Most Canadian small businesses that go looking for an alternative to QuickBooks are not unhappy with double-entry bookkeeping. Something specific has happened: a Québec invoice a customer's bookkeeper sent back, a US client who pays in US dollars while the books are in Canadian dollars, a job with thirty documents and nowhere to keep them together, a price that moved, or the simple wish to stop typing receipts. This page is written for that moment. It is a checklist of what a business in Ontario, Québec, British Columbia or Alberta should compare in 2026 — the same list for every product, KRONENWERK included — followed by KRONENWERK's own answers, including the ones that may send you elsewhere. It makes no claims at all about what the other product does, costs, includes or lacks: check that on its own site, on the day you decide.
Why this page says nothing about the other product
A comparison page written by a vendor about a competitor ages badly and is wrong more often than it is right. Prices change, features ship, plans are renamed, and a sentence written in September is stale by January. So this page does the only honest thing available to it: it states the requirements a Canadian business actually has, and it answers them for KRONENWERK, in public, with the gaps named. Take the same list to the other product's documentation or to a demonstration and answer it there. If the two answers differ on a row that matters to you, you have your decision without anyone having to characterise anyone else's software.
One rule makes the exercise useful: never accept "yes, it supports that". Ask instead to see the document the software produces for your hardest case — a Québec invoice with two taxes, an invoice in US dollars, a credit note against last year — and look at the document, not at the feature list.
The checklist: eleven things to compare in Canada
The rows are ordered roughly by how often they end a comparison. The first four are the ones a Canadian bookkeeper will test first.
| # | Requirement | Why it matters in Canada | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The tax structure your province needs | A sale in Québec carries GST and QST as two taxes; a sale in Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island carries one HST line, and the CRA says to show the total HST rate rather than the federal and provincial parts separately; a sale in British Columbia carries GST and, where the province's own sales tax applies, a second tax line; a sale in Alberta carries GST alone. | One invoice per structure, printed: two lines for Québec, one HST line for Ontario, GST plus PST for British Columbia. |
| 2 | Registration numbers on the document | The GST/HST account number is the nine-digit business number with the RT program identifier and a four-digit reference, in the form 123456789RT0001; the QST number takes the form 1234567890TQ0001. Your business customer needs them to claim its credits. | Both numbers printed on every invoice, tied to the company record, not typed into a template each time. |
| 3 | The $100 and $500 documentation tiers | Since 20 April 2021 the federal documentation thresholds for an input tax credit are $100 and $500, replacing the old $30 and $150. From $100 the supplier's registration number and the tax amounts must appear; from $500 the customer's name, the payment terms and a description of each supply as well. | An invoice that carries the higher tier's particulars by default, so nobody has to work out which tier it falls in. |
| 4 | Refusing a tax you are not registered for | Registration is required once worldwide taxable supplies exceed $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters; below that a small supplier may not charge the tax unless it registers voluntarily. Charging QST with no QST registration is a straightforward error. | Software that refuses the document rather than printing a tax the company has no number for. |
| 5 | US customers, US dollars, Canadian books | A Canadian company selling south of the border issues in US dollars and keeps its books in Canadian dollars. The exchange rate used has to be visible, and both values have to stay on the record. | An invoice in USD and a ledger line carrying both the USD and the CAD figure — not a spreadsheet conversion afterwards. |
| 6 | Records that cannot be quietly edited | Records and supporting documents are generally kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. An auditor looks for an unbroken sequence and for corrections made in the open. | Issued documents frozen as snapshots, corrections as credit notes, numbering with no gaps, attachments kept with the document. |
| 7 | Receipts and supplier bills without typing | This is where the hours actually go, and where a missing attachment costs a credit at audit. | Photograph or forward a receipt; figures read as printed; a queue awaiting a person's confirmation; the original file kept. |
| 8 | A job with many documents | Quote, order, supplier bills, site photos, invoice, payment — one job, one number, one place. | A job folder inside the accounting itself, not a shared drive beside it. |
| 9 | Bank connections and getting your data in | Opening balances, customers, suppliers and open invoices have to arrive from wherever they are now, and the bank has to be connected afterwards. | A named import path with a step where a human approves the mapping, and named bank connectivity for Canadian banks. |
| 10 | An AI assistant, with a fence around it | Useful for the typing; dangerous if it can issue a document or move money on its own. | Which acts the assistant may perform, which stay with a person, and whether the company can cap them. |
| 11 | Price, in plain numbers | The monthly figure is only part of it: users, companies, and features that live a tier up. | The public price list, the currency it is billed in, and whether there is a trial. |
The Canadian facts the checklist rests on
Five figures decide most of the rows above, and all five come from the tax authorities rather than from any vendor. The GST rate is 5 %. The QST rate is 9.975 %, calculated on the selling price excluding the GST, so the two taxes never compound and a Québec document shows two amounts, not one merged line. The participating provinces where the HST applies are New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island. Registration becomes mandatory once worldwide taxable supplies pass $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Records are kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to.
What the figures do not decide is whether a particular sale is taxable, zero-rated or exempt, or which province's rules apply to it. That is a question about what you sell, to whom and where it is delivered, and it belongs to you and your accountant. No accounting product should be answering it for you, and this one does not. The detail for Québec is set out on what a Québec invoice must show, and for cross-border sales on invoicing a US customer from Canada.
KRONENWERK's answers, row by row
- Province-aware structure. GST and QST are entered as two taxes on the line and printed as two lines, each computed on the net, each with its own rate and amount; an Ontario customer gets one HST line; a British Columbia customer gets GST and, where you say so, PST as the second tax. The customer's province is on the customer record, and KRONENWERK warns when the document does not carry the structure that province suggests.
- Both numbers, printed. The GST/HST and QST registration numbers sit on the company record and appear on the document beside the tax lines they belong to.
- The tiers, by default. Customer name, description of each supply, payment terms and both registration numbers are printed on every invoice, so an invoice never falls short of the $100 or $500 particulars by accident.
- No QST without a QST number. A company that tries to charge QST with no QST registration on file is refused, with the reason given, before an invoice number is spent.
- USD documents, CAD books. Invoices are issued in US dollars while the books stay in Canadian dollars, and both values appear on every ledger line, so the Canadian figure is never reconstructed by hand.
- Frozen and gap-free. An issued document is kept as a snapshot with its PDF; corrections are credit notes, never edits; the numbering has no gaps; attachments stay with the document for as long as the company exists.
- Receipts and bills. Photograph or forward; the figures are read as printed; a queue waits for a person to confirm; the original file is kept as the supporting document.
- Transactions. The transaction is a job folder inside the accounting: quote, order, supplier bills, photos, invoice and payments under one number, with no amount of its own. Invoicing itself is described on the invoices page.
- Migration and banks. Customers, suppliers, open invoices, bills and a trial balance as of a date come in through CSV or XLSX; you map the columns once, compare the totals and approve before anything is written. Bank connections are available for Canadian banks. The switching guide walks through the steps and the reversal rule.
- The assistant, fenced. An AI assistant connects through an MCP server on the Enterprise plan. The company picks one of three levels — read only, propose, or act within a limit — and sets a limit per act; anything that changes a legal document or moves money stays with a person.
- Price. Four plans from 29 € a month, published in full on the pricing page. There is no free plan and no trial. That is a deliberate choice, and it is stated on every page rather than discovered at checkout.
The rows that may send you elsewhere
A migration that has to be reversed costs far more than an honest paragraph. KRONENWERK does not file your GST/HST or QST returns: the figures per rate and per period are in the reports, and the filing happens on the CRA's and Revenu Québec's own portals or with your accountant. It does not determine tax rates and does not decide whether a supply is taxable, zero-rated or exempt. It does not do payroll, so a business with staff on a Canadian payroll needs a second product or a bureau for that. And it gives no tax advice of any kind. If any one of those four is the reason you are shopping, stop here and look at something else — this page would rather lose the sale than have you find out in April. Everything else on the list is where KRONENWERK was built to be strong, and the Canada page and the Montréal page set the same limits out at length.
How to run the comparison in an afternoon
Take three real documents from your own files rather than the vendor's sample data: a Québec invoice with GST and QST, a US-dollar invoice to a client in another country, and a credit note against an invoice from last year. Create the customer with a real province and a real registration number, issue the document, and open the PDF. Look for the two tax lines with their own amounts, both registration numbers, the customer's name, the payment terms and a description of each supply. Then try to edit the issued invoice and see what the software does — a product that lets you silently change an issued document has answered row 6 for you. Finish by dropping a supplier's structured invoice into the free e-invoice checker to see what a validator makes of it. A product that survives those three documents is a reasonable candidate; whether the tax treatment of a specific sale is right remains a question for your accountant.
How KRONENWERK handles this
SUPPORTED WITH LIMITATIONS Multi-tax invoices with GST and QST, HST, or GST and PST computed on the net and printed as separate lines with the registration numbers; refusal of QST without a QST registration; province-aware structure warnings; invoices in US dollars with books in Canadian dollars and both values on every ledger line; frozen issued documents, credit notes for corrections, gap-free numbering; receipts and bills with attachments; transactions as job folders; bank connections; CSV and XLSX migration with an approval step; an AI assistant over MCP with three levels and a per-act limit on the Enterprise plan. Not done: filing GST/HST or QST returns, determining tax rates, deciding whether a supply is taxable, zero-rated or exempt, payroll, or tax advice. Four plans from 29 € a month on the pricing page; no free plan and no trial.
Frequently asked questions
Does this page compare KRONENWERK's features with QuickBooks?
No. It sets out what a Canadian business needs and answers each row for KRONENWERK. What any other product does, costs or includes is documented by its own vendor, and you should read it there on the day you decide.
Can I bring my data across?
Through the generic CSV and XLSX import: customers, suppliers, open invoices, bills and a trial balance as of a date. You map the columns once, compare the totals and approve; nothing is written until you do. There is no one-click adapter for any particular product.
Will KRONENWERK file my GST/HST and QST returns?
No. The figures per rate and per period are in the reports; the filing is on the CRA's and Revenu Québec's portals or with your accountant. If you want filing inside the software, this is the wrong product.
Does it handle payroll for my two employees?
No. There is no payroll module and none is planned for this release. Businesses with staff run payroll elsewhere and book the result.
I invoice US clients in US dollars. What happens to my Canadian books?
The invoice goes out in US dollars and the books stay in Canadian dollars; both values sit on every ledger line, so the Canadian figure is always there without a spreadsheet. The details are on the page about invoicing a US customer from Canada.
Is there a free plan or a trial?
No, neither. The four plans start at 29 € a month, are paid from the first month and can be cancelled at any time. Prices are in euro; there is no separate Canadian dollar price list.
Sources
- Canada Revenue Agency — When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — read on
- Canada Revenue Agency — Charge and collect the tax: receipts and invoices — read on
- Canada Revenue Agency — Excise and GST/HST News No. 118 (documentation thresholds of $100 and $500 since 20 April 2021) — read on
- Canada Revenue Agency — Where to keep your records and for how long — read on
- Canada Revenue Agency — Program accounts you may need (the RT program identifier) — read on
- Revenu Québec — Basic rules for applying the GST/HST and QST — read on
- Revenu Québec — Registering for the GST and QST — read on