Author: Manu Guerlesquin

GST/HST Tracking in Canada: Why It Matters and How Float Simplifies the Process 

Posted on by Manu Guerlesquin

If you’ve ever manually entered tax for each expense in your accounting software, you know how painful it is—especially when receipts are missing or you’re dealing with hundreds of transactions. Businesses in Canada face complex tax regulations that differ across provinces, and knowing how to account for each type of tax correctly is no easy task.

From manual accounting errors to tedious and slow processes, navigating GST/HST tax tracking can be challenging if you don’t have the right tools. Make one wrong move, and you could miss out on potential tax credits.

In this article, we explore tax tracking in Canada, why it matters to your business, and how modern expense management solutions like Float handle this important accounting task.

What is GST/HST tracking?

GST/HST tracking (or GST/PST tracking) refers to the process of monitoring, recording and reporting of all sales taxes spent across company transactions. This can include multiple tax components within single transactions and can be done by finance teams manually (yikes) or through expense management software that automatically extracts split tax data.

Modern solutions, like Float’s multi-part tax codes, pull tax information directly from your receipt to help you categorize it into your accounting software and recover every dollar you’re entitled to through input tax credits. Think of it as the superhero of receipt management—saving your cents and sanity.

But why do you need GST/HST tracking?

In Canada, multiple types of tax categories differ from province to province:

  • Provincial Sales Tax (PST)
  • Quebec Sales Tax (QST)
  • Goods and Services Tax (GST)
  • Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) 

As a GST/HST registrant, your business recovers the GST/HST paid or payable on each of your purchases and expenses related to your commercial activities by claiming input tax credits (or ITCs) on line 106 of your tax return. 

GST/HST tracking can be especially helpful for any expense where the tax is split into multiple categories, such as meals, entertainment, travel, office supplies and more.

Why GST/HST tracking matters for Canadian businesses

If you’re managing travel expenses, reconciling meals and entertainment spending or determining how to account for company purchases made at a big box store, GST/HST tracking is relevant to your business.

Being weighed down by the admin work that comes with expense management only seems to worsen as your business grows—until you have the tools to make things easier, faster and more streamlined.

Here are some of the advantages you get by automating GST/HST tracking:

Streamlines bookkeeping and saves time

Sorting through receipts and manually inputting tax into the correct categories is a laborious process. It might also be keeping your team from engaging in more impact-focused activities.

Reduces errors and ensures accurate tax reporting

GST/HST tracking with an expense management platform helps you automatically sync or create tax codes with multiple components—minimizing manual data entry and the risk of errors that could lead to missed input tax credits or trigger an audit. 

Maximizes eligible tax deductions

Want every dollar you’re owed in input tax credits? Of course you do! This functionality increases the accuracy of your tracking to maximize deductions.

How modern expense management solutions handle GST/HST tracking

When your team is stuck managing slow, low-value tasks—like manually splitting and tracking tax amounts across receipts—they can’t focus on the things that really make an impact. The best expense management solutions help Canadian finance teams automate the painfully manual process of GST/HST/QST/PST tracking across all transactions, ensuring accuracy and helping you recover every dollar through input tax credits. It’s a frictionless way to stay compliant and focus on what really matters: growth.

Solutions like Float use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to “read” and recognize the total tax amount and the tax-exempt amount. That makes it easy for admins to select preset tax codes, so the software can break the taxes down into GST and PST—no manual data entry required, unless you want to override the preset values.

For example:

An employee is travelling in BC for business. They spend $120 on a client dinner. They upload the receipt, and the OCR parses out the total value ($120), the tip ($20) and the total tax amount ($12). Then the company admin selects the BC pre-set tax code, which breaks the 12% sales tax into 7% PST and 5% GST.

This tech also integrates seamlessly with your accounting software. Whether you’re using Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite or something else, you can share data across systems with one click for smooth reporting. (If you’ve ever woken up in a cold sweat from an accounting nightmare, you know how important tight integration between systems is!)

How Float handles GST/HST tracking in Canada

There are plenty of expense management solutions out there, but only one that prioritizes the nuances of the Canadian tax system for Canadian businesses: Float. 

Float’s expense management system with multi-part tax codes lets all customers—no matter what accounting software you use—view, edit and export taxes for Canadian transactions (including tax categories like PST, GST, HST, and QST).

Here’s how we make your life easier: 

Save time and reduce manual effort

OCR technology simplifies expense management for your team. Snap a photo of the receipt or use a digital receipt, and Float will automatically capture the tax information for each purchase. You don’t need to calculate or input any data manually.

Improve accuracy and minimize errors

Want to review each input tax credit with a fine-toothed comb? No problem. You can further improve accuracy by overriding amounts accruing to each tax component. This is especially important for purchases like liquor, which is taxed at a higher rate in some provinces, or for tips, which should not be included in tax calculations.

Get real-time visibility into expenses by tax category

With Float, you can view amounts accruing to each tax component in real time. Staying up to date on all expense transactions as they happen will save you time at month’s end. 

Ensure tax compliance and maximize deductions

Every dollar counts. With our multi-part tax codes, you can have peace of mind knowing that the tax on each transaction has been accounted for correctly in the proper tax categories, so you can maximize your input tax credits.

Gain control and catch exceptions before they become issues

OCR handles the heavy lifting, but finance teams stay in the driver’s seat. With full visibility and the ability to override tax amounts, they can catch edge cases—like liquor or baby products—and ensure each transaction is categorized correctly before it’s filed.

Learn more about Float

Get a 10-minute guided tour through our platform.

See a Demo

Why Canadian businesses choose Float

Let’s face it: Tracking GST, HST, and other tax categories for each business expense is tedious and error-prone. Float’s multi-part tax codes not only speed up the process but also make it more accurate while offering full visibility and control. 

For Aaron Corbin, CPA and Financial Controller at ClearEstate, Float’s multi-part tax codes have been a game-changer.

“Coding the GL and taxes used to take me about 10–15 seconds per transaction. I had to identify the tax-exempt component, split the line, mark it as tax-exempt, and figure out the remaining taxable components. With hundreds of transactions per month, the multi-part tax code feature saves me a significant amount of time,” he says. 

He also notes improved accuracy—Float automatically identifies tax-exempt amounts from invoices, eliminating the need to manually split lines or type them in. When you’re processing hundreds of transactions a month, those seconds quickly turn into hours saved.

Interested?

Book a demo today to learn more about Float’s multi-part tax code functionality and the multiple ways we support Canadian businesses with our expense management software. 

Float Reimbursements: A  Setup Guide for Finance Teams

Posted on by Manu Guerlesquin

We’ve gathered everything you need to confidently roll out Float Reimbursements across your company. Whether you’re replacing a manual process or bringing all spend into one platform, this guide will help you get up and running quickly — and ensure your team is reimbursed efficiently, without the spreadsheets and loose receipts.

Step 1: Enable Reimbursements

Start by turning on the feature. In Float, go to Settings > Reimbursement Settings and toggle on Reimbursements. This allows employees with Spender access to start submitting reimbursement requests.

You’ll also be able to control whether employees can submit in CAD, USD, or both, depending on your account and plan.

Step 2: (optional) Enable Direct Payouts 

Direct payouts let you pay employees back through Float via EFT, without involving payroll or manual transfers. On the Reimbursement Settings page, enable the Direct Payouts toggle.

Float will prompt you to fund reimbursements from your Float Cash balance. Employees will need to add their bank account details in Float before they can receive payment.

If you’re on the Professional or Enterprise plan and reimburse in USD via ACH, make sure to enable that currency too.

Step 3: Set Up Submission and Approval Policies

Now it’s time to define what employees must include when submitting a reimbursement request. In Settings > Submission Policies, you can require receipts, vendors, tax codes, GL codes, and more. This ensures every submission has the detail your team needs.

How much detail you require from employees is up to you. Some finance teams prefer to handle GL coding and tax categorization themselves during reconciliation or export — while others prefer to have that information entered upfront by the employee submitting the reimbursement. Float gives you full control to decide which fields are required, optional, or hidden, so you can tailor the experience to your internal workflows.

Next, create or edit your Approval Policies under the Reimbursements tab. Here, you’ll decide who reviews and approves each submission. You can route approvals by team, dollar thresholds, or both — giving you control without extra back-and-forth.

Step 4: (Optional) Enable Mileage

If your team submits mileage expenses, you can enable Mileage as a reimbursement type. Add your rate per kilometre or mile and configure a mileage policy that prompts users to include trip details and any required attachments.

Employees will then be able to log travel, have it automatically calculated, and submit alongside other expenses.

Step 5: Roll It Out to Your Team

Once your setup is complete, it’s time to launch Float Reimbursements across your organization. Clear communication and a few helpful tools will make all the difference in driving adoption.

Start by announcing the new process to employees and letting them know that all out-of-pocket expenses should now be submitted through Float. Most users will find it intuitive, but a few pointers can go a long way: “Just click ‘Request Reimbursement’ in Float, upload your receipt, and submit.”

To support your rollout, we’ve created a toolkit to help you drive adoption smoothly:

  • Float Reimbursements Rollout Checklist: A Google Sheet you can copy to track your rollout tasks and timelines internally.
  • Comms Toolkit: A set of pre-written announcement email templates you can customize and send to your team.
  • End User Quick-Start Guide: A 2-page PDF and editable Google Doc you can share with your employees to guide them through submitting their first reimbursement. Use the editable version if you want to include team-specific details, like preferred GL codes or tax handling instructions.

With these resources in place, your team will be set up for success from day one.

You’re Ready to Launch

Float Reimbursements give your team a simpler way to handle expenses — and give you more control, clarity, and time back. With setup complete, you’re ready to roll this out confidently and start saving time across finance and operations.

Your questions, answered

Reimbursements are great for mileage, personal card spend, and edge cases — including when an employee prefers to use their personal credit card to collect rewards points. While using a Float card is ideal for planned or repeat spend due to better visibility and built-in controls, Reimbursements give you flexibility when personal cards are preferred or required.

Not until the feature is enabled. Once you turn it on in from the Settings Page, Spenders will see a “Request Reimbursement” option in their Float account, both on web and mobile. Until then, the reimbursement feature will be hidden from view.

You can use Reimbursements on the Essentials plan to manage out-of-pocket employee expenses. You’ll have access to approval workflows, submission policies, export tools, and reimbursement reporting — everything you need to track and control spend. Just keep in mind that payouts must come from your funded Float balance (not a connected bank), so enabling auto-funding is a good way to prevent delays. Only CAD payouts are available on Essentials.

Float supports reimbursement payouts in CAD and USD, but plan differences apply: On the Essentials plan, only CAD payouts are supported, and payouts must come from your pre-funded Float balance. On Professional and Enterprise plans, you can reimburse in both CAD and USD, and choose to pay from your Float balance or directly from a connected bank account On Professional and Enterprise plans, reports can still include expenses in other currencies (like EUR or GBP), which Float auto-converts using the daily rate. These reimbursements must be paid outside Float and marked as paid.

Not yet. US entities can track and approve reimbursements in Float, but payouts must be handled outside the platform.

Essentials plan customers must ensure their Float balance is adequately funded to cover payouts. On Professional and Enterprise plans, you can either fund Float or pay directly from a connected bank — just know bank payouts take a few extra days.

Not necessarily. Reimbursements and card requests use separate workflow types in Float, but you can choose to keep the same approval structure across both if that works for your team. Professional plan customers also have the flexibility to tailor policies by department or project team

Float supports multi-currency reports and auto-converts expenses at the daily rate. Reimbursements are paid in CAD or USD — if another currency is used, you’ll mark it as paid externally.

Not always — it depends on your setup. If you’re using QuickBooks Online, you’ll be prompted to map reimbursement-specific accounts: one for Accounts Payable and another for your clearing or bank account.

Make expense management even easier

Streamline your business spending with automation tools built right into Float.

Learn More

Pay Your Bills on Float with Bill Pay

Posted on by Manu Guerlesquin

Are manual bill payments and multi-platform juggling holding back your finance team’s efficiency? Float’s Bill Pay feature was created to solve exactly these issues—streamlining the process of managing some of your largest business expenses all in one intuitive platform.

In our recent webinar, Thomas Kwon, Head of Finance at CentML, shared insights on how Float’s Bill Pay transformed his team’s workflows. Here’s a quick recap of the highlights:

Centralized Bill Payments for Seamless Financial Operations

Thomas, a longtime Float user, introduced Bill Pay to CentML to streamline their non-payroll spending. Having used other bill payment tools, he found Float’s approach to be more integrated and flexible, which was a game-changer for his team. Unlike other platforms, Float supports direct integration with single sign-on (SSO), making it easy to manage employee access securely in one place.

Increased Flexibility and Time Savings

Float’s Bill Pay offers customizable approval workflows beyond what many tools provide. Unlike other tools, Float fully supports his spending policies vs. needing to modify his policies due to constraints from their financial systems. As Thomas noted, unlike Plooto’s limited approval by amount, Float’s flexible approval options align more closely with his organization’s needs. It also simplifies accounting by letting users categorize bills directly to balance sheet accounts, avoiding the hassle of clearing accounts.

Get Answers to All Your Bill Pay Questions

Float understands that each organization’s billing needs are unique. From integration with accounting systems to approval permissions and securely storing vendor details, we cover it all. Our webinar addresses frequent questions on everything from limits on payment amounts and tax handling to specifics like wire fees, payment notes, and syncing with QuickBooks and Xero. Watch the webinar recording or explore our FAQ section to find the answers that will help you maximize Bill Pay’s potential for your team.

Missed the webinar? Watch the full session here and discover how Float’s Bill Pay can help your team save time, streamline workflows, and gain total control over corporate spending.