Contractors Expense Tracker & Bookkeeping App for Canadians
Zoombooks is a DIY bookkeeping app built by Canadian tax accountants — not software developers guessing at what contractors need. Snap receipts, track GST/HST, log mileage and record income. Get a clean, organized T2125 or T2 tax ready report at year-end. Not a shoebox.
- GST/HST + ITC tracking
- T2 & T2125 ready reports
- Mobile + webdashboard
- Zero accounting knowledge needed
Where Did That Receipt Go? The CRA Doesn't Care.
Unorganized expense records cost self-employed Canadians thousands every year. If you cannot prove a purchase, you lose the deduction. Period. Every lost receipt is money left on the table — and missing documentation during a tax audit leads to disallowed expenses, reassessed filings and costly interest penalties.
Interac e-transfer problem
Your bank statement dumps fuel, equipment and subcontractor payments into generic categories. That is useless for claiming legitimate tax deductions. Your accountant charges you hourly to sort out basic transactions.
The abandoned spreadsheet
You started a manual expense log in January. By week three, job site fatigue hit and you stopped updating it. Manual bookkeeping dies because tracking has to take seconds or it simply will not happen.
Mileage guesswork trap
"Roughly 40 km per job" is not a valid mileage log. Canadian tax guidelines require date, destination, purpose and kilometres for every business trip. Guessing costs you thousands in lost vehicle expense deductions.
Tax-time receipt panic
Twelve months of receipts. Zero organization. Relying on a shoebox makes tax season unnecessarily stressful. You are paying $600 to $1,400 for a bookkeeper to clean up what should have taken two taps per expense.
Every Receipt Logged, Categorized & Tax-Ready
Not a generic expense app with Canadian GST added on. The categories, the GST/HST tracking, the mileage log, the T2125-aligned reports — built from the ground up around how the CRA taxes Canadian contractors and self-employed professionals.
Real-time receipt scanner
Snap a receipt, log an invoice, or record a purchase in seconds. Every entry is stored securely with the vendor name, total amount, sales tax breakdown and deduction category to satisfy strict six-year record retention requirements.
Business expense tracker
The dedicated expense tracker built specifically for trade workflows. Tag every dollar to a client, job site, or project so you and your accountant know exactly which contract generated the income and costs.
Contractor workflowGST/HST tracker & ITC calculator
Track tax collected on client invoices versus tax paid on job materials. Monitor your Input Tax Credits (ITCs) year-round to know your exact net position before filing quarterly or annual returns.
Explore featuresMileage tracker & vehicle log
Record every kilometre between job sites and client calls to build an audit-proof mileage logbook for vehicle expense claims on your T2125 sole proprietorship or T2 corporate return.
Income tracker & net profit
Record all business income consulting fees, client invoices, platform payments, gig earnings with in one place. Know your revenue, your expenses and your net profit at any point in the year.
T2 tax & T2125 ready exports
Generate income summaries, expense reports by CRA category, GST/HST reports with ITC totals, mileage logs and complete transaction records. Share directly with your accountant
Real Contractors, Real Tax Deductions
From the morning fuel stop to the year-end corporate tax filing — Canadian contractors, consultants, and self-employed professionals log, tag and file every dollar with Zoombooks expense tracker.
From First Receipt to Tax-Ready in 4 Steps
If you can take a photo on your phone, you can use Zoombooks. No setup calls. No chart of accounts. No learning curve. Just snap, track and generate when you need it.
Download & set up
Create your account, select your business type — incorporated contractor, sole proprietor, or gig worker. You're in within minutes. No accounting background needed.
Capture as you go
Snap receipts, log income, record mileage — as each transaction happens. 15 seconds per expense. No end-of-month pile. No tax-season panic.
GST/HST tracked automatically
Every expense and income entry captures the GST/HST component. Your ITC position builds in the background — visible whenever you need it, filing-ready when you don't.
Generate report. Share. Done.
At year-end, generate your accountant-ready reports — income, expenses, GST/HST, mileage and share directly. Your accountant has what they need. Already organized.
Everything You Need to Stop Overpaying Taxes
Every feature Canadian contractors and consultants need to stay organized year-round, maximize legitimate tax deductions with accurate records and make tax season simple.
Never lose another receipt
Capture receipts and invoices as you work, then keep every supporting document organized for record keeping.
Know your GST/HST position
Track GST/HST collected, paid and eligible Input Tax Credits before filing deadline arrives.
Every business expense, tracked
Fuel, software, travel, subcontractors, meals and office expenses — all categorized throughout the year.
Books your accountant will love
Generate organized reports that make GST/HST filings, T2125 reporting, and T2 corporate tax return preparation easier.
Keep more of your tax deductions
Maintain complete purchase records so you can claim every legitimate deduction you earn.
Mileage worth claiming
Record business kilometres as you travel instead of estimating them months later at tax time.
Income & expenses together
Track business income and expenses in one app for complete, tax-ready bookkeeping all year long.
Built for record keeping
Store receipts, invoices, and supporting documents securely to help meet the six-year retention rule.
Your books, access anywhere
Capture transactions on your phone and manage your bookkeeping anytime from your secure web dashboard.
Stay tax-ready year round
Built by Canadian tax professionals to help contractors and trade workers avoid end-of-year tax filing stress.
Know what's eating your profit
Identify where your business spends the most so you can protect your margins and keep more.
Audit backup support
Maintain organized digital records and supporting documents so you're prepared whenever the tax authority asks.
Bookkeeping Options for Contractors Compared
None of those tools are bad. They're just not built for you. Here's the honest difference — feature by feature, from the perspective of a Canadian contractor who needs CRA-compliant records without paying for a system designed for a business ten times their size.
| What matters to contractors | RECOMMENDED Zoombooks | QuickBooks | Wave | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for Canadian tax rules | ✓ By Canadian accountants | ✗ US-focused, adapted | ✗ US-focused | ✗ No |
| Zero accounting knowledge required | ✓ Yes | ✗ Learning curve | ✗ Some knowledge needed | ✗ Significant |
| GST/HST auto-tagging | ✓ Automatic | ✗ Limited | ✓ Basic | ✗ Manual |
| ITC-compliant receipt capture | ✓ Yes | ✗ Basic photo only | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| CRA 6-year record retention | ✓ Digital, timestamped | ✓ Yes | ✓ Basic | ✗ You manage |
| Business vs personal mileage log | ✓ Separate logs | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ Manual |
| T2 corporate & T2125 reports | ✓ Both supported | ✗ US Schedule C only | ✗ No T2125 | ✗ No |
| Built for solo corporations | ✓ Core use case | ✗ Sole proprietors only | ✗ No T2 support | ✗ No |
| Free to start | ✓ Yes | ✗ Paid monthly | ✓ Free (limited) | ✓ Yes (no features) |
Comparison based on publicly listed pricing and features as of August 2026 — verify current details with each provider.
Plans That Grow With Your Business
Start free, upgrade when you need more. No hidden fees, cancel anytime.
Perfect for solo contractors getting started.
- 30 receipts / month
- GST/HST auto-detect
- 1 user
- 2-months trial
For growing one-person operations.
- Unlimited receipts
- Mileage tracking
- 1 user
- Email support
Everything contractors need at tax time.
- Everything in Starter
- Schedule 125 & T2125 export
- Up to 3 users
- Priority support
For teams and incorporated contractors.
- Everything in Pro
- Multi-company support
- Unlimited users
- Dedicated account manager
Trusted by contractors and consultantss across Canada
I run my business on my own, so I don't have time for spreadsheets. I spend a few minutes in Zoombooks every week and that's usually enough to stay on top of everything.
“Cash flow at a glance”
The dashboard shows me where money’s coming in and going out without digging through spreadsheets. It feels like having a mini CFO in my pocket.
Rolando R.
“Great all-in-one tracker!”
The UI is super clean and intuitive. I love taking a quick photo of a receipt, uploading it and watching the smart-scanner log it right into my books.
Tariq
“Saves me hours every month”
I'm not great with bookkeeping, but this app keeps everything organized enough that I always know where my business stands.
Stiff Lane
“Does what I need”
I mainly use it to track mileage and expenses for Uber. Simple enough that I actually keep using it.
Krishnan KR
Bookkeeping App FAQ
What is the best free bookkeeping app for Canadian contractors?
Zoombooks is a free bookkeeping app built in Canada, by Canadian tax accountants (Instaccountant). It tracks receipts in real time, syncs automatically with Canadian banks via Plaid, categorizes every transaction, tags expenses by job or client, and exports GST/HST-ready reports and Schedule 125 / T2125 to PDF or Excel — with no trials and no ads.
Can it track my expenses automatically?
Yes. Connect your business bank account (read-only, via Plaid) and Zoombooks auto-imports transactions and suggests categories using your history. Or snap a receipt in two taps and let OCR pull the vendor, amount, and GST/HST.
Can I tag expenses by job, client, or subcontractor?
Absolutely — this is core to Zoombooks. Every expense can carry a client, job/site, and person tag, so at year-end you know exactly which project earned what, and which subcontractor cost what.
Can I export my books for taxes?
Yes. One tap generates a Schedule 125, T2125 self-employment summary, or full expense export — as PDF or Excel — ready for your accountant or CRA filing.
Does it work outside Canada?
Zoombooks is built for Canadian tax rules (GST/HST/PST, T2125, Schedule 125), but you can log multi-currency expenses (USD, EUR, etc.) that auto-convert to CAD — useful for cross-border contractors.
More Ways To Handle Your Books With Zoombooks
Contractor Bookkeeping App
Built for self-employed trades — jobs, sites, subs tagged automatically.
Free Bookkeeping App Canada
No trials, no paywalls — what "free" actually means for Canadian contractors.
Ask AI Money Assistant
Instant answers from your tracked expenses — no filters, no report-building.
GST/HST Filing Made Simple
Auto-tagged transactions, one-tap CRA-ready exports.
QuickBooks Alternative
Free replacement for solo contractors — no monthly subscription trap.
Bookkeeping for Side Hustles
T2125 support out of the box — full-time job + side income, tracked cleanly.
Keep More of Your Hard-Earned Income This Tax Season
Start tracking every dollar today — free forever, set up in minutes, no card required.
