A receipt app for a Canadian contractor has a harder job than one for a coffee shop: receipts have to land on the right job, the sales tax has to be split correctly across provinces, and it all has to flow into your accounting software without manual re-keying. Here's what to look for.
QuickBooks Online sync
The whole point is to get receipts into your books automatically. Look for an app that posts each receipt to QuickBooks Online as a Purchase on the correct job, matches or creates the vendor, and attaches the original photo — not one that just exports a CSV you still have to import.
GST/HST and Canadian sales-tax handling
Canada has GST, HST, PST, and QST, and the rates and combinations vary by province. A good app splits the tax out of each receipt and maps it to your accounting tax codes so you're not reconciling by hand at quarter-end.
Job costing and job-level tracking
You need to know what each job cost. Look for tagging that ties every receipt to a job and maps to QuickBooks Projects or Classes, so job-costing reports are accurate without a spreadsheet.
Line-item reading and mileage
Reading individual line items (not just the total) makes categorization and review far faster. Mileage tracked at the CRA per-kilometre rate, rolled up by job, keeps vehicle costs out of a single lump-sum guess.
Data security and Canadian compliance
Receipts expose your suppliers, prices, and customers. Look for encryption in transit and at rest, an OCR pipeline that doesn't retain your images or train models on them, and compliance with PIPEDA and Quebec Law 25.
Where Tallio fits
Tallio is built specifically for Canadian contractors: it posts to QuickBooks Online on the right job, splits out GST/HST/PST/QST, reads line items, tracks mileage at the CRA rate, and runs a zero-retention OCR pipeline. If you want the setup steps, see How to send receipts to QuickBooks.
FAQ
What should I look for in a receipt app for contractors?
Look for QuickBooks Online sync, correct GST/HST/PST/QST handling, Canadian-dollar support, and job-level expense tracking. If you can only pick one, job costing matters most — it's what turns a pile of receipts into accurate per-job numbers.
Do receipt apps track GST/HST in Canada?
Often not well. Many apps are built for the U.S. and lump tax into one figure. Canada has GST, HST, PST, and QST that vary by province, so look for an app that splits them out and maps them to your accounting tax codes.
Why is job costing important for contractors?
Job costing tells you what each job actually cost, so you know which jobs make money. An app that assigns every receipt to a job gives you accurate job costs; one that dumps everything into a single pile doesn't.