Accounting Tax Services for Lightspeed in Canada

What does Lightspeed Do?

Lightspeed is a cloud-based point-of-sale software that offers a number of unique features for e-commerce and physical stores in Canada, the United States, and beyond.

Lightspeed offers a number of robust solutions, including retail store management, e-commerce integration, managing online and in-store inventory, purchase order management, payment processing, cash drawer control, customer analysis, and more. It also easily integrates with in-store POS hardware and a wide range of bookkeeping and accounting software programs, including QuickBooks, Xero, Shogo, and more.

Lightspeed also offers its own Lightspeed Accounting software, that acts as the link between Lightspeed POS retail software and your preferred accounting software of choice.

Clients using Lightspeed for their business typically have multiple store branches, complex inventory, or a large e-commerce store. This means that the bookkeeping andd accounting information collected by Lightspeed is extremely detailed and varied. To make the most use of all this information, it is best to work with a qualified Lightspeed accountant who can manage your Lightspeed finances.

Accounting and Tax Obligations for Lightspeed Users

If you use Lightspeed for your business operations, you are able to sync various brick-and-mortar stores with your e-commerce shop. This means you could be integrating and consolidating stores in different provinces, and selling to customers across the country - meaning different tax rates and responsibilities.

If you are operating a business from outside Canada and selling to Canadian customers, you also have to adhere to this provincial and federal tax rates. You are required by law to charge the appropriate taxes, collect it from the customer, and then remit it to the government.

When you use Lightspeed accounting and bookkeeping, you have all your financial information in one place. You are responsible for setting up the correct tax rates for customers in different provinces and jurisdictions. For example, some provinces charge federal and provincial tax in one rate known as HST. This means one tax filing return covers multiple jurisdictions. However, other provinces and territories charge provincial sales tax and/or federal sales tax separately, meaning you need to file multiple returns if you sell to customers in these jurisdictions.

As your business expands and you add more online shops and brick-and-mortar stores to your enterprise, you will end up registering for multiple tax numbers, filing various tax returns, and paying multiple tax agencies.

Furthermore, the frequency at which you have to file your sales taxes for your businesses can differ. If your sales are less than 1.5 million CAD per year, you are only required to file once per year for the federal return. However, this does not cover all provinces and if you have over 1.5 million CAD in sales, you are required to file more often.

Deadlines to file sales tax charges in Canada differ from due dates in the United States or other countries. The potential due dates are monthly, quarterly, annually for December 31st year-end, and annually for a custom year end. Your HST payment date is determined by which of these filing periods you follow.

If you miss a tax filing period, are late on a tax charge due date, or fail to register for tax charging at all, you can incur hefty penalties from provincial governments and federal entities.

With all the potential that Lightspeed provides for business, it can be difficult to keep track of these varying tax rates and responsibilities. This is why Accountor CPA is proud to offer Lightspeed tax accounting services to keep your businesses compliant with Canadian tax law.

Let us handle your tax preparation and filing for your Lightspeed-operated businesses and simplify your enterprise.

Lightspeed Accounting: Integration For Accounting Software

To simplify bookkeeping and accounting integration for Lightspeed and various accounting applications, Lightspeed developed Lightspeed Accounting. This software allows your Lightspeed POS to communicate and sync directly with a number of the industry’s most powerful accounting and bookkeeping software.

Lightspeed Accounting works with many of Accountor CPA’s most recommended accounting software, including:

• QuickBooks Online
• Xero
• Sage
• Exact

At Accountor CPA, our team utilizes Lightspeed Accounting to sync your Lightspeed POS data with your preferred accounting software. We make recommendations regarding which software is best for your business, set up the software and Lightspeed integration, and maintain the information and automation. You can leave the accounting to us and focus on what you do best - running your business.

Lightspeed QuickBooks Integration

QuickBooks Online is one of the most popular accounting software programs in Canada. With robust features, customizations, and scalable offerings, it provides a consolidated view of even the most complex business finances.

While suitable for entrepreneurs and small businesses, QuickBooks is typically recommended for SMEs or large corporations who need more detailed financial information from multiple branches and mediums consolidated in one dashboard.

Lightspeed QuickBooks integration can be done a number of ways. The most common and simple way is using Lightspeed Accounting, however, there are other third party software applications available that we can recommend that perform similar functions, such as Shogo.

If you use QuickBooks as your accounting software, Lightspeed QuickBooks integration using Lightspeed Accounting or other third party software eliminates the need for manual data export and manual data entry from Lightspeed to QuickBooks. You can save hours each week with Lightspeed Quickbooks automatic consolidation and syncing.

QuickBooks can be difficult to customize depending on your experience. That’s where Accountor CPA comes in. Our expert accountants can help you set up QuickBooks and Lightspeed Accounting to effortlessly and seamlessly sync your data.

Lightspeed Xero Integration

Xero is another of the accounting industry’s most powerful applications for bookkeeping and accounting. Xero boasts customizable features on its cloud-based, secure platform that are suitable for small businesses, SMEs, and independent enterprises alike.

Lightspeed Xero integration can be easily achieved with Lightspeed Accounting software or other third-party software. Because Xero has an easy-to-use dashboard, it is often the choice for business owners who need simplified financial data and consolidation.

If you use Xero accounting software and Lightspeed POS, we can help you find the right software to link them seamlessly and upkeep your accounting year-round.

Lightspeed Accounting Shogo

Shogo is a cloud-based service that posts POS or e-commerce sales data directly to your accounting system automatically. It is an automation software designed to simplify bookkeeping and accounting integration.

Shogo acts as a third-party software that syncs Lightspeed POS in brick-and-mortar and e-commerce stores with your preferred accounting software. It allows you to customize sync settings so you can decide what information gets consolidated into your accounting software, how it is organized, and when it syncs.

If you are using Shogo to sync Lightspeed with your accounting software, the team at Accountor CPA can help you streamline your workflows and manage your integrations and Lightspeed bookkeeping and accounting.

Ready to Upgrade Your Lightspeed Integrations?

If you use Lightspeed to connect your e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores to accounting software, you likely have a complex corporation or large business with many moving parts. For such large enterprises, working with a professional accountant and bookkeeper is key for long term success and growth.

At Accountor CPA, we work with clients across Canada and the United States that sell to customers in Canada and need robust accounting solutions to underestand their various branches. The responsibility of our team is to provide you with valuable financial data, analysis, and insight for each of your businesses connected to Lightspeed. We work to simplify your bookkeeping and accounting at every turn.

To gain more from your Lightspeed accounting integration, contact the experts at Accountor CPA. We offer free consultations so you can learn exactly how we can take your business to the next level.

Contact us today.

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