How we think about owner-operator holdings
The single-shareholder holding company is the most common structure we see: one operator, a HoldCo at the top, an OpCo or two underneath, sometimes a rental property, sometimes an investment portfolio. The books across the structure have to be individually correct and collectively sensible — because at year-end your CPA needs to model dividends, management fees, and capital dividend account movements against a clean ledger.
What makes the books different
- Multiple entities with intercompany loans, management fees, and dividend flows
- Owner-draw and shareholder-loan tracking that stays audit-ready through the year
- Investment and rental income mixed with operating income, cleanly separated
- Capital dividend account (CDA) and safe income tracking where the structure calls for it
What a monthly close looks like for you
Each month we reconcile every account across the HoldCo and OpCos, settle intercompany balances, post management fees where declared, and track the shareholder loan balance in real time. You receive a consolidated view plus each entity's P&L and balance sheet. We keep notes on anything that is likely to matter at year-end so our year-end preparation hands your CPA a closed file, not a March surprise.
Tools we commonly use for owner-operator clients
QuickBooks Online or Xero as the ledger, with one file per entity. Google Sheets for intercompany tracking, shareholder loan reconciliations, and any consolidation work. Dext for receipts across all entities, Plooto for operational payments, and Wagepoint for owner-paid payroll. We coordinate with your CPA's preferred working-paper format so the handover at year-end is frictionless.
Partners we work with
We work alongside Vancouver tax CPAs who understand Canadian-controlled private corporation planning — dividend mix, CDA elections, estate freezes, and the interaction of HoldCo and OpCo — and coordinate year-end directly with them. For corporate structure or succession questions, we refer to lawyers and advisors with deep experience in small-business ownership.
A good fit if
- You own one or more active businesses through a Canadian holding company
- You take a mix of salary, dividends, and shareholder loans across the year
- You want a single bookkeeper who understands the whole structure, and a fractional controller when the group is ready for one