Switching payroll providers in Canada can take as little as five to seven days. The timeline depends mostly on whether you have your business, employee, and payroll details ready when setup starts, and how quickly your new provider can verify your identity and bank account.
Your CRA payroll account and remittance schedule stay the same, and your pay history comes with you as long as you export it before you cancel.
Here’s how to make the move without breaking anything on the way out: when to switch, the steps to switch, and clear rules for handling remittances, T4s, ROEs, and Quebec obligations.
Bookkeepers and accountants moving several clients at once should start with our guide for firms, which covers staggered go-lives, year-to-date checks, and other helpful resources.
Easy playbook for accountants and bookkeepers switching payroll providers
Are you an accountant or bookkeeper looking to move multiple clients to a new payroll system? Make it easier with this simple guide.
Most businesses don’t switch on a whim. They switch because their payroll software is making mistakes they have to clean up, or because the business has outgrown it.
These are the most common signs your payroll system is holding you back:
- It’s creating compliance problems. Wrong deductions, missed remittances, off-cycle runs to fix last week’s pay, or T4s and ROEs that you or your accountant have to fix.
- You’ve outgrown its features. More employees, more provinces, or more pay types than it was built to handle.
- You need something simpler. The business has downsized, and you’re paying for features you never use.
- The reports don’t tell you much. You need more detail or more customization than it gives you.
- It doesn’t integrate with your other tools. Your accounting, time tracking, or HR software lives somewhere else, and you’re keying data in twice.
- Payroll takes hours you don’t have. You’re checking totals twice, fixing things in a spreadsheet, and dreading year-end.
- Support goes quiet when it matters. Payroll runs on deadlines, and waiting on hold doesn’t.
The best time to switch payroll providers in Canada
The cleanest time to switch payroll providers in Canada is the first pay date in January. Canadian payroll runs on the calendar year, even if your fiscal year doesn’t, so year-to-date totals reset every January 1. Your old provider files last year’s T4s, and there’s nothing to carry over into the new system.
Switching mid-year works too. You’ll just need to bring over the year’s pay totals, accruals, and liabilities. Flag anyone who’s already hit their CPP and EI maximums so deductions don’t restart, and note who’s on leave so they aren’t missed in the new system.
When to avoid switching (if you can)
It’s possible to change payroll providers at any point in the year, but these are the riskiest times to switch:
- In the middle of a pay period. Switch between pay runs so one system calculates each pay from start to finish.
- When a large or unusual payment is coming up. Cash flow has a big impact on payroll. Bonuses and asset purchases already put extra pressure on your finances, so avoid adding the setup of a new provider at the same time.
Situations in your business that can also affect your timeline
Some changes might not stop you from switching, but they do impact how and when you should do it. If any of these apply, plan for them early.
- Your business structure is changing. Incorporating, merging, or selling the business can mean a new CRA business number and payroll program account. It’s usually cleaner to line up your switch with that change than to move payroll twice.
- Your banking or financial situation is changing. Payroll providers that handle direct deposits typically review your business banking and financial standing during setup. A new bank account or recent financial changes can affect timelines and risk verifications, so start early.
- You’re working with a new accountant or bookkeeper. They may already use a payroll platform they know well, and that can make the switch easier. Loop them in before you choose a provider.
- You’re hiring outside of Canada. Paying employees outside Canada adds a layer of tax and compliance complexity, and not every Canadian provider supports it. Confirm this before you commit.
- You operate in an industry with money-movement restrictions. Some industries, such as cannabis, can face limits on how funds are processed. Confirm with any provider that your business is eligible before you start onboarding.
Step by step: From decision to first pay run
Once you know when you want to switch, work through these steps in order. Simply click on each header to learn more about each step.
Your contract with your current payroll provider decides how soon you can leave, so read it as soon as you decide to switch. Look for:
- The notice period (30 days is common, but some contracts ask for 90)
- Auto-renewal dates
- Termination or data export fees
- Who files last year’s T4s if you’re switching at year-end
- How they handle Records of Employment (ROEs) when you leave
Tell your new provider when you’d like to run your first payroll with them, and confirm that timeline is realistic. While you’re at it, ask:
- How long onboarding takes for a business like yours
- What records they’ll need from you
- Whether they’ll load your year-to-date totals and pay history, or you will
Then open your account as early as you can, even before you give notice. Your new provider verifies your identity and bank account during setup, including any checks FINTRAC requires, and that’s often the slowest part.
Your new payroll provider will ask for all of this during setup, and having it ready before your first onboarding call is the best way to speed up your switch.
Some of it lives only in your old provider’s system, so export it while you still have access. Store it somewhere secure, since it holds SINs and banking details.
Company details
- Business number and payroll program account number
- Remitter type and remitting frequency
- Pay schedule and pay groups
- Banking details for billing, paying employees, and remitting to government agencies
- Ownership and identity details for account verification (FINTRAC)
- Contact information for admins and their roles, meaning who can view, approve, or run payroll
- Provincial accounts, including CNESST for Quebec employees, workers’ compensation, and provincial employer taxes (like Employer Health Tax)
- Third parties you pay, like group benefits, pensions (including RRSPs), and garnishments
Employee details
- Everyone you’ve paid this year, including people who’ve left or are on leave
- Legal name, home address, date of birth, and Social Insurance Number
- Pay rate, pay type (hourly or salary), and job title
- Claim amounts from each employee’s most recent federal and provincial TD1 forms (and TP-1015.3-V for Quebec employees)
- Any CPP, EI, or income tax exemptions on file
- Direct deposit details
- Hiring contract or agreement
- Hire and rehire dates, and length-of-service dates if they differ
Year-to-date totals per employee
- Gross pay, with taxable benefits broken out by type
- Pensionable and insurable earnings
- CPP, CPP2, and EI (QPP and QPIP for Quebec employees)
- Federal and provincial income tax
- Employer contributions and total remitted
- Recurring deductions, such as garnishments, union dues, and RRSP or pension contributions
- List of taxable benefits with amounts that have been paid to date
- Outstanding advances or employee loans with remaining balance and repayment schedule(s)
- Vacation accrual value and time owing, sick time, and banked time
- Earned pay not yet paid out, like commissions or retroactive pay
Pay history and past filings
Employees’ past pay stubs, which they can lose access to when the account closesing setup, including any checks FINTRAC requires, and that’s often the slowest part.
- Detailed pay history for at least the past 12 months, including pay registers for every pay run, year-to-date totals, and insurable hours, accruals, and earnings for each employee
- ROEs issued this year
- Last year’s T4s, T4 Summary, and any T4A slips for contractors
Give your current payroll provider written notice on the terms your contract sets, but keep your login active through the switch. You need to keep payroll records for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to, and your access to the old system can end with the contract.
Export first, cancel last.
Switching in January? If your first pay with the new provider is the first pay of the year, most of the earnings and source deduction totals reset on January 1. Just keep an eye on any accrual balances like vacation pay that may carry over year-to-year. Those totals will need to be accounted for in the new system.
Switching at any other point in the year? Year-to-date totals tell the new system what each employee has already earned and had deducted, so items like CPP, EI, and tax don’t restart. Work with your new provider’s onboarding team to make this as simple as possible.
Not sure what CPP, EI, or the other deductions cover? See how payroll deductions work in Canada.
Before you submit your first pay in the new system, compare its preview with your last pay in the old one. Check gross pay, every deduction, and net pay line by line, and fix any gap before anyone gets paid. It doubles as your practice run in the new system.
Let them know about the new pay stub and any new login, and confirm their pay date. It usually stays the same, but it’s the first thing people ask about.
If doing a mid-year switch, tell your old provider in writing not to file year-end forms for you, so the CRA doesn’t get two sets of T4s for the same year. Then save your latest payroll statement of account (PD7A) from CRA My Business Account as your record of what the CRA has received.
As part of closing out, issue a change-of-provider Record of Employment (ROE) for each employee from the old system, using reason code K, “Other / Change of Service Provider.” This sends the insurable hours and earnings held in the old system to Service Canada. Your new provider then reports from its first pay run onward.
Run your first pay in the new system. Once approved, net pay goes out to your employees, and the source deductions need to be set aside to remit separately. If your new provider remits these for you, it holds the source deductions remittance and sends it to the CRA by the due date, which can be a few weeks after payday.
Moving to Wagepoint? You’ll get hands-on support from account setup to your first pay run. See how simple your payroll can be by booking a demo.
What happens to your CRA account, remittances, T4s, and ROEs when you switch payroll providers?
When you switch payroll providers in Canada, your accounts stay the same and your providers’ software should handle most of the handover. Here’s who handles what.
CRA account: Nothing to change. You keep the same account number, remitter type, and due dates. Your new provider sets up the access it needs during onboarding, so there’s no new account to open or form to file.
Remittances: Each system covers its own pay runs. You run your last payroll in the old system, then start running payroll in the new one. If your providers remit for you, each one sends the deductions for its own pay runs by your regular due date. If you remit yourself, pay them by that same date.
T4s: For every employee, filed from the new system. Load each employee’s year-to-date totals into the new software and file T4s from there only. The CRA expects one T4 per employee for each province they earned income in, no matter how many payroll systems you used. For details, see the Employers’ Guide – Filing the T4 Slip and Summary.
ROEs: File change-of-provider ROEs from the previous system. Every Record of Employment (ROE) lists an employee’s insurable earnings for up to the last 53 weeks, but your new provider can only report the pay periods it processes. Issue the change-of-provider ROE for each employee, using reason code K. These go to Service Canada, not to your employees.
Quebec employees: The same applies with Revenu Québec. Your account stays the same, and each employee gets one RL-1 from the new system. For more, see Beyond QPP: Employer payroll taxes and contributions in Quebec.
Payroll rules change. Confirm the details for your business with the CRA, Revenu Québec, or your accountant.
Mistakes that can delay your switch
Your providers’ software handles most of the handover. These are the parts it doesn’t, and they’re where switches usually get delayed.
- Cancelling your old account before you export. Once your old payroll provider account is closed, you can lose access to your pay history. You need it for change-of-provider ROEs, and the CRA expects you to keep payroll records for six years.
- Skipping the year-to-date load mid-year. Deductions and T4s come out wrong, and you find out months later from a PIER notice, the CRA’s review of CPP and EI deductions that don’t add up.
- Splitting a pay period across two systems. Neither system’s totals match what employees were actually paid.
- Forgetting the employer tax payments that don’t go to the CRA. Workers’ compensation, provincial payroll taxes like Employer Health Tax, CNESST in Quebec, and payroll tax in Nunavut. Copying old TD1 amounts without checking them. Income tax comes off wrong from the first pay.
Simple switching checklist
Here’s a simple version of the switching process. Copy it into your task list and tick items off as you go.
Ready to switch?
Talk to your new provider early, show up with your records ready, and don’t close the old account until your exports and change-of-provider ROEs are done. Do that, and the rest is routine.
Thinking about switching to Wagepoint? You’ll get hands-on support from onboarding and account setup through to your first pay run. After that, Wagepoint calculates deductions and remits them to the CRA and Revenu Québec for you, generates ROEs, and prepares T4s at year-end.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. You can switch payroll providers at any point in the year. Load each employee’s year-to-date totals into the new system so CPP, EI, and income tax continue where they stopped. Then one provider can issue a single T4 per employee.
Yes. If both providers remit for you, each one sends the deductions for its own pay runs by your quarterly due date (the 15th of the month after the quarter ends). If you remit yourself, pay anything your providers don’t send by that same due date. Switching at the start of a quarter keeps it all in one system.
The first pay date in January is the cleanest, because year-to-date totals reset and the old provider produces last year’s T4s. Any other time works too, as long as you load year-to-date totals and avoid riskier switching periods like the middle of a pay period and big business changes.
No. Your payroll program account belongs to your business, so the number, your remitter type, and your due dates stay the same. Your new provider sets up the access it needs during onboarding.
Not if year-to-date totals are correctly loaded into the new payroll provider’s system. The new provider then files one T4 per employee for the full year. Without them, employees get two slips, and CPP and EI restart from zero, so they’re often over-deducted.
It can take as little as five to seven days. The timeline depends mostly on how prepared you are when onboarding starts and how quickly your new provider can verify your identity and bank account. Your old contract may add more, since notice periods commonly run 30 days and sometimes up to 90.
You file a change-of-provider ROE with Service Canada for each employee from your old payroll system. That covers the earnings paid through the old system, because your new provider can only report the pay periods it processes.
Reason code K, “Other / Change of Service Provider.” You start the process in your old payroll system, which issues an ROE for each employee to Service Canada, not to the employees themselves. Service Canada’s guide to completing ROEs explains how Code K works.
No. You don’t need to register the change or get a new account number. Your new provider sets up the access it needs during onboarding.
