About Zoombooks

Built by Canadian Tax Accountants for Contractors Who Do Their Own Books

Zoombooks was created by Instaccountant a Canadian tax accounting firm that saw the same problem every tax season: contractors paying hundreds in bookkeeping fees for work that should take two taps per expense. We built the bookkeeping app we wished our clients already had.

About Zoombooks — Canadian bookkeeping app built by tax accountants
5.0 ★ App Store Rating
1,000+ Downloads
$0 Free to Start
2021 Founded in Canada
Zoombooks story — built by Canadian tax accountants at Instaccountant
Our Story

Why Accountants Built Zoombooks Instead of Recommending One

Every tax season, our accountants at Instaccountant saw the same thing — contractors handing over shoeboxes of receipts, paying $600 to $1,400 in bookkeeping fees just to organize what should have been logged in real time. We looked for an app to recommend. Nothing existed that was built for Canadian tax rules, required zero accounting knowledge, and cost less than a coffee a month. So we built it ourselves.

The problem we saw every tax season

As a Canadian tax accounting firm filing hundreds of T2125 and T2 returns each year, we noticed a pattern. Contractors who tracked expenses in real time claimed $2,000 to $5,000 more in legitimate deductions than those who reconstructed records at year-end. The difference was not the contractor — it was the tool. Most had no tool at all, or they were using QuickBooks, which was built for US businesses with payroll and inventory, adapted for Canada as an afterthought.

Why we did not just recommend an existing app

We tested every bookkeeping app on the market before building Zoombooks. Wave had no mileage tracking and moved receipt scanning behind a paywall. QuickBooks Self-Employed was discontinued in Canada. FreshBooks charged $26 per month for features contractors never use. Hurdlr tracked mileage well but used American tax logic. None of them generated T2125 or T2 reports. None of them tagged GST/HST and calculated Input Tax Credits automatically. None required zero accounting knowledge. So we built what was missing.

What makes Zoombooks different from developer-built apps

Most expense trackers are built by software developers who research tax rules secondhand. Zoombooks was built by the accountants who actually file contractor tax returns. That means every CRA deduction category, every GST/HST rule, every record retention requirement, and every T2125 line item was configured by people who use these rules daily — not interpreted from a government website. The result is an app where a contractor with zero bookkeeping experience produces records that satisfy a CRA audit.

Who is behind Zoombooks

Zoombooks is built and maintained by Instaccountant, a Canadian tax accounting firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Our team files corporate and personal tax returns for contractors, consultants, and self-employed professionals across Canada every year. Zoombooks is the internal tool we wished our clients already had — so we made it available to every Canadian contractor, starting at $0.

Our commitment to Canadian contractors

Zoombooks will always be built for Canadian tax rules first. We will never add payroll, inventory, or invoicing features that inflate the price for features contractors do not need. Every update is tested against CRA filing requirements by the same accountants who use the data. And the Starter plan will remain free — because every contractor deserves organized books, regardless of budget.

Who It's For

One App. Every Type of Canadian Self-Employed Professional

Whether you file a T2125 as a sole proprietor or a T2 as an incorporated contractor, Zoombooks organizes your books the way the CRA expects them.

T2 Ready

Incorporated Contractors

Track business expenses, log mileage between job sites, capture material receipts, and generate T2 corporate tax returns with Schedule 125 — all from your phone.

T2125 Ready

Sole Proprietors

Snap every receipt, track GST/HST collected versus paid, monitor your Input Tax Credits, and export a T2125 Statement of Business Activities your accountant can use directly.

Freelancers

Track project income alongside deductible expenses like software, home office costs, and travel. Keep your books organized year-round without learning accounting.

Mileage Log

Gig Workers

Uber, DoorDash, and rideshare drivers — log every business kilometre with the CRA-compliant mileage tracker and separate gig income from your primary T4 employment.

Consultants

Multiple clients, multiple projects, one set of books. Tag every expense to a client or engagement and know your true profit margin per contract.

From $0

Small Business Owners

No payroll system, no inventory module, no features you will never use. Just clean, CRA-compliant income and expense tracking that costs less than a coffee a month.

What Makes Us Different

Zoombooks vs The Rest of the Industry

This is not a feature checklist. It is a difference in who built the product, who it is built for, and what you actually pay for.

Zoombooks Typical Bookkeeping Apps
Who built it
Canadian tax accountants at Instaccountant who file T2125 and T2 returns every year
Software developers who research CRA rules from documentation and adapt US products for Canada
Tax rules
CRA deduction categories, GST/HST rates, and T2125 line items built in natively from day one
US tax logic adapted for Canada — Schedule C converted to approximate T2125 categories
Accounting knowledge needed
Zero. No chart of accounts, no reconciliation, no double-entry. Snap a receipt and confirm
Requires understanding of debits and credits, account setup, bank reconciliation, and journal entries
What you pay for
Receipt scanning, mileage, GST/HST, ITC tracking, and T2125/T2 reports — only what contractors need
Payroll, inventory, invoicing, project management, multi-user — features a solo contractor never touches
Monthly cost
$0 free tier with 30 scans included. Full plan at $11/month — less than a single coffee run
$25 to $40/month for the cheapest usable plan. Receipt scanning often an extra add-on fee
Tax-ready output
T2125 statement of business activities and T2 corporate tax return exports ready for your accountant
Generic profit and loss reports that your accountant must re-categorize to match CRA line items
Receipt scanning
Included on every plan — 30 free scans on Starter, 40 to 250 on paid plans
Paywalled. Wave charges $11/month extra. FreshBooks requires $40/month Plus plan
Who it is designed for
Canadian contractors, sole proprietors, freelancers, gig workers, and incorporated professionals
General small businesses with employees, inventory, and invoicing needs
The Team Behind Zoombooks

Built & Maintained by Instaccountant

Zoombooks is built and maintained by Instaccountant — a Canadian tax accounting firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Our team specializes in corporate and personal tax returns for contractors, consultants, and self-employed professionals across Canada. We file T2 corporate returns, T2125 statements of business activities, GST/HST returns, and payroll remittances every year — and Zoombooks was created from that first-hand expertise. Every CRA deduction category, every GST/HST rule, and every record retention requirement in the app was configured by the same accountants who use these rules daily to file tax returns for Canadian contractors.

Visit Instaccountant →
  • Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Licensed tax accounting professionals
  • Filing contractor returns since 2018
  • T2, T2125, GST/HST, and payroll specialists
  • Serving contractors across all Canadian provinces
  • CRA-compliant record keeping built into every feature
Real Users, Real Results

Trusted by Contractors & Consultants Across Canada

I run my contracting business on my own, so I don't have time for spreadsheets. I spend a few minutes in Zoombooks every week and that's enough to stay on top of everything. My accountant actually complimented my books this year.

SK
Salman K. Novatel Solutions · Toronto, ON

The dashboard shows me where money is coming in and going out without digging through spreadsheets. It feels like having a mini CFO in my pocket. GST/HST tracking alone saves me hours every quarter.

RR
Rolando R. Independent Consultant · Calgary, AB

The UI is super clean and intuitive. I take a quick photo of a receipt, upload it, and the smart scanner logs it right into my books. No more lost receipts at tax time.

TM
Tariq M. Electrical Contractor · Mississauga, ON

I mainly use it to track mileage and expenses for Uber. Simple enough that I actually keep using it — that is the key. Every other app I abandoned after a week.

KK
Krishnan KR Rideshare Driver · Vancouver, BC

I am not great with bookkeeping, but this app keeps everything organized enough that I always know where my business stands. The T2125 export saved me $400 in accountant fees.

SL
Stiff Lane Sole Proprietor · Edmonton, AB

Switched from QuickBooks after they discontinued Self-Employed. Zoombooks does exactly what I need at a fraction of the cost. CRA categories already built in — no setup.

AM
Andrea M. Freelance Designer · Ottawa, ON

Start Tracking Expenses Free Today

Download Zoombooks and log your first expense in under two minutes. Your accountant will notice the difference at year-end. So will your tax bill.

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