Software comparisons that assume you file with the CRA, not the IRS.

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Start here. Accounting, expense and receipt tracking, invoicing, FreshBooks vs Wave, GST/HST registration, and the Ontario HST how-to interlink. POS, card acceptance, payment processors, and Square vs Helcim interlink. Website builders and hosting interlink. Trades, Jobber vs Housecall Pro, and scheduling share field-booking tools. CRM is honest about HubSpot’s free tier. Email marketing is a separate job from invoicing — CAD vs USD labelled.

1. 01 · AccountingBest accounting software for Canadian small businesses (2026)Who each Canadian-ready ledger is actually for — GST/HST, payroll add-ons, and regular CAD prices, not US list rates.
2. 02 · AccountingBest expense and receipt tracking apps for Canadian sole propsWave Starter is $0 until you add receipts. FreshBooks and QBO scan inside the ledger. Dext publishes CAD. Expensify does not.
3. 03 · AccountingFreshBooks vs QuickBooks vs Xero for Canada: GST/HST, payroll, CRAA Canada-only head-to-head table: tax reports, payroll reality, user limits, and regular CAD prices.
4. 04 · InvoicingBest invoicing software for Canadian freelancers and sole propsIncludes Wave as a real free option even though there is no publisher affiliate. FreshBooks and others for paid invoicing.
5. 05 · InvoicingFreshBooks vs Wave for Canadian freelancers and sole propsWave Starter is genuinely $0. FreshBooks starts at $26 CAD/month. Receipts, bank feeds, and client caps decide who should pay.
6. 06 · InvoicingHow to register for a GST/HST account in CanadaWhen the $30,000 test bites, how to register online, Quebec exception, and software that can print the number once you have it.
7. 07 · InvoicingHow to invoice GST/HST in Ontario — and software that actually does it13% Ontario HST, the $30,000 small-supplier rule, CRA invoice fields, and tools that can apply the rate.
8. 08 · PayrollBest payroll software for Canadian small businesses: CPP, EI, T4, ROECPP, CPP2, EI, T4, and ROE — who actually files what. Square Payroll is not a Canadian product.
9. 09 · Payments/POSBest POS systems in Canada for small retail and cafésInterac, hardware, GST on the till, and what happens when the Wi-Fi drops.
10. 10 · Payments/POSShopify vs Square vs Lightspeed: Canada rates, Interac, hardwareCited public Canadian pricing pages. No invented Interac or Visa rates.
11. 11 · Payments/POSHow to accept credit cards in Canada (small business)A practical starting path for a sole prop: Interac, cards, PCI, and CAD deposits.
12. 12 · Payments/POSBest payment processors for Canadian small businessesPublic CAD fee tables. Interac debit is not Interac e-Transfer. Helcim and Moneris publish Canadian Interac numbers; PayPal’s merchant table does not.
13. 13 · Payments/POSSquare vs Helcim for Canadian small businessesSquare prints a flat 2.5% in-person credit rate. Helcim prints interchange-plus margins. Interac cents only where each vendor published them.
14. 14 · CRMBest CRM for Canadian small businessesHubSpot is widely used and has a paid-plan affiliate later. Free/Starter do not pay. Data residency is documented, not assumed.
15. 15 · TradesBest software for Canadian home-service and trades businessesJobber as the operations lead, with accounting cross-links. GST on deposits and invoices.
16. 16 · TradesJobber vs Housecall Pro for Canadian home-service businessesBoth publish USD plan prices, not CAD. Jobber is Edmonton-based. Interac and Canadian payroll only where each vendor actually documents them.
17. 17 · SchedulingBest scheduling software for Canadian small businessesCalendar vs field jobs vs clinic booking. Interac and CAD payouts only where the vendor’s Canadian pages document them.
18. 18 · WebsitesBest website builders for Canadian small businessesBrochure site vs storefront vs self-hosted WordPress. Interac and CAD payouts only where the vendor’s Canadian pages document them.
19. 19 · HostingBest web hosting for Canadian small businessesHostPapa as the Canadian-friendly CAD option. Intro teasers vs renewal rates. Data residency only where the vendor names a Canadian facility.
20. 20 · EmailBest email marketing software for Canadian small businessesConstant Contact publishes CAD. Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Flodesk, and MailerLite are USD (or a CAD toggle you must confirm). Email is not a till.

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