Month-end close: a worked example for a client in British Columbia

Month-end close for a BC client: WorkSafeBC, employer health tax, vacation pay, PST and the PST return. Government sources read 2026-10-19.

This is part of the month-end close checklist.

Payroll (step 8). On top of the CRA remittance, check these three BC items:

1. WorkSafeBC premiums, if your client is registered. Premiums are generally paid annually if they're expected to be under $2,000 a year. They're paid quarterly if they're expected to be $2,000 or more, or if the client is in a classification unit that must report quarterly [1]. Use the schedule on your client's WorkSafeBC account.
2. Employer health tax, if your client is registered. Generally, an employer must register once its BC remuneration is more than $1,000,000 in a calendar year [2]. Check whether your client is registered. Don't assume either way.
3. Vacation pay owing. Vacation pay is at least 4% of wages, rising to at least 6% after 5 years of employment [3]. Accrue what's owed but not yet paid, at the rate your client's payroll uses.

Done when each of these liability accounts ties to its report or schedule.

GST/HST (step 12). Follow the Canada GST/HST steps on the sales tax page.

PST (step 12). The BC government assigns your client's PST reporting period based on how much PST they collect in a year [4]:

Use the period on your client's eTaxBC account.

Every month:

1. Confirm what's taxable before you check any totals. Which sales and purchases are PST-taxable depends on the industry. Read the BC PST bulletin for your client's industry, listed under "Industry specific" on the BC government's PST publications page [6]. Keep a short note in the file of which of your client's sales and purchases are taxable.
2. Check that PST charged on taxable sales and leases is posted to the PST payable account. It counts whether or not the customer has paid [5].
3. List anything your client bought for business use without paying PST, such as goods from an out-of-province supplier that didn't charge it. These need to be self-assessed [5].
4. Note any PST refunded or credited to a customer, and any bad debt written off on a taxable sale. Each of these is claimed in the period it happened, or the client has to apply for a refund instead [5].

When the month ends a reporting period, prepare every box of the PST return [5]. Enter zero where nothing applies, so a blank box isn't mistaken for a skipped one:

1. Box A: total sales and leases, excluding PST and GST.
2. Box B: PST collectable on sales and leases.
3. Box C: commission, worked out on the return.
4. Box D: net PST due on sales and leases, which is Box B minus Box C.
5. Box E: the cost of taxable goods, software and services bought without paying PST.
6. Box F: PST due on Box E.
7. Box G: PST payable before adjustments, which is Box D plus Box F.
8. Box H: PST on bad debts written off this period.
9. Box I: PST refunded or credited to customers this period.
10. Box J: total adjustments.

The amount owing is Box G minus Box J [5]. The return and payment are due on the last day of the month after the period ends, or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or a BC statutory holiday [4]. Your client can file and pay in eTaxBC. If the return is filed and paid on time, your client gets a commission of up to $198 for the period [4]. A late return loses it.

For your own practice: the BC government has paused the planned extension of PST to accounting services [4].

Done when the PST payable account ties to the month's PST report. At a period end, Boxes B and F must tie to it, and the working papers are saved.