Funny you ask! Most people think of CPA firms as “selling” tax returns, financial statements or tax plans. At GBA, we sell peace of mind. We provide accounting, tax, and business solutions, so that you don’t have to worry about it. Our goal is to be your partner in successfully achieving a better life, however that may look to you. This doesn’t just mean maximizing your profits for example, but it could look like helping you achieve work-life balance.

Entrepreneurs – This client is in the process of growing their business and understands that they require assistance with their finance and accounting. They are willing to listen to options, are like minded to GBA (i.e., values of respect, community, etc), and have revenues of at least $1 million annually.

Private Enterprise – Typically, this client requires a Licensed Public Accountant for an audit or review of their financial statements. We serve both For Profit companies and Not-For-Profit organizations that require audits or reviews for borrowing, insurance or other stakeholders.

Generational Wealth – This client has been successful in their business and personal life, and now find themselves at a point where they have surplus cash in their corporation, and are possibly looking at a large tax bill. We can help individuals minimize their taxes by legal, proactive tax planning that will help them retain the wealth that they have worked hard to accumulate. Our tax specialists work first at helping our customers articulate their objectives and then formulate a tax plan to best meet their needs.

When asking our customers why they chose GBA, the overwhelming response is that they strongly value our process, communication and the sense of trust that they are looked after in all aspects of their business – not just with the CRA. Our customers also appreciate our accessibility and communication style. We want you to be able to have access to us at any point. At GBA, we don’t use tax or accounting jargon in our communication with you, rather we want you to feel comfortable and have a clear understanding before moving forward.

We begin with a discovery call. During this call, we will discuss your current accounting solution, pain points and where you feel like you’re lacking in terms of information needed to help you run your business efficiently. We then discuss how GBA can help. We will provide you with multiple options in terms of how you can achieve your accounting, tax and business objectives. We will show you specifics with respect to the technology stack that we suggest to eliminate accounting and tax difficulties you’re experiencing. Typically, this leads to a deeper understanding of our process and its associated benefits. Lastly, we will schedule another call to discuss pricing and scope of the accounting solutions, and address any further questions you may have in regards to timing, frequency and the tech stack to be used in delivering your customized services.

Once you sign the proposal we begin the on-boarding process. This can possibly include a training session with you the following day. On-boarding begins with an introduction to your team leader and other members of the team. This meeting will typically occur over a Zoom, as we value face-to-face connection and the development of a relationship with our clients.

It really depends. We do not have pre-set packages that you subscribe for, rather all of our services are customized to fit your needs. In our discovery call, we learn the who, what, where, when and why of your company. We then suggest what we believe you require to meet your objectives. We also offer suggestions for future consideration – services that may not be needed at the moment but might be additional value to you later on. Knowing the roadmap of where you can go helps you get there.

Once we agree to a price, a proposal is sent to you and accepted online. The amount is then withdrawn from your bank through a PAD (pre-authorized debit agreement) on the same day of each month. We use Plooto to process all payments from your account.

Simple. You call or email your main point of contact with your query. If it happens that they are away (e.g., on vacation), you can call our main support line and one of our administrators will take the message and create an electronic ticket for your contact or other team member to return your call. We will either address your query through email, phone or Zoom call – whatever is most appropriate.

Our goal is to respond to your queries within 1 business day, if not the same day.

We have a structured support process, and that alone makes us a minority in our industry. One of our core values is clear communication, so although there are very few life and death accounting or tax questions, we recognize that your question is important and an answer is warranted. That being said, when you have a question, you will get clear communication from us. We will either provide a direct answer right away or if we need to consult other members of our team or a 3rd party, you will get an explanation and timeline as to when to expect an answer – you have our word.

Yes, absolutely, but we are more than that. We use a team approach. A team approach recognizes that people are sometimes away and you still need questions answered. Our goal is to respond to you within one business day, regardless of whether your point of contact is away or not. We always have a backup point of contact in order to help you resolve your question within our service delivery standard of 1 business day.

Our main software that we use for accounting and record keeping is Xero and QuickBooks Online. We have spent an ample amount of time evaluating and choosing software packages. Based on our analysis, these two are the leaders in the industry. One of the main reasons is their ease of use and functionality with other apps. Other accounting firms sometimes use Sage, FreshBooks and Wave, to name a few, but we feel that these do not fully meet the needs of our ideal customer.

We use Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) and Hubdoc as our document management system. Based on our research, we found that these two are the leaders in the industry for a reason – they’re easy to use, data remains yours forever, and more.

Most of the apps we use are included as part of our price. Any additional costs with using apps are explained clearly to you before any decisions need to be made. We strive to be transparent in our pricing and associated costs – We promise no surprise invoices or charges.