One late remittance. 10% penalty. We make sure it doesn't happen.
CRA doesn't wait around. Miss a payroll remittance and you're looking at a 10% penalty — automatically. Do it twice in a year and that doubles. And if you've been paying a worker on a T4A when CRA thinks they're an employee? That's back CPP, back EI, and interest going back years. We clean up what's broken — missed PD7A remittances, late T4s, overdue ROEs, WSIB gaps — and then we run your payroll going forward so you're never in that spot again.
Pay runs — bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly — with direct deposit and pay stubs
CPP, EI, and income tax deductions calculated and remitted to CRA on your PD7A schedule
T4 slips and T4 Summary filed with CRA by the February 28 deadline
ROE filing through Service Canada — within the 5-day window, every time
WSIB premium reporting and Employer Health Tax (EHT) returns for Ontario
Taxable benefit calculations — company car, parking, group insurance, board & lodging
Sound familiar?
These are the situations Ontario employers actually call us about. Every one of them.
The Problem
First hire — no idea where to start
You just hired your first employee. But you don't have a CRA payroll account, you've never filed a PD7A, and TD1 forms are a mystery. That's normal.
How We Fix It
We register the payroll account, set up CPP/EI/tax deductions, file the first remittance, and hand you a system that works from day one. No penalties. No guessing.
The Problem
Missed CRA remittances piling up
You've got a PD7A notice sitting on your desk. Maybe a penalty letter too. Interest is building and every pay run you process makes the hole deeper.
How We Fix It
We match the arrears to your payroll records, sort out the balance with CRA, set the right remittance schedule, and run future pay periods so you stay current.
The Problem
Owner payroll vs dividends — wrong choice is expensive
You're an owner-manager paying yourself, but you're not sure whether salary, dividends, or a mix is the right call for CPP, RRSP room, and corporate taxes.
How We Fix It
We model the salary-dividend split, run the payroll with the right remittances, and make sure the T4 ties to the T2. No surprises at filing time.
The Problem
Year-end T4 boxes don't tie out
Someone ran payroll all year but the T4 boxes don't match the books. Taxable benefits like a company car or parking never got added. ROEs from mid-year terminations were never filed.
How We Fix It
We reconcile every T4 box to the general ledger, add the missing taxable benefits, file the overdue ROEs, and submit the T4 Summary before February 28 — clean, not patched.
Where it usually goes wrong
Late remittances
Three days late on a payroll remittance and CRA hits you with 10%, plus daily interest. Do it again the same year and the penalty doubles to 20%.
Bad year-end slips
Wrong T4 boxes. Missing taxable benefits. ROEs that never got filed. That's how a normal payroll file turns into a spring nightmare.
Worker misclassification
You called them a contractor. CRA says they're an employee. Now you owe back CPP, back EI, and interest — potentially going back years.
How it works
1
We look at what you've got
Headcount, pay frequency, remittance history, benefits, WSIB status. And whether anything needs fixing before we start running payroll.
2
We set it up right
Employees onboarded, CRA payroll account confirmed, remittance schedule locked in. EHT, WSIB, and taxable benefits all mapped so nothing gets missed.
3
We run it and close the year
Every pay period processed, deductions remitted on time, ROEs filed when someone leaves. Year-end means reviewed T4s and a clean T4 Summary — not a scramble.
Is this for you?
If you're a one-person corp paying yourself once a quarter, you probably don't need us for payroll. But if you've got staff — shift changes, terminations, bonuses, vacation pay — and your bookkeeping, HST, and payroll all need to match every month? That's exactly what we do.
We're especially helpful when payroll connects to a bigger picture. Restaurant teams with tips and high turnover. Contractors juggling employees and subs. Office firms with taxable benefits nobody's tracking. Businesses that crossed into WSIB or EHT territory before the back office was ready.
Payroll errors don't stay in a box. They spill into your T4s, your year-end books, your T2, and eventually into CRA letters. We keep the whole chain tight.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to outsource payroll for a small business in Ontario?
For a team of 1 to 10 employees, outsourced payroll in Ontario usually runs $40 to $150 per pay period. The price depends on how often you run payroll, what deductions you have, and whether WSIB and EHT filings are included. Bi-weekly costs more per month than monthly — you're processing twice as often. We charge a flat fee per pay period, and that includes year-end T4s, T4 Summary, and ROE filings. No surprise invoices in February. We'll quote you during a free consultation once we see your headcount and pay schedule.
What payroll deductions is a Canadian employer required to make?
Three things come off every employee's paycheque: CPP contributions, EI premiums, and federal/provincial income tax. But it doesn't stop there — you also pay your own share as the employer. That's a 100% CPP match and 1.4 times the employee's EI premium. In Ontario, you've also got Employer Health Tax (EHT) once your total payroll tops $1 million, plus WSIB premiums based on your industry rate. CPP, EI, and income tax go to CRA on your PD7A schedule. EHT and WSIB go to Ontario separately.
When are CRA payroll remittances due?
It depends on your remitter type. CRA assigns this based on your average monthly withholding amount (AMWA) from two years back. Most small businesses are regular remitters (under $25,000 AMWA) — you pay by the 15th of the month after the pay period. If your AMWA is $25,000 to $99,999, you remit twice a month. Between $100,000 and $999,999, up to four times a month. Over $1 million, within three working days of every pay date. Miss the deadline? CRA charges 10% after just three days late. Do it again in the same year and that jumps to 20%.
What is the difference between a T4 and a T4A slip?
A T4 is for employees. It reports salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, vacation pay, and taxable benefits — plus all the CPP, EI, and income tax you withheld. A T4A is for everyone else: subcontractor fees, pensions, scholarships, and other income where you didn't deduct at source. The real question is the relationship. If you tell the worker when, where, and how to do the job and give them the tools, that's an employee — T4. If they run their own business and invoice you, that's a T4A. Getting this wrong is one of the most expensive payroll mistakes. CRA can reassess years of unpaid CPP and EI, plus interest.
When do I need to issue a Record of Employment (ROE) in Canada?
Any time an employee stops earning — termination, layoff, resignation, mat leave, parental leave, sickness, or seven straight days with no work and no insurable earnings. You file the ROE through Service Canada's ROE Web, and you've got five calendar days after the end of the pay period when the interruption happened. Miss that window and you delay their EI claim, which triggers Service Canada follow-up. We file ROEs the same day we process the final pay so nothing slips.
When is the T4 and T4 Summary filing deadline with the CRA?
February 28 — or February 29 in a leap year. That's the deadline for both issuing T4 slips to employees and filing them with CRA. The T4 Summary, which totals all wages paid and deductions remitted across your team, is due at the same time. Late penalties start at $100 for 1 to 5 slips and go up to $7,500 for 10,000+ slips, plus interest. And box errors — wrong pensionable earnings, missing taxable benefits, incorrect CPP pro-ration — are one of the most common reasons CRA sends reassessment letters in the spring. We review every box before we file.