Written by Maryam Ajorloo, CPA · Reviewed by Behdad Karimi Dermeni, CPA
From the outside, professional racing looks like a sport. From the inside, it is also a business, and it runs on partnerships. Sponsors back the season, and the drivers who keep those relationships strongest are the ones who can invoice cleanly and show exactly what that support made possible. There is also a sales tax return that has no interest in how the last race went. Canadian racing driver Alana Carter runs all of it between race weekends, and she runs it on ReInvestWealth.
Doing that well takes a real system, which is why we built accounting tools for athletes around this kind of work.
Meet Alana Carter: Canada's Professional Racing Driver
For Alana Carter, racing isn't just a hobby, it's a legacy. Born into a family where her parents met at the racetrack and her father is a local dirt track legend, Alana has taken that inherited passion and shifted it into high gear. While her family raced for the love of the sport, Alana is the first to bridge the gap from the local dirt tracks to the professional international stage. Since winning a life-changing global driver search in 2022, she has evolved from a 7-year-old in a go-kart to a history-making professional athlete. She is now a fierce competitor and a savvy "driver-entrepreneur" in series like TC America and the Radical Cup Canada.
As a standout for AE Victory Racing and winner of their inaugural shootout, Alana is one of Canada's top rising stars in motorsport. Her career is already defined by several historic firsts:
Breaking Barriers: Part of the first all-female lineup to win a World Racing League GTO race.
Podium Finishes: The first Canadian woman to podium in TC America, achieving this milestone on her very first debut weekend.
Setting Precedents: The first woman to compete in the Radical Cup Canada.
However, behind the podium finishes is a complex financial operation. Alana represents a growing trend of athlete-entrepreneurs who must manage their personal brand as a corporate entity. From tracking sponsorship ROI to managing international travel deductions, the financial side of racing requires professional-grade tools.
3 Challenges of Managing Finances as an Entrepreneur in Motorsports
Many business owners and athletes know the same paperwork pile-up that Alana worked through before streamlining her setup. In her interview with ReInvestWealth, she described the reality of the industry:
The "One-Person" Management Team: Unlike major league sports, rising racing stars act as their own sales agents, marketing directors, and bookkeepers.
Managing Multiple Income Streams: Sponsorship agreements, appearance fees, and prize winnings all land on different schedules, and keeping them straight by hand is where books tend to slip.
High Overhead and Expense Tracking: From fuel and tires to global travel, missing a single receipt means losing out on critical tax deductions.
"We have to be our own salespeople, be our own accountants... I'm doing everything myself to keep the business afloat." Alana Carter
How to Save Hours on Bookkeeping with Automated Invoicing and Expense Tracking
To stay focused on the track, Alana integrated ReInvestWealth into her daily business operations. By using an AI-powered platform, she replaced manual spreadsheets with automated financial tracking.
Mobile Invoicing for Athletes on the Go: Alana uses the ReInvestWealth mobile app to send professional invoices to sponsors instantly from the paddock, which means faster payment cycles.
Real-Time Expense Tracking: Every travel expense and equipment purchase is captured as it happens, giving her a clear picture of her business's cash flow. Sorting those charges into the right categories is handled by the AI Bookkeeper.
That is the part most athletes underestimate. Receipts do not go missing at tax time, they go missing in June, somewhere between a hotel and a tire invoice. Capturing them the day they happen is what makes the difference, and it is what the AI Bookkeeper is built to do without being asked.
Stop Procrastinating: Simplify Small Business Tax Readiness and HST Filing
One of the biggest hurdles for Canadian entrepreneurs is the stress of tax season. Alana admitted to being a chronic "tax procrastinator" until she found a tool that automated the heavy lifting.
Her favourite feature is automated HST filing.
"I've always procrastinated filing my HST until the very last minute," Alana says. "With ReInvestWealth, it was so easy I felt silly for waiting."
When your GST/HST return is prepared automatically from income and expenses that are already categorized, the filing stops being a project and starts being a review. Turns out "I'll deal with it in April" was never a bookkeeping strategy, just a widely shared hope.
ReInvestWealth: Supporting the Next Generation of Women Entrepreneurs
Empowering high-performing women like Alana is a core part of the ReInvestWealth mission.
As an AI-powered accounting platform, ReInvestWealth is built for smart and busy entrepreneurs who run their own business with precision. From automated bookkeeping and income tracking to real-time financial reports, the product is designed for people who lead their own path.
Alana relies on ReInvestWealth to navigate the complexities of her professional racing career. By using the platform to organize sponsorship income and track travel expenses, she keeps her business operations as efficient as her performance on the track. This partnership lets her move away from manual paperwork and focus on her primary goal: winning.
At ReInvestWealth, supporting women in business is more than a goal, it is a commitment. Alana's transition from a racing family background to a professional "driver-entrepreneur" shows the impact of having the right financial tools to own your future.
To celebrate Alana's journey, code ALANA50 gets you 50% off ReInvestWealth for 2 years. If you are running your own business between race weekends, client calls, or shifts, see how the athlete accounting workflow fits your season, or compare plans and pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Alana Carter?
Alana Carter is a Canadian professional race car driver for AE Victory Racing. She is a history-maker in TC America and the Radical Cup Canada, known for her transition from a racing family background to a professional motorsport career.
2. How does Alana manage the costs of racing?
Alana has been a recipient of various scholarship programs designed to develop female drivers. She also manages her career as a business, handling her own marketing, sponsorships, and finances.
3. Why does Alana use ReInvestWealth?
She uses the platform to streamline her accounting, send invoices while traveling between tracks, and handle her HST filings without the usual stress of procrastination.
4. Do professional athletes in Canada pay tax on prize money?
Generally, yes. If you compete professionally, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) treats prize money as income from your business, so it is reported alongside sponsorship and appearance income. Where tax was withheld on winnings earned outside Canada, a foreign tax credit may be available. Amateur athletes registered with a Canadian amateur athletic association have different options, so confirm your situation with your accountant.
A note from our CPAs: This story is educational and covers general rules for self-employed Canadians, including athletes. Tax situations vary, so for advice on your specific circumstances, talk to your accountant. (If they use ReInvestWealth, they'll already have clean books to work from.)
Written by Maryam Ajorloo, CPA
Maryam Ajorloo is the co-founder of ReInvestWealth and a CPA who specializes in small business tax, sales tax, and everyday bookkeeping. She helps entrepreneurs keep clean, audit-ready books and make sense of write-offs, filing deadlines, and the numbers behind their business. Read more · Connect on LinkedIn
Reviewed by Behdad Karimi Dermeni, CPA
Co-founder of ReInvestWealth and a founding community builder at Stripe. Behdad built ReInvestWealth to give smart, busy entrepreneurs CPA-level accounting without the CPA-level price tag. Read more · Connect on LinkedIn
