BLR, LLP
15-4380 South Service Road L7L 5Y6 Burlington, ON, Canada

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!!! May 2021 bring us all good health and happiness.Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!!! May 2021 bring us all good health and happiness.

Big congrats goes out to one of our partners at BLR. Damian, congrats on this day, the day you married the love of your life Janet . 2020 can’t stop true love - let’s here it for the happy couple

Here’s Dave Beckett (the founding man behind BLR) dressed in his family Tartan, waiting patiently to watch Damian (another one of our partners ar BLR) get married to the love of his life via ZOOM. 2020 can’t stop love

It’s a day early, but Happy Halloween from the Partners and staff at BLR!!! Even though this year we are presented with a very different way of celebrating, we hope everyone still has fun!!!! Even though our amazing clients will not get to see the silliness of the office in person, a few of us wanted to bring the staff some laughs and Halloween spirit . Hope you all are well and enjoy the pictures! If you would like, please comment with your pictures below as we would love to see them .

2020 Update We are here to help you! We hope all of you have been able to stay safe and healthy during this chaotic and wild year. Although we are operating a little differently than normal, we are still fully prepared to help you with your accounting, tax, and advisory needs.... Here’s how: Burlington Location: Our doors remain closed for day to day activities (dropping off tax information, payments, etc), however, we are operating curbside pick ups and drop offs. We are scheduling phone calls, video meetings and, when needed, in person meetings. Office hours are Monday to Friday 8:30am 5pm. For drop offs There is a box sitting on the window ledge in our vestibule. Place items into the box, give a little wave to our admin team, and then someone will take the documents inside as soon as you leave. If you arrive after hours, there is a secured drop box on the outside, next to our front door. For pick ups We ask that when you arrive at our office, you call from your car (905-333-5066) and we then bring out your documentation to the window ledge for you to take (or sign, if needed). In person meetings For those interested in meeting face to face with our partners, please call our office 905-333-5066 to schedule a time. There is a boardroom with an entrance/exit off the sidewalk (door 14) that you will enter/exit the meeting from. The room is sanitized after every use and masks are required at all times. Waterdown Location: Our doors remain closed at this time. We have a slot on the front door where you may insert your documents. The office number is on the door (905-689-2052) if assistance is required. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9am 5pm. At this time, there are NO in person meetings. The Partners in Waterdown are available via phone or video meetings. We thank you for your understanding in how we have modified our operations as we continue to navigate the unknown. May you continue to stay healthy, safe and above all, happy. Best wishes for the fall and winter seasons!

Tonight we were supposed to have our end of tax season party at QB Sports Bar Grill Games but tax season isn’t over and their only open for curbside pick up. However someone forgot to tell Tim Miron and his kids. QB’s hope to see you at the new deadline dates on #April62nd.

We are here to help you! We understand that this is a difficult time for so many, and we are trying our best to help you in any way we can. We know that many of you have questions about government programs, need payroll processed for employees, or are looking to get your tax refunds as quickly as you can. Our goal is to keep operating, however possible, while at the same time doing our best to protect our team, our clients, and our community. Here is how we are continuing t...o operate at this time: We are all working full-time and ready to assist with your accounting and tax needs. Many of the staff are working remotely from home, but a few are still in the office, well distanced from each other. Personal tax returns, both Canadian and US, have extended deadlines, but these extensions are beginning to approach quickly. Our goal is to have your tax returns ready well in advance of these deadlines. We STRONGLY encourage you to share your documents with us digitally. These are the ways we can accept them. - Password protected documents sent by email - Our online portal (Burlington clients only) - Google Drive - Dropbox - One Drive If you are absolutely unable to send documents digitally, you may drop off your physical documents at our Burlington office weekdays between 9am and 2pm. We have set up a bin for you into which you are to place your documents. We then pick the documents up as soon as you leave. You will not be able to speak with anyone at that time. For now, we will only be delivering your tax returns electronically when they are complete. We will send your tax returns securely and discuss them with you by phone or video meeting. Although we continue to keep our doors closed to the public, we are just a phone call or email away. We hope that you and your families are safe and well. Sincerely, BLR, LLP

Employer wage subsidy: Normally we would summarize this but it is in pretty clear language. https://www.canada.ca//frequently-asked-questions-wage-sub

With the current developments in our community and around the world in connection with COVID-19 we would like to update you with the steps we are taking to keep our team safe. Effective March 21st at 5pm we will be closing the offices to the public. Our team will be staying home we have plans in place to still ensure that essential services, such as payroll and records of employment are taken care of. Our plan is to re-open the offices on April 6th. Personal tax returns, bot...h Canadian and US, have extended deadlines. Be assured that our goal is to have your returns ready well in advance of these deadlines. The partners of the firm will continue to work towards any corporate tax or HST filings that are due on March 31st. Any in office meetings that are scheduled during this time can either be moved to a telephone call, a video call, or can be rescheduled to occur on or after April 6th. The partners of the firm will still be available to help our business clients navigate these incredibly difficult times even during our closure. For anyone interested in sending their tax documentation to us during the closure, here are some secure file sharing options: - Password protected documents sent to partners' email - Our online portal - Google Drive - Dropbox - One Drive If you still would like to drop off your tax documents in person, the Burlington office will be open, for drop off only, weekday mornings from 9am to Noon. We would be happy to receive your documents in any manner that is convenient to you We hope that you understand our decision to do what we feel we can do to keep our team and our community safe. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

As more details of the small business wage subsidy become available we will share them. At this moment this is the entirety of the information available from the Government of Canada: Helping Businesses Keep their Workers To support businesses that are facing revenue losses and to help prevent lay-offs, the government is proposing to provide eligible small employers a temporary wage subsidy for a period of three months. The subsidy will be equal to 10% of remuneration paid du...ring that period, up to a maximum subsidy of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer. Businesses will be able to benefit immediately from this support by reducing their remittances of income tax withheld on their employees’ remuneration. Employers benefiting from this measure will include corporations eligible for the small business deduction, as well as non-profit organizations and charities. https://www.canada.ca//depart/economic-response-plan.html

On March 18, 2020 the Government of Canada announced a number of changes. We wanted to share these with you so that you know how they might impact you. Personal Tax Filing Deadline The personal tax filing deadline has been extended to June 1st.... The government is still encouraging anyone who receives government benefits, like GST/HST credits, Trillium benefits or Canada Child Benefits not to delay filing their returns to ensure no delay in receiving their benefits. Additionally, a large part of our team that helps prepare your personal taxes is made up of co-op students who will not be available to us after April 30th. So at the moment we are planning to continue to try and work towards having everyone's personal tax returns completed by April 30th as usual. We have not as of yet made any changes to our office operations, but are encouraging all of our clients, where possible, to share their tax documents electronically. This will allow us all to follow the guidance of social distancing as well as allow the preparation of your tax returns to continue should we have to close our office. Payment Due Dates The payment due date has also been extended. Personal income taxes are now not due until August 31, 2020, this also applies to personal tax instalments due on or after today and would include your June 15th 2020 personal income tax instalment should that apply to you. Business Filings (including HST related to your personal return) Any income taxes due on or after today can now be deferred until August 31, 2020 without any interest. Please note that there is no mention of a change to any filing deadlines for business or corporate tax returns. For the moment we are going to continue assuming that all of these are still due on their normal filing deadlines. Also there has been no mention of any changes to when the payment of HST or employee payroll taxes are due so you should plan on continuing to make those as normally scheduled. This is perhaps another reason for many of our clients to still file their returns as usual. Relief for Employers There is a subsidy for employers who are eligible for the small business deduction. The amount is 10% of total remuneration paid for three months up to $1,375 per employee and up to $25,000 per employer. This will be "paid" by allowing businesses to reduce the payroll taxes sent to the government by that amount. Please get in touch with our team if you need help calculating that amount. What is uncertain at this moment is when the precise date of this subsidy will start. We will do our very best to keep you updated as we learn more about any other changes to your tax situation. We appreciate your patience in these ever changing times, and want to assure you we will continue to be here for you (even if that "here" is virtually).

COVID-19 Update BLR, LLP will remain open to provide accounting and tax services to our clients during this pandemic. Currently (as of March 17th, 2020) both of our offices remain open but we also ask you to consider the following possible changes:... - Please do not come to our office if you are feeling ill (this is actually always true) or have returned from outside of the country in the last 14 days. - Please consider if we could interact another way; Could your meeting be changed to a phone call or a teleconference. - If you are providing documents to us, could they be shared digitally (Email, Our Portal, Google Drive or Dropbox). Please note that as recommendations from the government change, we will also change to adhere to the new suggestions (perhaps before an update is shared on our facebook and web pages). We want to provide our community the service they have become accustomed to, but at the same time, we also want to keep our team and our community safe in any way we can. Stay Healthy and Safe, The Partners and Staff at BLR, LLP

Happy Leap Day! Did you know without leap years today would be July? It seems kind of cold for July and your personal income tax return would be really really late. https://graphics.latimes.com/leap-year-2016/

It’s Pancake Tuesday and that means BLR Burlington gets a special treat!!!! Doug Lowden, Partner and Accountant by day and Master Chef by night, continues with his yearly tradition of making pancakes and crepes for our staff!!!! Bon Appetit!

Happy Valentine's Day! Your amazing support has caused us to out grow our Burlington Office! We will be moving this fall!Happy Valentine's Day! Your amazing support has caused us to out grow our Burlington Office! We will be moving this fall!

Need a cool workspace?! Desk Rental Available - Downtown Hamilton Creative agency located in downtown Hamilton has 3 workstations available for rent. ... Our private office space is located within the Seedworks building (not to be confused with the Seedworks Co-Working space). We’re an easy-going bunch of creative professionals with room to share! Includes: Exclusive rental of the desk/workstation (with secure storage/filing tower) Internet access Kitchen (complete with fridge/microwave, kettle) Coffee/tea Boardroom access Fully furnished, common area access Secure building access This type of rental is ideal for solo entrepreneurs or a small team (up to 3). 6-month commitment required. $350 / month / desk rental (+ HST) Available immediately. To inquire, please email: [email protected].

BLR celebrates with Canada!!!! Congrats to the Toronto Raptors on this great victory!!

Happy May 1st! The first of May is an unofficial holiday for accountants. Both of offices will be officially closed today. Sorry for any inconvenience. We will be back open tomorrow.Happy May 1st! The first of May is an unofficial holiday for accountants. Both of offices will be officially closed today. Sorry for any inconvenience. We will be back open tomorrow.

Look who was featured in Xero's partner spotlight this week, our very own Tim Miron #NumbersCanBePersonal #TheCloudIsAwesome https://www.linkedin.com//xero-partner-spotlight-blr-eri/

Happy Oatmeal Cookie Day! There is absolutely nothing else of significance going on today. #April30 #TaxDeadline #NumbersCanBePersonal ! #WhoWantsACookie

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone even if you are only 1/365th Irish! #NumbersCanBePersonal

Congrats to Mychal from our #Waterdown Office for successfully completing the CFE (the last exam to become a CPA)! We are so happy for you! #NumbersCanBePersonal #ExamsAreStressful #CFEresults2019

Our Christmas tree!!!!

From all of us at BLR, Happy International Women’s Day!!!!

From all of us at BLR, Happy Halloween!!!! If you’re in the neighbourhood, come on down to the Burlington office to see the Sanderson sisters and The Flamingo #BLR #accountantsarecool #happyhalloween #familyfirm #weloveourjobs

Happy Valentine’s Day! Is it weird that we love taxes so much that we hold our personal tax kick off meeting on Valentines Day? #NumbersCanBePersonal.

It’s that time of year again ......... the Waterdown office would like to introduce you to their returning staff member, Becky Lowden Read. Becky brings 2 years of experience in every field and works long hours!!!! If you are in the Waterdown area, swing by and say hello #BLR #accountingisfun #workfamily #halloween2019 #numberscanbepersonal

Check out Tim Miron's latest presentation at his BNI Meeting. The 6 cash flow mistakes small businesses make. #NumbersCanBePersonal #CashFlow

It’s #BellLetsTalk Day - please share. For every share, Bell donates $0.05 to mental health initiatives. Let’s end the stigma today!

On Wednesday, September 4th, the BLR team expanded our knowledge in Dragon boating and may think of a career change!!! Maybe you’ll see the BLR team in the 2020 Olympic Games . Thanks to Olympic Gold Medalist Adam Joseph van Koeverden, and 36-time Canadian Champion Liz Leckie for hosting our team! Special thanks to Liz and Jamie at the Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville for taking us out onto the water and proving that accountants can have fun too!... Thanks to My Fit Little Foodie and Stoney’s Bread company for our delicious and healthy breakfast and lunch! And a big thanks to Leslie Mansfield at the Halton Learning Foundation, who organized this event m, which we won at a charity auction! Great day spent with some amazing people! #futureolympicteam #BLR #family #accountingrules

Fun with labels!!!!! Who says accountants don’t have fun at work #hilarious #funatwork #joinourteam #BLR #loveourjob

Thanks to Dave at BLR for a lovely afternoon at Lakeside a la Carte with Alex!

Did you like not having to commute last week? What if you could work in Burlington with us, and never commute again? #NumbersCanBePersonal #CareersCanBePersonal

From our family to yours, may 2019 bring you joy, happiness and love .

Thank you to everyone who supported our #Movember efforts! We raised $6,200! https://ca.movember.com/team/2324548?mc=14

Here’s to the last stretch in our Movember Movement!!!!! Let’s keep going boys - just a couple more days #movember #accountantsarefun #BLR #family please donate if you can https://ca.movember.com/team/2324548?mc=14

Day 16 from BLR (picture took on Friday) - look at those wonderful faces!!!!! Let’s keep going boys #movember #accountantsarefun #BLR #family please donate if you can https://ca.movember.com/team/2324548?mc=14

A hundred thank yous to anyone who served to protect our country on this 100th anniversary. #LestWeForget

Day 8 of Movember - you can see, some are starting to grow!!!! Can’t wait to see what next week brings us #movember #accountantsarefun #BLR #family please donate if you can https://ca.movember.com/team/2324548?mc=14

The men of BLR Burlington have started their Movember!!!! Please join us in this amazing cause for men’s health. Stay tuned for weekly updates to see who can grow the best stash #movember #accountantsarefun #BLR #family please donate https://ca.movember.com/team/2324548?mc=14

This is no trick, many of our team think working at BLR is a real treat! Check out our latest job posting: https://ca.indeed.com/m/viewjob

Why we support HLF !

What a great day at the Drive for Show tournament hosted by the amazing Fareen Samji! Great day, amazing show of long drive hitting and we even saw a hole in one by Krista Hurley

Happy Canada! (Turn the sound on)

We are always proud to support families making their communities better! #NumbersCanBePersonal Burlington Dance Academy

Happy Accountant's New Years Eve!!!

Our THANK YOU from the Partners for our hard work during tax season!!!!! Beautiful work from Burlington Blooms . Gotta love Tax Season!!!!!

The Burlington Office showing support #JerseyForHumboldt

Our Waterdown office showing their support for #PutYourSticksOut

Still looking for your child's hockey or violin receipts? Well you can stop. The credits for Children's arts and fitness went away last year and you can't use them on your taxes this year! #NumbersCanBePersonal #TaxTip (photo courtesy of www.pexels.com)

Just a reminder for parents of small children, don't wait for your RC62 - Universal Childcare receipt to get your taxes in. It is not coming, that program changed to the Canada Child Benefit in the middle of 2017 so you do not have to pay tax on your Child benefits anymore. #TaxTip #NumbersCanBePersonal

Some new office decor courtesy Speedpro Imaging Burloak

We are almost there! United Way Halton and Hamilton

Nancy Brewer was getting a new profile picture done and Tim Miron just couldn't keep himself out of the way! #NumbersCanBePersonal , but some of our partners are down right wacky!

More wonderful elements for our new branding. Thanks to Kitestring and Speedpro Imaging Burloak ! #NumbersCanBePersonal

This is the candy that Tim Miron's kids won't eat. So he brought it into the office. His kids like trick or treating as much as Tim likes finding tax savings, it doesn't really matter who gets to enjoy the benefits! #NumbersCanBePersonal

Today we are getting 9 of our team Xero certified! #NumbersCanBePersonal #WeLoveTheCloud

We are super proud to share that one of our partners Tim Miron is in the The Globe and Mail today!

Let's start your adventure at a BOOMING mid-sized public accounting firm. Your skills, abilities and remuneration will increase with our growth! At BLR our focus is on providing service to owner-managed, small to medium-sized businesses and personal tax clients through an approach that is client-focused, cost sensitive, value-added and team-supported. We are committed to providing close, personal attention to our clients through regular face-to-face interactions that develop ...long-lasting relationships. The successful candidate will learn to know, like and care about our clients just like the rest of our team does. This position will be a front line spot in our Burlington office, greeting clients and answering phone calls to help our clients. You will also be responsible for organizing one of the busiest partners in the office to ensure that they are efficient, and responsive to clients and the team. For the right person the ability to lead and manage our social media presence and marketing initiatives to help our firm grow is also an option. Organization is one of the keys to success in this position so only applicants that follow the specific requirements will be considered. Please email your resume to [email protected] with the subject line: Rockstar EA position