Your books, closed by the tenth.
A named bookkeeper reconciles every account each month, runs your payroll and files your GST and Manitoba PST on time, for one flat monthly fee.
We work in the software you already use
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Sage 50
- Wave
- Dext
- Wagepoint
The office
Five bookkeepers, one brick room, no call centre.
Columnar started in 2011 with one bookkeeper and a shoebox of receipts from a St. Boniface café. There are five of us now, on the third floor of a 1904 warehouse in the Exchange District.
Every client gets one named bookkeeper who learns how the business actually runs: which supplier invoices late, which truck is personal, which month the cash gets tight. When they are away, a second bookkeeper already knows your file.
We never sell you software or take a cut from anyone who does. If what you use works, we keep it.
Monthly plans
One price a month, set before we start
Plans are sized by how many transactions go through your accounts in a normal month. Catching up on past months is quoted separately.
Sole trader
For one-person businesses and side incomes.
$245/month
- Up to 60 transactions a month
- Receipts matched to every transaction
- GST return filed every year
Small business
For shops, trades and studios with a small team.
$495/month
- Up to 250 transactions a month
- Payroll for up to 10 staff, T4 slips included
- GST and Manitoba PST filed on time
- A one-page report by the fifteenth
Growing
For businesses with staff, stock or more than one location.
$895/month
- Up to 800 transactions a month
- Payroll for up to 40 staff
- Inventory and job costing
- A review call with your bookkeeper every quarter
Prices in Canadian dollars, plus GST. Cancel with thirty days' notice.
An honest comparison
Doing it yourself, or handing it over
Plenty of owners keep their own books well. Most of the ones who call us want their evenings back.
| Feature | Columnar | Doing it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Your time each month | A few minutes sending receipts | Most of a weekend, usually at night |
| GST and PST returns | Filed and paid before the due date | Filed when you remember |
| Bank reconciliation | Every account, every month | Often left until year-end |
| Payroll remittances | Sent to the CRA on schedule | Penalties when one is late |
| Year-end | A clean file for your accountant | A box of receipts in April |
| Cost | One flat fee a month | Your hourly rate, times the hours |
I did the books at the kitchen table on Sunday nights and still got a letter from the CRA about a late remittance. Priya took over in February. I have not opened a bank statement since, and I know my numbers better than I ever did.
Marc
Bakery owner, Selkirk
Questions
What owners ask on the first call
Yes. Catch-up work is quoted by the month, and we file the oldest returns first so the CRA sees progress. Most catch-ups take six to ten weeks.
No. If what you use works, we keep it. If you have nothing yet, we set up what suits the business, and the file is yours.
Your accountant does, working from the file we hand over at year-end, which usually lowers their bill. If you do not have one, we can introduce you to two CPAs we work with.
Snap them with your phone or forward the email. Paper ones go in the envelope we give you, dropped at the office or mailed.
Send us a photo of it the day it arrives. Anything about a return we filed, we answer at no extra charge.
The 2027 deadline calendar
Every GST, PST, payroll remittance and T4 date for the year on one page, sized for the fridge door.
Free for any Manitoba business. Sent by email, no newsletter attached.
Contact
Tell us about the business
A bookkeeper, not a salesperson, calls you back within one business day.
Call
(204) 555-0138Serving
- Winnipeg
- Selkirk
- Steinbach
- Stonewall
- Portage la Prairie
Hours
- Monday–Friday
- 8am–4:30pm
Open until seven on weeknights in March and April.