Written by Maryam Ajorloo, CPA · Reviewed by Behdad Karimi Dermeni, CPA
An employee onboarding checklist is the list of tasks you complete before and after a new hire's first day. In Canada that means the paperwork (a signed offer, the employee's Social Insurance Number, federal and provincial TD1 forms), your employer registrations (a CRA payroll account and workers' compensation), and a plan for the first 90 days.
Hiring your first employee is a genuinely good day. It is also the day you discover the government would like a word, several words actually, most of them form numbers. The good news: the list is finite, most of it happens once, and we have written the whole thing out below, including a free onboarding checklist template and an offer letter template you can copy. No form to fill out, no email required. Scroll down and take them.
Most of that list is one-time setup. The part that repeats every pay period is the money: wages going out, source deductions going to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and records you have to keep for years. That is the part an AI Bookkeeper quietly keeps organized for you, and we will come back to how that works near the end.
What an Onboarding Checklist Is Really For
A good onboarding checklist does two jobs at once. It keeps you compliant, and it keeps your new hire.
The compliance half is non-negotiable: the CRA, your province, and your workers' compensation board each expect something from you, and several of those things have deadlines measured in days. The retention half is the one owners skip. A new employee decides surprisingly early whether they made the right call, and "nobody knew I was starting" is a story people tell for years.
The rule of thumb: anything the government requires goes on the checklist with a date, and anything the employee needs to do their job is ready before they walk in. Everything below applies that rule in order.
One thing to settle first. This checklist is for employees, people on your payroll. If the person you are bringing on runs their own business and invoices you, you need a contract for services instead, and our free independent contractor agreement template covers that side. If you are not sure which one you have, the CRA looks at how the relationship works rather than what you call it, and our guide to contractor vs employee tax implications walks through the test.
Before Day One: CRA and Payroll Setup in 6 Steps
These are the steps that have to exist before the first paycheque does. Most of them you do once, for your first hire, and never again.
Open a CRA payroll program account. You need one before your first remittance due date, which for most new employers is the 15th of the month after the month you first withhold deductions from pay. It shows up as an RP extension on your Business Number (for example, 123456789 RP 0001). You can open it online through My Business Account, by phone, or with Form RC1. The CRA's page on whether you need to register covers the edge cases.
Register with your provincial workers' compensation board. Most provinces require it once you have employees: WSIB in Ontario, WorkSafeBC in British Columbia, WCB in Alberta, and CNESST in Quebec, among others. In Ontario, most businesses must register with the WSIB within 10 calendar days of hiring their first worker, per the WSIB registration FAQ. Rules on which industries are covered vary, so check your own board.
In Quebec, register with Revenu Québec too. A Quebec employer deducts Quebec income tax, Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) contributions, and Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) premiums, and remits them to Revenu Québec, while federal income tax and Employment Insurance still go to the CRA. Two agencies, one paycheque.
Send the offer in writing. A written offer is not required everywhere, but it is the single best way to avoid "I thought you said..." six months from now. Use the offer letter template further down. In Ontario, employers with 25 or more employees must also give each new hire certain job information in writing before the first day: the employer's legal and operating name and contact details, where the employee will initially work, the starting wage, the pay period and pay day, and the anticipated hours of work. Ontario lists the details on its recent changes to the Employment Standards Act page.
Decide how you will run payroll. A payroll service or payroll software calculates the deductions (income tax, CPP or QPP, EI) and produces pay stubs. Our 7-step payroll process explains what happens each pay period once this is set up.
Get their tools ready. Laptop, logins, email address, access to the software they will use, a desk or a chair that is not also the printer stand. It is the least regulated step on this list and the one the new hire notices first.
New Employee Forms and Onboarding Documents to Collect
On or around day one, collect these. The first three are the ones with legal weight.
Social Insurance Number (SIN). The employee has to give you their SIN within 3 days of starting work. If they do not, you must make a reasonable effort to get it, and a $100 penalty can apply to an employer who cannot show that effort. If the SIN starts with a 9, it is tied to an immigration document with an expiry date, so note that date. The CRA's page on getting a new employee's SIN has the full procedure.
Federal TD1, Personal Tax Credits Return. Every new employee completes the federal TD1, and most also complete their provincial or territorial version (TD1ON in Ontario, TD1BC in British Columbia, and so on). If an employee does not give you a TD1, you deduct tax as if they claim only the basic personal amount. Keep the completed forms on file; you do not send them to the CRA. See the CRA's TD1 instructions for employers.
Quebec employees: form TP-1015.3-V. In Quebec the employee completes the federal TD1 plus Revenu Québec's Source Deductions Return, TP-1015.3-V, instead of a provincial TD1.
The signed offer letter or employment agreement. Keep the signed copy, not just the one you emailed.
Direct deposit details. A void cheque or a bank-issued direct deposit form.
Personal and emergency contact information. Legal name, address, phone, and an emergency contact.
Proof they can work in Canada, where it applies. For an employee with a work permit, record the permit's expiry date alongside the 9-series SIN.
Your policies, acknowledged. Workplace violence and harassment policies (Ontario requires them, in writing once you have 6 or more workers), any code of conduct, and anything on remote work, equipment, or expenses.
Your province's required notices. In Ontario, give every new employee a copy of the current Employment Standards poster within 30 days of their start date; Ontario explains it on its mandatory poster page. Other provinces have their own versions, and our guide to Ontario employment laws for small business owners goes further on the Ontario side.
A quick misconception intercept, because we hear it often: collecting the TD1 does not mean the tax is handled. The TD1 only tells you how much to withhold. You still have to withhold it every pay, remit it to the CRA on time, and report it on a T4 slip after year-end.
Free Employee Onboarding Checklist Template
Copy everything between the lines into a document or your task app and delete what does not apply. It is written for a small Canadian employer hiring one person at a time.
EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING CHECKLIST
Employee name: ______________________ Start date: ______________________
Position: ______________________ Province of employment: ______________________
Manager / buddy: ______________________
Before the start date
Offer letter signed and returned
CRA payroll program account open (first hire only)
Workers' compensation registration done (first hire only)
Revenu Québec source deductions registration done (Quebec employers, first hire only)
Ontario employers with 25+ employees: written job information sent before day one
Employee added to payroll with pay rate, pay period, and pay day
Laptop, phone, and accounts (email, software, shared drives) ready
First-week schedule sent to the employee
Team told who is starting and when
Day one
Welcome and introductions
SIN received (due within 3 days of starting)
Federal TD1 and provincial TD1 (or TP-1015.3-V in Quebec) completed
Direct deposit details received
Emergency contact form completed
Workplace policies reviewed and acknowledged
Health and safety orientation completed
Tools and logins tested and working
First week
Role, responsibilities, and first goals discussed
Walkthrough of the tools and processes they will use daily
Required provincial notices provided (Ontario: Employment Standards poster within 30 days)
First check-in with the manager at the end of the week
First 30 days
First pay run confirmed correct with the employee
30-day check-in: what is working, what is unclear
First 60 days
Goals reviewed and adjusted
Training gaps identified and scheduled
First 90 days
90-day review completed and documented
Probation decision made and communicated, if a probationary period applies
Employee file complete: signed offer, TD1 forms, SIN record, policy acknowledgements
The 30, 60, and 90-day check-ins look optional. They are the part of the list that decides whether you are running this checklist again in four months.
Once the paperwork is in place, the part that repeats is the money: every pay run creates wages, remittances, and a paper trail you have to keep. This is exactly what ReInvestWealth's AI Bookkeeper keeps organized. See how it works.
Free Offer Letter Template (Canada)
The offer letter is the "contract" part of onboarding: it confirms the job, the pay, and the start date in writing. Copy everything between the lines and replace the bracketed text. Have an employment lawyer review your standard version before you reuse it, especially if you add a termination clause (see the note after the template).
OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT
[Date]
[Employee full name]
[Employee address]
Dear [Employee first name],
We are pleased to offer you the position of [job title] with [Your Legal Business Name] (operating as [operating name, if different]). This letter sets out the main terms of your employment.
Start date. Your employment will begin on [start date].
Position and duties. You will report to [manager name, title]. Your main responsibilities are: [list the core duties].
Work location. You will initially work at [address / remote from your home in (province) / hybrid, describe].
Hours of work. Your regular hours are expected to be [number] hours per week, [describe schedule].
Pay. Your starting [salary / hourly wage] is $[amount] [per year / per hour], less the deductions required by law. You will be paid [weekly / every two weeks / twice a month] by direct deposit, on [pay day].
Vacation. You will receive [number] weeks of vacation per year, and vacation pay, which will never be less than the minimum required by the employment standards legislation of [province].
Benefits. [Describe any benefits and when they begin, or: No group benefits are offered at this time.]
Probation. [If applicable: The first [number] months of your employment are a probationary period.]
Conditions. This offer is conditional on you providing your Social Insurance Number and completing the required tax forms (TD1) within your first 3 days, and on [any other condition, e.g. proof of eligibility to work in Canada].
Policies. You agree to follow our workplace policies, including [list key policies], which will be provided to you on or before your first day.
Confidentiality. During and after your employment, you will keep our confidential business information private and use it only to do your job.
Employment standards. Nothing in this letter provides you with less than the minimum entitlements under the employment standards legislation of [province]. If any term would do so, the legislated minimum applies instead.
To accept this offer, please sign below and return a copy by [date].
We look forward to welcoming you to the team.
Sincerely,
[Your name, title]
[Your Legal Business Name]
Accepted by:
Signature: ______________________ Date: ______________________
[Employee full name]
Two notes before you send it. First, termination clauses are where most DIY employment letters go wrong: in Ontario, courts regularly refuse to enforce termination language that could fall below Employment Standards Act minimums, which can leave an employer owing far more notice than the letter intended. That is why the template leaves termination out and includes clause 12; if you want a termination clause, have a lawyer write it. Second, in Quebec, the offer of employment and a written employment contract generally have to be provided in French under the Charter of the French Language, so get Quebec-specific advice before using an English version there.
Keeping New Hire Paperwork Safe
Onboarding documents are some of the most sensitive paper your business will ever hold. A SIN, a birthdate, and a void cheque in the same folder is exactly what identity thieves hope for.
Collect only what you need. Ask for the SIN for payroll and tax reporting, and do not use it as an employee ID number.
Store it securely. Use an access-controlled folder or your payroll provider's system, not an email thread, a shared drive everyone can open, or a form that forwards submissions to your inbox.
Keep it for the required time, then stop keeping it. The CRA generally expects payroll records to be kept for 6 years from the end of the year they relate to.
Privacy rules for employee information depend on your province and sector, so if you hold records for many employees, it is worth a short conversation with your advisor about which law applies to you.
What Changes in Your Books After Your First Hire
Your first employee turns your bookkeeping from "occasional" into "every pay period." Three things appear that were not there before.
Wages and source deductions. Each pay run creates the employee's net pay, plus the income tax, CPP or QPP, and EI you withheld, plus your own employer share of CPP and EI. They all have to land in the right categories.
Remittances. The withheld amounts, plus your employer share, go to the CRA (and to Revenu Québec for Quebec employers) on a schedule. For most new employers that is by the 15th of the following month, and late remittances carry penalties.
Year-end slips. You report each employee's pay and deductions on a T4 slip (plus an RL-1 slip in Quebec) after year-end, and your books need to agree with what payroll reported.
If you own a corporation and have been paying yourself informally, hiring is also a good moment to decide how you pay yourself. Our guide to salary vs dividends in Canada covers the trade-offs, and the salary vs dividend calculator runs the numbers.
Whatever you use to run payroll, the transactions still have to be recorded and categorized in your books. Connect your bank and ReInvestWealth's AI Bookkeeper sorts payroll deposits, CRA remittances, and everything else as it clears, with supporting documents attached through Smart Shoebox (your receipt inbox). When your accountant prepares the T4 summary or your year-end, the books are already in order.
Onboarding Mistakes That Cost Small Employers
Paying before the payroll account exists. You can hire first and register quickly, but not after the first remittance is due.
Skipping the TD1. Without it, you are withholding tax on a guess, and the employee will notice at tax time.
Treating a new hire like a contractor "for now". A worker on your schedule, with your tools, doing your core work is very likely an employee, whatever the paperwork says.
An offer letter with a DIY termination clause. The cheapest clause to write can be the most expensive to rely on.
No 90-day check-in. The first quarter is when most avoidable resignations are decided. Put the review in the calendar on day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents does a new employee need to fill out in Canada?
At minimum, the employee gives you their Social Insurance Number and completes a federal TD1 Personal Tax Credits Return, plus a provincial TD1 in most provinces or form TP-1015.3-V in Quebec. Most employers also collect a signed offer letter, direct deposit details, emergency contact information, and signed policy acknowledgements.
Do I need a CRA payroll account before my first employee starts?
You need a payroll program account before your first remittance due date, which for most new employers is the 15th of the month after the month you first withhold deductions. In practice, open it before the first pay run so the account number is ready when your first remittance is due.
How long does a new employee have to give me their SIN?
An employee has to provide their Social Insurance Number within 3 days of starting work. If they do not, you must make a reasonable effort to get it and keep a record of that effort, and a $100 penalty can apply to an employer who cannot show it. You still deduct and remit as usual in the meantime.
Does an employee need a written employment contract in Canada?
In most provinces an employment relationship exists with or without a signed contract, and employment standards legislation sets minimum terms either way. A written offer letter is still strongly recommended, and some rules require written information: Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must give new hires written job details before the first day.
What is the difference between onboarding and orientation?
Orientation is a single event, usually the first day or week, covering introductions, tools, and policies. Onboarding is the whole process, from the signed offer through the first 90 days, including the compliance paperwork and the check-ins that help a new employee settle in and stay.
Hiring Is the Easy Part
Once the checklist is done, you have a new team member and a business that runs payroll. The one thing left that repeats every pay period is keeping the books behind it tidy.
Connect your bank account and let the AI Bookkeeper categorize wages, remittances, and everything else as it happens. CPA-level clean books, 30 days free. Start free for 30 days.
A note from our CPAs: This guide is educational and covers the general rules for Canadian small businesses hiring employees. It is not legal advice, and employment standards, workers' compensation, and privacy rules vary by province, so for your specific situation talk to your accountant or an employment lawyer. (If your accountant uses ReInvestWealth, they will 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
