Receipts and business records: what to keep

Short answer: Keep the records that support every number on your books and your returns — sales invoices, expense receipts, bank and credit-card statements, and the documents behind loans, payroll and taxes. In Canada, the CRA generally expects you to keep these for six years. Good record-keeping isn’t about tidiness for its own sake; it’s what stands behind your figures if anyone ever asks.

This is general information, not tax advice. For the official rules, see the CRA’s guidance on where to keep your records and for how long.

What to keep

Income records

• Sales invoices and receipts
• Records of other income the business receives

Expense records

• Receipts and invoices for business purchases (these support both your expenses and your GST/HST input tax credits)
• Contracts and agreements

Banking

• Bank and credit-card statements for all business accounts
• Loan and financing documents

Tax and payroll

• GST/HST records (collected and paid)
• Payroll records and remittance documentation, if you have employees

Assets

• Records of equipment and other capital assets bought or sold

Why receipts matter for your books

A receipt is the proof behind a transaction. Without it:

• You can’t fully support an expense or the GST/HST you’re claiming back
• Categorising the transaction correctly is guesswork
• A simple CRA question can become a costly one

Attaching receipts to transactions as you go — rather than hunting for them at year-end — is one of the highest-value habits in bookkeeping.

How long to keep records

As a general rule, keep your business records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. Some situations change that timeline, and there are rules about destroying records early. For the details, see our guide on how long to keep business records and confirm specifics with the CRA.

Make it effortless

• Capture digitally. Tools like Dext (or QuickBooks’ and Xero’s built-in receipt capture) let you photograph a receipt and attach it straight to the transaction.
• Go paperless where you can. Digital copies are generally acceptable and far easier to keep organised — back them up.
• Keep business and personal separate so records don’t get tangled. See business vs personal expenses.
• Don’t let it pile up. A little each week beats a year of shoebox archaeology.

Lost some receipts?

It happens. The practical answer is to capture what you can, reconstruct from statements where reasonable, and tighten the process going forward — often as part of a cleanup. Confirm anything tax-specific with your accountant.

The next step

Good bookkeeping keeps your records organised and attached to the numbers they support, so year-end and any CRA question is straightforward. If your records are scattered, talk to Avora — or start with the Bookkeeping Health Check.

Avora provides bookkeeping support, not tax or legal advice.

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Last reviewed: August 2026. Verify current record-keeping requirements on Canada.ca.