Connect the business transaction to the wallet activity
Records should connect a customer invoice or purchase to the relevant crypto transaction, Canadian-dollar valuation evidence and any subsequent exchange activity. The purpose matters: receiving payment, transferring between owned wallets and disposing of an asset are different events.
CRA guidance calls for transaction details including units, asset type, dates, Canadian-dollar values and wallet information. Regular exports are useful because continued access to an exchange is not guaranteed. Private keys and seed phrases are not bookkeeping records to submit through an enquiry form.
Reconcile before accepting the summary
We compare opening units, activity, fees and closing units for each asset and wallet in scope. Apparent transfers are matched across both sides where records are available. Unexplained differences remain visible rather than being labelled as gains or losses without evidence.
Illustrative example: a digital-services invoice
A Calgary digital agency accepts an agreed crypto payment for an invoice and later converts part of the balance to Canadian dollars. The invoice settlement, network fee, conversion and remaining holdings need separate supporting entries. Treating the eventual bank deposit as the only business transaction loses the history the accountant needs.
Questions about this work
Do you provide investment or custody services?
No. This is records and reconciliation support. You retain control of wallets and decisions about assets.
Can every DeFi or international activity be handled?
We review complexity before agreeing the scope. Unsupported platforms, missing history or specialist tax questions may require a separate adviser and additional records.
Put this into practice
Sources and current guidance
A practical next step
Bring the records you have.
We can identify missing information, agree on the scope and organize the next bookkeeping step.
Request a bookkeeping review