Your bookkeeping. Actually understood.
For Canadian business owners who do their own books β what to do, why it matters, when it's due, and how to fix it when it's wrong.
A guide that teaches. An assistant that answers. A dashboard that keeps you moving.
- What do I record?
- What do I need to do this month?
- What's due to CRA?
- Is this actually right?
You don't need to become an accountant. You need a system β one that tells you what to do, when, and when to ask for help.
The Guide
Every stage of running your own books β setup, the daily work, your monthly close, and reporting.
Margot
Takes what's in the Guide and applies it to your specific situation, the way a real bookkeeper would.
Your Dashboard
Know exactly what to do each month β a closing checklist tailored to your exact business, with your deadlines built in and progress you can track.
Know what's due, before it's due.
Your CRA deadlines, tracked automatically. Your monthly, quarterly, and year-end checklists, built around your real activity.
closed
Margot: your Canadian bookkeeping guide, whenever you're stuck.
Every answer traces back to the Guide.
Margot's built into every page β ask her anything about your books. She knows the whole Guide, stays inside Canadian bookkeeping rules, and tells you plainly when something needs your accountant.
Try her free before you decide β no signup, right in the corner.
What you'll master.
Built around the real questions Canadian business owners face every month.
Deadlines & Compliance
Which CRA deadlines actually apply to your business β the exact ones for your structure and situation.
GST & Sales Tax
Whether you need to register, when, and exactly how filing works for your province β no guessing which rules apply to you.
Record Keeping
Exactly what CRA expects you to keep, for how long, and how to stay organized year-round.
Payroll & Employees
How source deductions, remittances, and year-end T4 reporting actually work, in plain language.
Reading Your Reports
What your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet are actually telling you about your business.
Your Industry
Restaurants, real estate, trades, content creators β the rules that actually apply to your specific business, not generic content stretched to fit.
Thirty years of knowing where books go wrong.
Not textbook theory β an active Canadian bookkeeping practice, closing real books and working through real transactions every month, with the same software and CRA rules you're using.
Built for Canadian business, coast to coast to coast.
We built every module on real-world CRA rules and ASPE standardsβcovering your GST/HST, payroll, T4s, and actual deadlines. Plus, when tax season shifts or something changes provincially, the Guide updates right alongside it. It's the kind of continuous upkeep a static template or basic chatbot simply can't offer.
The details behind the Guide.
Should I Incorporate?
The real trade-offs for Canadian small business owners β taxes, liability, and paperwork, explained plainly.
GST/HST for Massage Therapists
Is your practice exempt or not? A clear answer, with the CRA reasoning behind it.
Bookkeeping for Real Estate Agents
Commission income, vehicle expenses, and the deductions agents miss most.
Wherever you're starting, there's a path for you.
Which one sounds like you?
Starting Fresh
Setting up your books for the first time? Start here and build it right from day one.
Cleaning Up
Books fallen behind? We'll identify the issues and walk you through the fix.
Confidence Check
Already doing your own books and just want to know you're doing it right? Get the reassurance you need.
Not sure yet? Ask Margot first β free, no signup, bottom right.
Good β day one is the easiest day to do this right.
No cleanup, no guessing what past-you meant by a transaction. The Guide's setup modules walk you through chart of accounts, bank connections, and your first close, in order, before bad habits have a chance to form.
However far behind it is, there's a path through it.
Margot and the Guide identify exactly what's off and walk you through fixing it, until everything balances.
You've probably got more right than you think.
Tell Margot what you're unsure about and she'll confirm what's correct and flag what isn't β plain language, judgment-free.
Simple pricing. Everything included.
The difference isn't more information β it's knowing what it means for your business.
Personal guidance for your actual business, whenever you need it β the full Guide, Margot, and your dashboard, no matter how you pay.
Cancel anytime. Margot knows Canadian bookkeeping in depth β and knows exactly when to send you to your own accountant.
Prefer to pay yearly? Annual billing is available at checkout β $997/year.
Get Started β $97/month CADQuestions, answered.
Who is Ready Set Bookkeep for?
Canadian business owners who want to understand and manage their own bookkeeping β whether you're starting from scratch, catching up after falling behind, or just want confidence that what you're doing is right.
Do I need to already use QuickBooks or Xero?
Not at all β the Guide walks you through setup from scratch, whichever platform you choose. QBO's the most common starting point, but Xero works just as well.
I'm behind on my books β can this still help?
Absolutely β that's exactly what the Cleaning Up path is built for.
Is this the same as hiring a bookkeeper?
Not quite β Ready. Set. Bookkeep! teaches you to do it yourself, correctly. If something's outside what Margot or the Guide can help with, we'll point you straight to your own accountant.
Is this tax advice?
It's not β Ready. Set. Bookkeep! guides you like a bookkeeper would, not tax strategy or legal advice. When something's a real judgment call, Margot says so and points you straight to your accountant.
Why does this cost $97/month when there's free content out there?
Free content teaches you concepts. It doesn't know which QBO plan you're on, which province you're in, or what's actually wrong with your specific file. Margot does β and she's there the moment you get stuck, not three YouTube videos later. You're not paying for information you could find elsewhere. You're paying for it applied to your actual business, on demand.
How is Margot different from a general AI chatbot?
Margot is purpose-built around Canadian bookkeeping and the Ready. Set. Bookkeep! Guide. Her answers apply to your actual business and situation. Where something needs a professional's judgment, she's built to tell you plainly and point you to your accountant.
What happens to my books if I cancel?
Everything you've learned stays with you β the reasoning behind every entry, the habits, the chart of accounts you've built in your own QuickBooks, Xero, or Wave. That's real, working knowledge of your business. Margot and your dashboard are part of the active membership, so cancel any time, and the knowledge stays yours for good.