Charity & NPO Accounting across Canada
Charity and non-profit rules by province, with remote bookkeeping across Canada
Bookkeeping and accounting for charities and nonprofits across Canada, with reconciled accounts, fund tracking, and clear financial reports.
We work remotely with your team and agree on the bookkeeping, reporting, and any additional filing or year-end support included in your engagement.
Financial reporting reference
GoodLedger works remotely with registered charities and not-for-profits in every province and territory of Canada. The applicable reporting rules depend on the organization's own federal or provincial incorporating statute, status, bylaws, member resolutions, and funding agreements.
- Framework
- Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (for federally incorporated corporations)
- Audit threshold
- Soliciting corporation: over $250,000 gross annual revenue
- Review threshold
- Soliciting corporation: default at $50,000 or less; audit may be replaced by review from over $50,000 through $250,000 by special resolution
Statutory thresholds are starting points and may depend on soliciting status, public-benefit status, member resolutions, bylaws, and funder agreements. Confirm the applicable requirements with your independent accountant or legal adviser. Our role is the bookkeeping, reporting, and preparation work agreed in your engagement.
Financial reporting rules by province
The statute a charity or not-for-profit is incorporated under sets its audit and review obligations, and the rules are not interchangeable between provinces. The applicable requirement also depends on the organization's status under that statute, its bylaws, member resolutions, and funding agreements; revenue alone does not settle it.
Ontario
- Financial reporting reference
- Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (ONCA)
- Audit
- Public benefit corporation: audit required at $500,000 or more annual revenue
- Review
- Public benefit corporation: review instead of audit from over $100,000 to under $500,000, or waiver at $100,000 or less, by extraordinary resolution each year
ONCA applies to every corporation without share capital incorporated under Ontario legislation, including those formerly governed by the Corporations Act. It does not govern unincorporated charities, trusts, or corporations incorporated federally under the CNCA. Every charitable corporation under ONCA is a public benefit corporation, and so is a non-charitable corporation that receives more than $10,000 in a financial year in donations or gifts from non-members or in government grants.
The three-year transition to ONCA ended on October 18, 2024. Corporations that did not update their documents were not dissolved, but any provision in their letters patent, by-laws, or special resolutions that did not conform to ONCA is now deemed amended to the extent needed to conform. A board that never reviewed its documents may be operating under rules that differ from what its by-laws say on paper.
British Columbia
- Financial reporting reference
- British Columbia Societies Act
- Audit
- No general automatic revenue threshold for every BC society
- Review
- Check the Act, bylaws, member decisions, and funding agreements
BC societies incorporate and file annual reports through the BC Societies Act registry (BC Registry Services). Unlike ONCA, the Act does not set a general revenue threshold that automatically triggers an audit; it refers to an auditor's report only if one exists, so the real requirement usually comes from the society's own bylaws or a funder.
That makes the bylaws, not the statute, the first place to look when a BC board asks whether this year needs an audit or a review. BC is a GST-plus-PST province rather than an HST province, so a charity's PSB rebate and its provincial sales tax exposure are tracked as two separate systems instead of one blended rate.
Alberta
- Financial reporting reference
- Alberta Societies Act
- Audit
- Act uses an auditor model; appointment may be two persons or a firm
- Review
- A statutory 'audit' is not automatically a CPA assurance engagement; check bylaws and funding terms
Alberta societies incorporate under the Alberta Societies Act, filed with the province's non-profit organizations registry. The Act's language uses an 'auditor' model and lets the society appoint two persons or a firm at the annual meeting, wording that predates modern CPA assurance standards.
That auditor language does not, by itself, mean every Alberta society needs a full CPA audit under Canadian Auditing Standards; the bylaws and any funding agreement usually decide the actual scope of work. Alberta charges GST only, with no provincial sales tax, which simplifies the sales-tax side of the bookkeeping compared with a harmonized or blended province.
Quebec
- Financial reporting reference
- Quebec Companies Act, Part III (legal persons without share capital)
- Audit
- Part III sets no revenue threshold and does not apply the Part I auditor-appointment rule
- Review
- Check letters patent, by-laws, member decisions, and funding terms
Part III of the Quebec Companies Act lets the enterprise registrar constitute, by letters patent, a legal person without share capital for charitable, philanthropic, social, religious, sporting, or similar objects, without pecuniary gain, on the application of at least three persons. Part III does not set an ONCA-style revenue test: section 224 excludes the Part I sections that require every company to appoint an auditor. Whether a Part III organization needs an audit or review usually turns on its letters patent, by-laws, members, funders, and any other law that applies.
Since January 1, 2016, a charitable organization has been automatically deemed registered in Quebec on the day the CRA registers it, but Revenu Québec keeps its own filing and receipting rules and can refuse, cancel, or revoke a registration. GoodLedger currently provides service and reporting to Quebec organizations in English.
Manitoba
- Financial reporting reference
- Manitoba Corporations Act, Part XXII
- Audit
- Check Part XXII, bylaws, member resolutions, and funding agreements
- Review
- Requirements are organization-specific
Manitoba non-share-capital corporations operate under Part XXII of the Manitoba Corporations Act, filed with the Manitoba Companies Office. Part XXII sits inside the same general Corporations Act that covers for-profit companies, so a Manitoba treasurer needs to confirm which sections actually apply to a non-share-capital entity rather than assuming the whole Act applies uniformly.
Audit and review requirements come from Part XXII together with the corporation's own bylaws, member resolutions, and funding agreements; there is no single province-wide revenue threshold to apply by default. Manitoba charges GST plus a separate provincial retail sales tax, so PSB rebate work covers the federal portion only, with the provincial sales tax handled outside the rebate system.
Saskatchewan
- Financial reporting reference
- The Non-profit Corporations Act, 2022
- Audit
- 2022 Act contains designated-corporation and audit mechanics
- Review
- Review or waiver options depend on status, revenue, and the required member resolution
Saskatchewan replaced its older non-profit statute with The Non-profit Corporations Act, 2022, filed through the province's non-profit corporations registry. The 2022 Act introduced its own designated-corporation, audit, review, and member-resolution mechanics, so guidance written for the previous statute no longer applies.
Because the Act is still relatively new, boards that incorporated years ago should confirm which designated-corporation category they now fall into rather than relying on a status set under the old rules. Saskatchewan charges GST plus a separate provincial sales tax, so the PSB rebate calculation covers the federal portion only.
Nova Scotia
- Financial reporting reference
- Nova Scotia Societies Act
- Audit
- Check the Societies Act, bylaws, members, and funding terms
- Review
- Requirements are organization-specific
Nova Scotia societies incorporate under the provincial Societies Act and file with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies. As in BC, the Act does not impose one automatic revenue threshold for every society: the bylaws, member decisions, and funding terms are what actually set the audit or review requirement.
That means two Nova Scotia societies of similar size can carry different assurance obligations depending on what their bylaws or funders require. Nova Scotia is an HST province, so the charity pays one HST at the point of purchase, but the PSB rebate treats it in two parts: generally 50% of the federal part and 50% of the provincial part, with the provincial part claimed on RC7066-SCH attached to Form GST66.
New Brunswick
- Financial reporting reference
- New Brunswick Companies Act
- Audit
- Check the Companies Act, governing documents, members, and funding terms
- Review
- Requirements are organization-specific
New Brunswick non-share-capital companies incorporate under the provincial Companies Act, filed through the Corporate Registry. As with several Atlantic provinces, the statute does not set a single revenue threshold that triggers an audit; the governing documents, member decisions, and funding terms carry that weight instead.
That puts more weight on getting the bylaws and funder agreements right at the outset, since the statute alone will not answer the audit-or-review question for most New Brunswick boards. New Brunswick is an HST province, so the charity pays one HST at the point of purchase, but the PSB rebate treats it in two parts: generally 50% of the federal part and 50% of the provincial part, with the provincial part claimed on RC7066-SCH attached to Form GST66.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Financial reporting reference
- Newfoundland and Labrador Corporations Act, Part XXI
- Audit
- Check Part XXI, governing documents, members, and funding terms
- Review
- Requirements are organization-specific
Newfoundland and Labrador not-for-profit bodies corporate are addressed in Part XXI of the provincial Corporations Act, filed with the Registry of Companies, not Part II, which covers business corporations. Older guidance that points to Part II for a not-for-profit is describing the wrong part of the Act.
As with Manitoba's Part XXII, a treasurer needs to confirm which sections of the Act actually govern a non-share-capital corporation before relying on any threshold or filing rule. Newfoundland and Labrador is an HST province, so the charity pays one HST at the point of purchase, but the PSB rebate treats it in two parts: generally 50% of the federal part and 50% of the provincial part, with the provincial part claimed on RC7066-SCH attached to Form GST66.
Prince Edward Island
- Financial reporting reference
- Prince Edward Island Companies Act
- Audit
- Check the Companies Act, governing documents, members, and funding terms
- Review
- Requirements are organization-specific
PEI not-for-profits may be incorporated federally under the CNCA or provincially under the PEI Companies Act, filed with the province's corporate and business names registry. Which statute applies depends on how the organization was originally incorporated, not on where its programs currently operate.
That makes confirming the actual incorporating jurisdiction (federal or provincial) the first step before applying any audit or review threshold. PEI is an HST province, and its provincial PSB rebate rate for the HST portion increased in 2023, so older claim calculations should be rechecked against the current rate.
What working with us looks like
Cloud-first, remote-by-design
QuickBooks Online or Sage Intacct, with secure document exchange. We work the way Canadian charities already work.
CPA-led service
Every engagement is shaped by CPA oversight and real treasurer experience at a Canadian not-for-profit.
Charity and non-profit specialization
We do not work with SMBs or for-profit clients. Our entire workflow is shaped around CRA charity directorate rules and ASNPO.
Fixed-fee tiers
No hourly billing surprises. Four packages (Grassroots, Essentials, Established, and Stewardship) with inclusions on the pricing page.
Helpful resources
Common questions
Sources
- Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act: Justice Laws Website
- Corporations Canada: Financial statements and review: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- CRA: Operating a registered charity: Canada Revenue Agency
Sources reviewed: July 10, 2026
General information only. This page is not legal, tax, assurance, or professional advice for any specific organization. Confirm decisions with the CRA, your CPA, and legal counsel for your facts.
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