Who this is for
Owners of a restaurant, cafe or food business planning a second site, and owners who already have two and feel the books slipping.
The five systems
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Sales and costs by location. The point-of-sale system, the delivery app accounts and the supplier invoices should all identify the site. Without that you cannot tell which location makes money, and you cannot manage the one that does not.
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One payroll process. Staff may move between sites. Pay periods, remittance dates and T4s are the same obligations. Set up payroll so a second site is a department, not a second system. Remittances are due by the 15th of the following month regardless of how many sites you run.
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GST that covers both. If both sites are in the same corporation, one GST return reports both. The sales and input tax credits from the new site must flow into it from day one.
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Inventory at each site. A count at each location at year end, on the same day, using the same method. Transfers of stock between sites need a record too.
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The structure decision. Same corporation, or a new one? Same corporation is simpler and lets early losses at the new site offset the old site’s profit. A new corporation separates liability and makes a future sale of one site cleaner, at the cost of a second set of filings. This decision needs legal and tax advice together.
One thing many people do not realize
Both locations in one corporation means one GST account, one payroll account and one T2, but it also means the CRA sees one business. A loss at the new site offsets profit at the old one, which can help. It also means a problem at one site, a reassessment or a liability, belongs to the whole company. A separate corporation changes all of that in both directions. Decide before signing the lease, with advice.
What to prepare
- Current bookkeeping, payroll and GST setup for the first location
- The lease or proposed terms for the second site
- Opening date and expected staffing
- Whether financing is involved and what the lender requires
When professional help may make sense
If the first location’s books are more than a quarter behind, fix that first. If financing is involved, the lender will want clean figures from the existing site before approving the second. Our business plan guide covers what lenders look for.
How Rex Tax may be able to help
We set up multi-location bookkeeping, payroll and GST, prepare the returns, and prepare business plans for financing. Structure questions we work through with you and your lawyer.
Official sources
- CRA: Keeping records
- CRA: When to remit payroll deductions, due dates
- CRA guide T4002, chapter 2: inventory and cost of goods sold
This guide is general information, not advice about your situation. It reflects the rules for the 2026 tax year. It has not yet been reviewed by a practitioner. The information was checked against the official sources listed above on the date shown. Rules change. Check the official sources above or ask us. How we prepare these guides.