GST and QST: two taxes, two administrations
Most sales in Quebec carry the federal goods and services tax and the Quebec sales tax. They are separate taxes, with separate registrations, and Revenu Québec administers the QST while the Canada Revenue Agency administers the GST. Returns are filed separately, and input tax credits and refunds are tracked for each tax.
In the system, each tax is configured as its own tax type with its own accounts, so you can report amounts collected and paid for each and reconcile them to your returns. Test with real invoices that include exempt, zero-rated, and taxable lines, since the combinations are where errors appear.
- Keep GST and QST payable and receivable in separate accounts.
- Decide how purchases that qualify for input tax credits are coded so recoverable tax is not buried in expenses.
- Check how sales to customers outside Quebec are treated, since the tax charged depends on the place of supply.
French-language documents and the user experience
Quebec's Charter of the French Language sets expectations for the language of commercial documents and customer communication, and the rules have been strengthened in recent years. For an ERP project, the practical questions are which documents customers and employees see, and in which languages they must be available. Quotes, invoices, statements, and email templates are typically produced in French, English, or both, depending on the customer.
Plan for language as a customer attribute, so documents are generated in the customer's preferred language, and for the user interface language of your own staff. Confirm obligations with legal counsel, then reflect the decisions in templates and workflows.
Our NetSuite ERP practice →Privacy under Law 25
Quebec's private-sector privacy law was modernized by Law 25, which introduced requirements around consent, governance, incident reporting, privacy impact assessments in certain cases, and handling of personal information transferred outside Quebec. Customers, vendors, and employees all have personal information in your ERP, so your configuration matters: who can see it, how long it is kept, and how access is logged.
Treat the project as a chance to review roles and permissions. Limit access to sensitive fields, document where personal information is stored, and make sure your vendor agreements and data-location decisions align with your privacy officer's guidance.
Payroll, source deductions and year-end slips
Quebec employers deal with the Quebec Pension Plan, the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, and workplace safety contributions to the provincial agency, in addition to federal requirements, and they issue the Quebec year-end slip alongside federal ones. Payroll is normally run in a dedicated payroll system or by a provider, with summarized journal entries posted to NetSuite. Make sure the chart of accounts has the liability accounts needed to reconcile each remittance.
NetSuite integration services →Currency, banking and cross-border trade
Many Quebec companies sell to the United States and buy from abroad, so multi-currency handling, revaluation, and foreign-exchange gains and losses should be part of the design. Canadian banks use standard electronic payment formats for payments and deposits, and your payment and bank-reconciliation processes should be built with the specific file formats your bank supports. Customs, duties, and import taxes on goods add further steps that are best handled with your broker.
Decisions to settle before configuration starts
- Language policy. Decide which documents are produced in which language, and how the preferred language is stored and applied.
- Tax registrations. Confirm your GST and QST registration details and filing frequency, and who prepares the returns.
- Privacy owner. Name the person responsible for personal information and involve them in role design.
- Payroll interface. Choose the payroll provider and define the journal entries it will post, before building the accounts.
A realistic first 90 days
- Days 1 to 30. Gather registrations, language and privacy requirements, and the chart of accounts, and design the tax and subsidiary structure.
- Days 31 to 60. Configure tax, templates in the required languages, and roles, and test sample invoices and payments with your accountants.
- Days 61 to 90. Run a parallel period, reconcile tax collected and paid to the return, and sign off on payroll postings and bank files.
Pitfalls specific to Quebec projects
- Treating QST as a provincial add-on to GST. They are separate taxes with different rules and filings. Model them separately.
- Translating at the end. Templates created in English and translated just before go-live often break layouts and miss fields. Build bilingual templates early.
- Open access to personal data. Default permissions are rarely strict enough. Review roles with your privacy lead.
- Ignoring year-end slip needs. If payroll data is not structured to support slips, year-end becomes a manual exercise.
