Grant-ready
Never
Good accounting does more than record what happened in your business. When your company applies for a grant, subsidy, tax credit or interest-free government program, its financial records become an important part of the application. Program administrators may review your revenue, payroll, expenses, project costs, owner contributions, previous funding and ability to complete the proposed project.
Green Light Money Services Inc. provides accounting services designed specifically for businesses seeking government funding. Our accounting team includes experienced accountants and CPA professionals.
Helping your business prepare for:
Instead of rebuilding your accounting records every time a new funding opportunity appears, we help maintain a clear, organized and grant-ready financial system throughout the year.
A strong project idea is not always enough to receive government funding. A grant provider may also need to confirm that your business:
Disorganized bookkeeping can create questions, delays and inconsistencies during the application process. For example, if a grant application states that a business spent $150,000 on employee salaries, but its payroll reports and financial statements show different amounts, the discrepancy may weaken the application. Our goal is to make sure the financial information used in your grant application is supported by the company’s accounting records.
Everything your business needs to stay financially organized, before, during and after a funding application.
Traditional bookkeeping may record all expenses under broad categories such as payroll, marketing, equipment or professional fees. Grant accounting often requires more detail — which expenses relate to the funded project, when each cost was incurred, which employee worked on it, and whether another grant contributed to the same expense.
We can structure the company's books with separate project codes, grant-specific expense categories, department tracking, employee time allocation, equipment schedules, matching-fund records and grant receivable accounts — creating a clearer audit trail and reducing reconstruction work later.
Receiving grant approval is only the beginning. Many programs release funding after the business reaches a milestone, submits a report or proves eligible expenses have been paid.
We help manage the financial side of an approved project — creating a separate grant project, tracking the required contribution, separating eligible and ineligible expenses, monitoring spending against budget, allocating payroll, preparing claim summaries, and reconciling grant deposits.
Many business owners begin organizing their records only after they find a grant — often discovering outdated statements, incomplete payroll records, or costs that can't be separated from general expenses.
We take a proactive approach: reviewing your business model and likely funding needs, then organizing the accounting system so the company is better prepared when a suitable program becomes available.
A grant application normally includes a project budget. After approval, the company may need to show whether the project was completed according to that budget.
We create project-based reports comparing approved budget, actual expenses, amounts claimed and reimbursed, business contribution, remaining balance and variances — useful for equipment purchases, R&D, training, exports, energy upgrades and expansion projects.
Payroll is common in grant, wage-subsidy, training and research programs — but the complete payroll amount may not always be eligible. Programs may require gross wages, employer costs, eligible benefits, hours worked on the project, and employment dates to be clearly identified.
We maintain payroll records supporting this: source deductions, CPP/EI calculations, vacation pay, project time tracking, T4 preparation and wage-subsidy reconciliation.
Many grant and financing programs support the purchase of machinery, vehicles, technology or other assets. We help account for purchase price, delivery and installation, financing charges, trade-ins, taxes, government contributions and capital cost allowance.
Equipment should be recorded consistently across the grant application, accounting records, tax filings and financing documents — especially when a purchase combines owner investment, government funding, bank financing and private funding.
Many grants don't provide all the money upfront — the business pays eligible expenses, submits proof, then waits for the claim to be reviewed and reimbursed later, which can create a real cash-flow gap.
Before the project begins, we help calculate how much must be paid upfront, how long reimbursement may take, and whether temporary financing (working-capital, equipment, or private bridge funding) may be required.
Grant providers may request financial statements to assess your business's stability and ability to complete the project. We help prepare income statements, balance sheets, cash-flow statements, comparative reports, financial projections and sources-and-uses-of-funds reports.
These stay consistent with everything else in the application — if you're describing rapid growth or a major expansion, the projections need to show it clearly.
Some grant consultants assist with the original application but don't manage the financial records required after approval. We support the complete process — tracking eligible expenses, preparing claim summaries, reconciling invoices, tracking reimbursements, and preparing progress and year-end reports.
Government assistance may affect taxable income, asset costs, deductions or tax credits. Our CPA-supported team reviews the tax treatment of grants, equipment cost reductions, capital cost allowance, GST/HST, refundable credits and SR&ED-related assistance — managing taxes efficiently while staying consistent with your grant applications.
R&D funding requires particularly detailed accounting — employee time on eligible activities, direct salaries, contractor expenses, materials consumed, and eligible versus non-eligible activities. We work with your technical and tax advisors to organize the records supporting an SR&ED or innovation-funding claim.
We also help businesses identify grants, rebates and subsidies available to their customers — for example, a renovation company serving seniors who qualify for accessibility assistance. The accounting system may need to track customer contribution, government contribution, contractor invoices, deposits and reimbursements, so the business can manage multiple funded customer projects without losing track of balances.
Closes Sept 30
Our grant specialists and accounting professionals work together, with financial records organized around application and reporting requirements.
Our team includes CPA professionals and experienced accounting staff who understand Canadian business accounting and taxation.
We maintain a financial system designed to support existing and future opportunities — not just at deadline time.
We help demonstrate revenue, project costs, owner contribution, payroll and financial capacity clearly. Accounting cannot guarantee approval, but organized records make the application stronger.
We assist with the financial side of the project before application, during implementation and at reimbursement.
When a grant covers only part of the project, we can assess financing for the remaining amount.
Not every program requires a separate accounting system, but the business must usually be able to support its financial information and clearly identify eligible project expenses. Grant-ready bookkeeping makes this process easier.
Yes. We can review the existing accounting records, identify inconsistencies and create grant-specific project categories where appropriate.
No. Eligibility depends on the complete program requirements. Our role is to make sure the financial records accurately support the business, project and expenses presented in the application.
Yes. We can track project costs, company contributions, claims, reimbursements and financial reporting requirements.
We can prepare a cash-flow plan and determine whether the company may require working-capital or bridge financing until reimbursement is received.
Yes. We can prepare projections showing project costs, revenue expectations, cash flow, staffing changes and the financial impact of the proposed expansion.
Yes. Our accounting team can assist with bookkeeping, financial reporting, corporate tax preparation, GST/HST accounting, payroll and tax planning.
The best time to organize your accounting is before a grant deadline appears. Green Light combines grant research, application strategy, grant-ready bookkeeping, CPA-supported accounting, financial projections, grant claims and reporting, tax planning and business financing — helping your records support today’s application and prepare your business for tomorrow’s opportunity.
Get matched with grants and loans — advisor-reviewed report in 48 hours.
Get matched with grants and loans — advisor-reviewed report in 48 hours.
