Smartbills takes the HST from each receipt line, zero-rated and 5% items included, and keeps the supplier's HST number with it.
On an Ontario receipt some lines carry 13%, some carry only the 5% federal part because of the point-of-sale rebate, and some carry nothing at all. Smartbills keeps the tax each line was actually charged. The input tax credit you claim matches the receipt instead of a rate applied to the total.
From $100 including tax, the CRA expects the supplier's GST/HST registration number on the document behind a claim, and from $500 it expects more. Smartbills keeps the receipt, its line detail and the registration number together. A review asks for something you already have.
A hotel in Montréal charges GST and QST. A client dinner in Calgary charges GST only. Smartbills keeps each tax on its own line. The GST is claimed, and provincial tax you can't recover is expensed rather than slipped into the claim.
Why teams switch
We claim HST as 13% of every total, and we know that's not what the receipts actually say.
The tax comes from each line of the receipt. Rebated, zero-rated and exempt items are counted as they were charged.
Once a purchase is over $100, the CRA wants the supplier's HST number, and it's never on the card statement.
The registration number comes with the receipt when the merchant prints it. The documentation is there before anyone asks for it.
Our team travels to Quebec and the QST gets lumped in with everything else.
Out-of-province taxes stay on their own lines. The GST part is claimed, and QST you're not registered for is expensed instead of claimed by mistake.
Before and after
13% of the total is the usual shortcut. These purchases show where Ontario receipts don't follow it.
| Capability | Card statement and photos | With Smartbills |
|---|---|---|
| HST on the purchase | 13% of the total | The tax each line was charged |
| Rebated and zero-rated items | Taxed at 13% anyway | Counted as charged |
| Supplier HST number | Only if someone kept the paper | Kept with the receipt |
| QST from a Quebec trip | Mixed into the claim | On its own line, expensed |
| Getting receipts in | Photos at month end | From the merchant or the mailbox |
Integrations
Your accounting software, bank feeds and card program, with data syncing in both directions.
Each product works on its own, and when you run two, the same record carries from the receipt to the ledger entry.
Capture receipts, categorize expenses and check policy compliance as expenses are submitted.
Expense report software that attaches the receipts for you, works out mileage, routes the approval and shows each employee when they'll be paid back.
Connect Gmail, Outlook, Zoho Mail or IMAP. Automatically collect receipts and invoices from the folders you choose, including Archive and Spam.
Accounting automation software that codes each transaction and posts the journal entry to your accounting software the day it happens.
FAQ
What people ask us before they sign up.
Get started
Connect a mailbox and a card. A month of Ontario purchases comes in with the HST taken from each line, rebated items included.
Ontario
