A lot of Riverview businesses didn’t start out as businesses. They started as something you were good at, that somebody offered to pay you for, and it grew from there, around a full-time job, in the evenings, out of a spare room on Pine Glen or Cleveland or one of the streets off Coverdale.
That’s a great way to start a business. It’s a difficult way to keep books. The point where a side income becomes something the CRA treats as a business arrives quietly, and most people cross it without noticing.
Accounting Moncton is eight minutes away, straight over the Gunningsville Bridge. We’re a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor practice handling bookkeeping, payroll, HST and business registration for small businesses across Greater Moncton. First consultation is free.
Book a free consultation, or call (506) 854-6490
Riverview’s business base is different from Moncton’s
Riverview is the largest town in New Brunswick, with 20,584 people at the last census, but it isn’t a smaller version of the city across the river. Its economy is built around people who live here, and a large share of them work somewhere else. The Town’s own planning documents describe a community where many residents commute to Moncton.
That shapes what the business base looks like. Fewer large employers, more independent operators: trades, health and wellness practices, home-based consultancies, personal services, retail and restaurants along the Coverdale Road and Hillsborough Road corridor. The Town’s own economic development material actively courts healthcare practices, restaurants and cafés, which tells you what’s growing.
For anyone running one of these, three things come up over and over.
The hobby-versus-business line. If you’re earning income from something on the side, the CRA generally wants it reported as business income once you’re operating with a reasonable expectation of profit, regardless of whether you’ve registered anything. That means you can deduct legitimate expenses, but it also means the income belongs on your return. The good news is that the deductions usually outweigh the hassle. The bad news is that people often discover this three years in, without records.
Employment income plus self-employment income. If you have a T4 job in Moncton and business income in Riverview, your return is more complicated than either on its own. Nothing is withheld from the business side, so you can end up owing a meaningful amount in April, plus CPP contributions on your self-employment earnings, which catch people out because there’s no employer paying half. Once you’re above a certain threshold, the CRA also expects instalments. Knowing that number in advance is the entire difference between a manageable bill and a bad surprise.
The home office. Most Riverview businesses run from home. The deductions are real. You can claim a portion of heat, power, insurance, property tax, mortgage interest or rent, based on the share of your home used for the business. What they need is supporting records kept as you go. Set it up properly in year one and it’s a few minutes a month. Reconstruct it later from bank statements and memory and it’s a miserable weekend.
What we do for Riverview businesses
- Monthly bookkeeping: transactions categorised, accounts reconciled, books closed on time
- QuickBooks Online setup and training: bank feeds connected, a chart of accounts that fits your actual business, and training so you can use it yourself
- Payroll: pay runs, source deductions, remittances, T4s
- HST: registration, tracking, returns filed on schedule
- Financial reporting: Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, cash flow, budgets
- Business registration: sole proprietorships, incorporation, NUANS name searches, annual returns
We work in English, French, Spanish and Ukrainian.
See our full services and pricing.
Making it official in Riverview
If your side business has outgrown being a side business, registering is the next step, and it’s simpler than most people expect.
Both sole proprietorship name registrations and New Brunswick incorporation run through the Corporate Registry at Service New Brunswick. Not the Town of Riverview, and not federal unless you deliberately choose to incorporate federally.
Sole proprietorship is faster and cheaper. You register the operating name, and the income flows onto your personal return. Incorporation costs more up front and adds a corporate return every year, but New Brunswick’s small business rate is 2.5% on active business income up to $500,000 against a general rate of 14%, and it puts a legal wall between your personal assets and the business. Trades and anyone carrying real liability tend to reach that decision sooner.
We’ll talk you through which one fits, run the NUANS search, and handle the filing.
Worth knowing locally: the Town of Riverview runs a Commercial Development Grant for businesses investing in commercial property. If you’re renovating, expanding, or fitting out a space, it’s worth a conversation before you spend. Contact the Town’s economic development team at economicdevelopment@townofriverview.ca or 506-387-2141. Riverview is in Albert County, so depending on your sector the Albert County Chamber of Commerce may be a better fit than the Greater Moncton one, though the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton does cover Riverview.
How we work
Most of our Riverview clients never come to the office. QuickBooks Online means we’re working in the same live file you are. You photograph receipts on your phone, and we handle the categorising, reconciling and filing.
When you’d rather sit down in person, we’re at 83 Barrieau Road in Moncton, about eight minutes from Riverview. First consultation is free and there’s nothing attached to it.
Common questions from Riverview business owners
I run my business from home alongside a full-time job. Do I need a bookkeeper?
Maybe not a full monthly service, but you almost certainly need the setup done properly once. Getting your record-keeping, home office allocation and HST position right at the start takes an hour or two and saves you far more than it costs. After that, plenty of our clients handle day-to-day entry themselves in QuickBooks and bring us in quarterly.
When do I have to register for HST?
When your taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that you’re a small supplier and registration is optional, though registering voluntarily can be worth it if you’re buying a lot of equipment or supplies, since you can claim the HST back. We’ll help you decide which side of that you want to be on.
Do I need a bookkeeper based in Riverview?
No. Bookkeeping isn’t regulated by municipality, and with cloud accounting your bookkeeper’s address barely matters. What matters is that they know New Brunswick rules, including HST at 15%, registration through Service New Brunswick and NB corporate rates, and that you can actually reach them. We’re eight minutes away if you want to sit down.
My books are a mess. Is that a problem?
It’s the normal starting point, not an embarrassment. We’ll look at what you’ve got, tell you honestly what shape it’s in, and quote you for either cleaning it up or rebuilding it. You’ll know the scope before we start anything.
Let’s talk about your books
Free consultation, no obligation. Call (506) 854-6490, email accounting@startupsupportplus.com, or book a time that works for you.
Serving Riverview, Moncton, Dieppe and Greater Moncton.
Accounting Moncton
83 Barrieau Road, Moncton, NB E1G 1J5
(506) 854-6490
accounting@startupsupportplus.com
Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
English, Français, Español, Українська
Serving Riverview and Greater Moncton