GST/HST · Quick Method · QST · T2125 · 13 provinces · Verified 2026-05-21
The AI-first QuickBooks alternative for Canadian SMBs. Native GST/HST with Quick Method, Quebec QST, provincial sales tax, T2125-ready reports, and bilingual French/English AI OCR — at flat CAD pricing with unlimited users.
1. QuickBooks Desktop Canada is ending — plan now
Intuit confirmed QuickBooks Desktop 2023 and older is discontinued for new subscribers in Canada, with support ending after May 31, 2026. QBO is Intuit's upsell; HelloBooks is the AI-first alternative — same migration urgency, different destination, flat CAD pricing without QBO's per-user fees.
2. Native GST/HST + provincial coverage (all 13 provinces)
GST/HST tracking with Quick Method support, Quebec QST, provincial sales tax for the 4 provinces that levy PST separately (BC, SK, MB, ON HST-harmonized exceptions). T2125-ready reports for sole proprietors. HelloBooks ships all 13 provinces / territories natively.
3. AI bookkeeping vs QBO bolted-on AI
QuickBooks added AI to a 20-year US-first ledger. HelloBooks was built AI-first — autonomous categorization, OCR bill capture, anomaly detection. Especially valuable for Canadian SMBs handling French/English bilingual documents (OCR supports both).
4. Flat CAD pricing — unlimited users
QuickBooks Canada pricing starts at modest EasyStart but scales to ~$80/mo CAD for Plus (5 users) and beyond (verified 2026-05-21). HelloBooks Pro is flat CAD pricing with unlimited users on every plan. See /ca/pricing for the exact figure.
5. CA + US + UK + AU + IN from one platform
Canadian businesses with US operations (cross-border CRA + IRS), Indian back-office accounting, or AU/UK clients can run all five jurisdictions from one HelloBooks chart of accounts. QuickBooks splits country versions.
| Feature | HelloBooks | QuickBooks CA |
|---|---|---|
| QBD 2023 stop-sell (May 31, 2026) | Migration tool ready; flat CAD pricing post-cutover | QBO Canada is the Intuit upsell path; per-user scaling |
| Pricing (verified 2026-05-21) | Free Plan + flat-CAD Pro (see /ca/pricing) | EasyStart → Essentials → Plus (~$80/mo+) → Advanced |
| Users per plan | Unlimited on every paid plan | 1 (EasyStart) → 3 (Essentials) → 5 (Plus) → 25 (Advanced) |
| GST/HST Tracking | Native with Quick Method support | Native |
| Quebec QST | Native (separate from GST tracking) | Native |
| Provincial Sales Tax (BC, SK, MB) | Native per-province tracking | Native |
| T2125 (Sole Proprietor) | Native — reports ready for CRA | Available on EasyStart and Self-Employed |
| AI Categorization | AI agent — autonomous, French/English aware | Recently added, rules-based primarily |
| AI Bill OCR | Built-in (French + English) | Receipt capture; bill OCR via add-ons |
| Multi-Currency | All plans with auto FX gain/loss | Plus and above only |
| Multi-Entity (CA + US + UK + AU + IN) | Native consolidation on all plans | Advanced only; country products separate |
| CPA Practice Management | Built-in (free for CPA Canada / provincial CPAs) | QuickBooks Online Accountant (separate subscription) |
| CA Accountant Network | Growing /find-an-accountant (CPA Canada / provincial verification) | ProAdvisor network (mature) |
Free Plan with 500 AI credits/month. GST/HST, QST, Quick Method, T2125 — included on every plan.