POS, payroll and accounting software for the Northwest Territories
NWT businesses charge only GST, pay into the WSCC and work around winter roads and air freight. Sero brings a till, a ledger and payroll built for every Canadian jurisdiction to Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik and smaller communities.
Northwest Territories, handled by Sero
GST only
No territorial sales tax: sales carry 5% GST, and SeroBooks tracks input tax credits for the CRA return.
NWT overtime
SeroPayroll applies 1.5 times the regular rate after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, as the NWT Employment Standards Act sets.
NWT holiday calendar
National Indigenous Peoples Day and the August Civic Holiday are on the NWT statutory list, stored separately from the provinces.
WSCC earnings
Assessable earnings per pay run are kept for Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission reporting.
Freight in cost
SeroBooks landed cost puts air and winter-road freight into item cost so margins are honest.
Offline mode
SeroPOS keeps selling when satellite or rural links drop, then syncs.
One company, one login, three products that share their numbers
SeroPOS
The point of sale built for the rush.
Point of sale for restaurants and retail — tables, kitchen tickets, inventory, loyalty and online ordering on iPad, Android, Windows and Mac.
SeroBooks
The books, the store, the bank. One ledger.
Accounting that runs the whole business — invoicing, inventory, banking, sales tax, payroll and year-end for Canada and the United States.
SeroPayroll
Payroll for every province. Right to the cent.
Canadian payroll for all 13 provinces and territories — CPP, EI, QPP, vacation, stat holidays, remittances, T4s and ROEs.
GST-only sales in the NWT
The Northwest Territories has no territorial sales tax, so sales carry only the 5% federal GST, filed with the CRA. A Yellowknife restaurant, a Hay River hardware store or an Inuvik outfitter charges one tax and claims input tax credits on business purchases. SeroPOS and SeroBooks set that up with a single GST code for local sales.
When an NWT business sells to the provinces, the destination rate applies, such as 13% HST to Ontario or 15% to New Brunswick. SeroBooks picks the tax code from the customer’s province on invoices and online orders, and the Sales Tax Centre totals GST and HST collected so the return is one report rather than a hunt.
Payroll in the Northwest Territories
Under the NWT Employment Standards Act, overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 8 in a day or 40 in a week. Mining camps and remote work often use averaging arrangements approved under the Act; SeroPayroll applies the standard daily and weekly thresholds and records banked time where your arrangement allows it.
NWT income tax is calculated with federal tax under the CRA’s T4127 formulas, along with CPP and EI. The territory also has a payroll tax, a percentage of employment income that employers withhold from employees and remit to the territorial government. If it applies to your staff, speak to us during setup so we can be precise about how it is handled in your SeroPayroll configuration.
Workers’ compensation in the NWT runs through the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC), which also covers Nunavut. SeroPayroll keeps assessable earnings per pay run, ready for your WSCC payroll report. You still file the report and pay premiums with the WSCC directly; SeroPayroll is not affiliated with the WSCC or the CRA. Check your industry classification each year.
Statutory holidays in the NWT
The NWT statutory holiday list includes New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, Canada Day, the Civic Holiday on the first Monday of August, Labour Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day. June 21 has been a statutory holiday in the NWT since 2001, longer than anywhere else.
SeroPayroll stores the NWT calendar and holiday pay rules as their own, separate from the provinces and from the other territories. Employees who work a statutory holiday are paid at a premium on top of holiday pay under the Act, and SeroPayroll applies that from timesheets. Company holidays can be added as well.
- National Indigenous Peoples Day: June 21
- Civic Holiday: first Monday of August
- Overtime: over 8 hours a day or 40 a week
- Workers’ compensation: WSCC
Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik and beyond
Most NWT businesses cluster in Yellowknife, with others in Hay River, Inuvik, Fort Smith, Norman Wells and smaller communities reached by ice road or air. Inventory planning is central: goods arrive by truck in some seasons and only by air in others. SeroBooks purchase orders, two-lead-time demand forecasting and landed cost help stock up before roads close.
Sero is based in British Columbia and serves the NWT remotely, by phone, email and in-app chat, with no office in the territory. SeroPOS runs on iPad, Android and Windows with offline mode, SeroBooks keeps the ledger and GST return, and SeroPayroll starts at $25 USD a month for up to 10 employees.
Frequently asked questions
Is there sales tax in the Northwest Territories?
Only the federal GST. The Northwest Territories has no territorial sales tax and no HST, so local sales carry 5% GST. When you sell to customers in the provinces, their rate generally applies. SeroBooks picks the tax code from the customer’s province.
Does the NWT have a payroll tax?
Yes. The NWT payroll tax is a percentage of employment income that employers withhold from employees and remit to the territorial government. Please raise it with us during SeroPayroll setup so we can be precise about how it is handled in your configuration.
Is National Indigenous Peoples Day a paid holiday in the NWT?
Yes. June 21 has been a statutory holiday in the Northwest Territories since 2001. The NWT list also includes the Civic Holiday in August and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. SeroPayroll stores the NWT calendar separately from the provinces.
Who handles workers’ compensation in the NWT?
The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) covers both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. SeroPayroll keeps assessable earnings per pay run so the figure is ready for your WSCC payroll report. You file and pay with the WSCC directly. SeroPayroll is not affiliated with it.
How do I account for freight costs in the North?
SeroBooks landed cost lets you add freight, air cargo and handling charges to the goods received, so each item’s cost includes what it took to get it north. That keeps gross margin honest and helps you set prices that cover the real cost.