Physiotherapy clinic bookkeeping in Edmonton, without the mess

Physiotherapy clinic bookkeeping in Edmonton has a few quirks that general bookkeepers often miss. Your revenue comes in from patients, insurers and direct-billing portals on different schedules. Your associates take a percentage. And most of what you sell is GST-exempt, which changes how you treat the GST you pay on expenses.

This guide walks through the three things that trip up physio clinic owners most: Jane deposits, associate splits and GST. It's written for clinic owners in Edmonton, St. Albert, Sherwood Park and Spruce Grove, but the principles apply anywhere in Alberta.

1Why your Jane deposits don't match your sales

Jane App is brilliant for booking and billing, but the money that lands in your bank account almost never lines up neatly with the day's schedule. Here's why:

• Payouts are net of fees. Jane Payments deducts card processing fees before the deposit, so a $1,000 day might show up as something less.
• Payouts batch several days. A Monday deposit can include Friday, Saturday and Sunday payments.
• Insurers pay separately. Direct-billed claims through insurers or portals arrive on their own timeline, often as one lump that covers many patients.
• Refunds and adjustments. A refunded visit comes out of a later payout, not the original one.
• Other payment methods. Cash, e-transfer or a separate terminal never touch Jane Payments at all.

If you record each deposit as "sales", your revenue will be understated (fees are missing) and your expenses will be understated too. Worse, you'll have no idea whether an insurer actually paid that claim from six weeks ago.

How to reconcile a Jane payout

The cleanest approach is to treat Jane Payments as its own clearing account in QuickBooks Online or Xero. Record the gross payments collected each day into that clearing account, record the processing fees as an expense, and then record the payout as a transfer from the clearing account to your bank. When everything is right, the clearing account sits at zero after each payout.

Jane's payout and transaction reports give you the detail you need. Pull them monthly, at minimum. If the clearing account isn't zero, something is missing: a refund, a chargeback or a payment that went to the wrong place. The same clearing-account logic works for any payment processor you use.

2Recording associate splits properly

Most Edmonton physio clinics pay associates a percentage of what they bill, often somewhere around 50% to 70% depending on experience and what the clinic provides. How you record that split matters more than people think.

Say an associate treats $12,000 worth of patients in a month on a 60/40 split in their favour. There are two ways to book it:

The gross method is almost always better. Your revenue ties back to Jane's sales reports, your profit and loss shows what associates actually cost you, and if you ever sell the clinic or apply for financing, the numbers make sense to a buyer or lender.

Contractor or employee?

Many clinics treat associates as independent contractors. That can be entirely appropriate, but the label in a contract isn't what decides it. CRA looks at the actual working relationship: who controls the schedule, who provides the equipment, whether the associate can work elsewhere and who carries the financial risk. If an associate looks like an employee in practice, the clinic could owe CPP and EI that should have been withheld. When in doubt, get advice before the year ends, not after.

If your associates are contractors, collect their legal name, address and SIN or business number when they start. You'll likely need these for T4A reporting, and chasing them in February is nobody's idea of fun.

3GST for physiotherapy clinics

Physiotherapy services provided by a licensed physiotherapist are generally exempt from GST. That sounds like good news, and mostly it is: you don't charge 5% on treatments and, if exempt services are all you sell, you may never need to register. But there are two catches.

First, exempt means you can't claim input tax credits. The 5% GST you pay on rent, equipment, software and supplies is simply a cost of doing business when it relates to exempt services. Record it as part of the expense, not as a receivable from CRA.

Second, not everything in a physio clinic is exempt. Common examples that may be taxable:

• Retail products like foam rollers, resistance bands, pillows or supplements
• Services from practitioners whose profession isn't exempt in Alberta, for example massage therapy is often taxable here (see our massage therapist GST guide)
• Fitness classes, gym memberships or general wellness programs
• Sublet space or equipment rented to other practitioners

Some medical devices can be zero-rated rather than taxable, often depending on whether they're prescribed. The rules are specific, so confirm the treatment of each product line with CRA or your accountant. If your taxable sales pass $30,000 over four consecutive quarters, you'll need to register; our GST registration guide explains the test. Once registered, you claim input tax credits only on the share of costs that relates to taxable sales.

4Physiotherapy clinic bookkeeping in Edmonton: a monthly routine

Clinics that stay on top of this usually follow the same simple routine every month. Tick them off as you go:

5Common mistakes we see in physio books

Recording deposits as sales. It's quick, but it hides fees, mixes up dates and makes insurance receivables invisible.

Claiming GST back on everything. If the clinic is registered because of retail sales, it can't claim the full GST on rent and equipment. Only the taxable share qualifies.

Mixing personal and clinic spending. Continuing education, professional fees and liability insurance are usually deductible, but they're easy to lose when they're paid from a personal card. Use one business card for clinic costs.

Letting associate records slide. If split statements don't match what was paid, disputes and slip corrections follow. Reconcile them monthly.

If your books are already behind, it's fixable. Catch-up bookkeeping gets clinics current before year-end, and our flat monthly plans keep you there.

We work with health practitioners across Edmonton, from Old Strathcona to Windermere, and in St. Albert, Sherwood Park and Leduc. If you'd like a second set of eyes on your clinic books, book a free 15-minute call and we'll tell you honestly what needs fixing.

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This article is general information for Alberta businesses and isn't tax or legal advice. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm your situation with your accountant or CRA.