Bookkeeping for online sellers on Amazon, Shopify, Etsy and their own storefronts, built around clean payout and sales tax data.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.