For owner-operators, subcontractors and small crews
The business side of the trades, without the guesswork.
Plain answers for Saskatchewan and Alberta: when you need a GST number, how PST works on contract work, WCB, what to charge per hour, and which invoicing app fits. Every tax figure links to the government page we checked it on.
Start a business Open the calculators
Or jump straight to the start-up checklists, tax guides or software comparisons.
Get set up right
Step-by-step checklists for registering a contracting business in each province.
Tax, rates and take-home
GST registration, Saskatchewan PST on contract work, and what to set aside from every invoice.
Websites and phones
A simple website, a Google listing, and a way to stop missing calls when you're in the cab.
Calculators
Equipment hourly rate
Machine ownership, fuel, repairs, operator and overhead, worked out to what you should charge per hour, half-day and day.
Subcontractor take-home
Gross billings to take-home for 2026, with both halves of CPP, federal and SK or AB income tax, and GST kept separate.
Software, compared honestly
- QuickBooks vs FreshBooks vs Wave (Canada)
Canadian prices, what each plan actually limits, and which fits a one-truck operation.
- Best invoicing app for an owner-operator
Picked by situation, plus what CRA says a $500+ invoice must show.
- Jobber vs Housecall Pro for Canadian contractors
Plans, trial terms and the questions to ask before you pay for either.
- Jobber for a small contractor
What the plans include and who should skip it. Hands-on test still to come.
How this site is different
Answer first
Each guide opens with the short answer. The detail comes after, for when you need it.
Sourced and dated
Tax rates, thresholds and fees link to CRA, Saskatchewan, Alberta or WCB pages, with the date we checked.
Prairie-specific
Saskatchewan PST on real-property work, WCB in both provinces, Alberta crews working in SK. Most comparison sites skip all of it.
No tracking
No analytics, advertising or tracking cookies, no sign-up wall. Our host may set a strictly necessary security cookie to block abuse. Calculators run in your browser and store nothing.
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