Built for Canada
Built for Canadian construction, not adapted to it.
Most construction software is written for American contractors and sold north afterwards. That is how you end up with a retainage field, one sales tax rate on the whole invoice, and an insurance certificate where your clearance letter should go. Ridgepole is built in Canada. The Canadian rules are part of how it does the arithmetic, not a label on top.
Built for Canada
Holdback, in both directions
Holdback comes off every progress claim before tax and is tracked on the job until it is released. The same works the other way: hold back on what you pay each sub-trade, and see what you still owe them. When a job’s release date arrives with holdback still outstanding, the owners and admins are told that morning.
Pre-filled for your province, with the source shown
Pick your province and the holdback percentage and release period start at that province’s figures. Where we have read them against the act, the screen names the act. Every figure is a starting point you confirm against your contract, and anything you set yourself always wins.
Tax on holdback, invoiced when you release it
GST or HST is not charged on the holdback a claim withholds. When you release it, the release invoice carries the tax, and each dollar is taxed the way the work it came from was taxed, at the rate of the claim that withheld it. Labour that was GST only in Manitoba is released GST only.
Two taxes, each on its own line
GST or HST is one tax and PST, RST or QST is another, each with its own rate. Every priced line carries a treatment: both taxes, federal only, or neither. In Manitoba and British Columbia, labour starts as federal only, because that is common on the jobs this was built for. Every starting point is editable, and how a contract is taxed is a question for your accountant.
Your registration numbers, on the document
Your GST or HST number and your PST, RST or QST number print on proposals, change orders and invoices under their proper names. They are fixed on a document when it is sent, and only for a tax it actually charges, so an old invoice never picks up a number you entered later.
The figures you file from
The sales tax report adds up what you charged in a period, grouped by tax and by rate, so each row lines up with a line on your GST/HST or provincial return. Tax on released holdback falls in the period you release it. A second report totals the tax on your supplier bills, and if you claim input tax credits, the GST or HST on purchases stays out of job cost. Supplier bills come with Purchasing, on Growth and Enterprise.
Ontario’s yearly holdback release
From 1 January 2026, Ontario’s Construction Act has holdback released every year on a contract, not only at the end. On an Ontario job, Ridgepole shows the next yearly release: the contract anniversary, the last day for the notice of annual release, and the last day the holdback can be paid.
Quebec, told straight
Quebec has no builders’ lien act and no statutory holdback like the other provinces. It has the legal hypothec under the Civil Code, which works differently. So Ridgepole does not pre-fill a Quebec holdback: it asks for the figure your contract sets. QST is its own line, and if you claim input tax refunds, QST on purchases stays out of job cost.
Your comp board, by its name
Set your province and your company profile names your board, WCB Manitoba, WSIB, WorkSafeBC, WCB Alberta, CNESST, WorkSafeNB, WorkplaceNL and the rest, with your account number beside it. For each sub-trade, a workers’ compensation document is required by default beside liability insurance, tracked by its expiry date and flagged 30 days before it lapses.
Metric or imperial, your call
Set the company to metric or imperial and the cost catalog offers matching units. Takeoff reads both kinds of drawing: architectural and engineering scales like 1/4" = 1'-0", and metric scales from 1:1 to 1:1000. Takeoff is on Growth and Enterprise.
Every province and territory, and their clocks
All ten provinces and three territories are in the list, each with its sales tax set up. Your time zone is suggested from your province, including Newfoundland’s half hour and Saskatchewan staying on Central time all year, so “today” on a log or a schedule is your today.
Canadian dollars, Canadian bank payments
New accounts start in Canadian dollars. Your clients can pay an invoice online by card, or by pre-authorized debit from a Canadian bank account once Stripe switches that on for your account. The money goes into your own Stripe account.
The words you already use
Holdback, not retainage. Progress claims, not pay applications. A Deficiencies tab, not a punch list. Labour with a u. Small things, and you notice every one of them in the first minute.
Where American software gets Canada wrong
| Topic | Software built for the US | Ridgepole |
|---|---|---|
| Holding money back | Retainage, a percentage you type in and track yourself. | Holdback, pre-filled by province, tracked to its release date, and held on sub-trades too. |
| Sales tax on a claim | One sales tax rate on the whole invoice. | GST or HST and PST, RST or QST as separate taxes, with each line taxed the way it should be. |
| Tax on the holdback | Not a concept, because US sales tax does not work that way. | Left off the claim, then invoiced on release at the rate it was withheld under. |
| The billing document | A pay application on AIA forms. | A progress claim, with holdback off before tax. |
| Workers’ comp | An insurance certificate, renewed once a year. | Your board by name, and a comp document per sub-trade tracked by its own expiry date. |
| Quebec | The same retainage field as everywhere else. | No invented holdback: Quebec uses the legal hypothec, so you set what your contract says. |
| Units and drawings | Imperial units and US drawing scales. | Metric or imperial per company, and both imperial and metric drawing scales. |
| Money and bank payments | US dollars, and ACH for bank transfers. | Canadian dollars, and Canadian pre-authorized debit. |
The rules, written down
- GuideConstruction holdback by provinceThe holdback percentage, the act, and how long it is kept in every province and territory, plus trust rules, holding back from your own sub-trades, and Quebec.
- GuideSales tax on construction in CanadaGST, HST, PST, RST and QST rates by province, the $30,000 small supplier test, tax on holdback, how BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan treat contractors, input tax credits and new housing rebates.
- GuideBuilders’ liens and prompt payment in CanadaHow liens work at a high level, which provinces have prompt payment in force today, the 28-day and 7-day rules, adjudication, and why written change orders and records decide disputes.
- GuideWorkers’ compensation clearances for sub-tradesWhat a WSIB, WCB, WorkSafeBC or CNESST clearance is, why a general contractor can be billed for a sub’s unpaid premiums, how often to re-check, and the rules for independent operators.
Questions builders ask
Are the holdback and tax figures legal or tax advice?
No. They are starting points, and each one says where it came from. Your contract decides the holdback, and your accountant decides how a job is taxed. Change any figure in Settings or on the job, and your figure wins from then on.
Which provinces’ holdback figures are read from the act?
The percentage and release period for Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island were read from each province’s act, most recently on 5 October 2026, and the screen names the act it came from. In Quebec and the territories you set the figure your contract requires, rather than one we made up. One example of why this matters: Manitoba’s holdback is 7.5 percent under The Builders' Liens Act (Manitoba), s. 24, not the 10 percent most people assume.
Can I hold back from my sub-trades too?
Yes, on every plan. Each payment to a sub-trade records the value of the work and the holdback you kept back, and Ridgepole shows what you still owe each one. Release it when the time comes and the payment is recorded against what you held. On Growth and Enterprise, the sub-trade sees their own holdback, retained and released, in their portal.
Does it handle Quebec?
Yes. QST is its own tax with its own rate, your QST number prints on proposals, change orders and invoices, and if you claim input tax refunds, QST on purchases stays out of job cost. Holdback follows your contract rather than a figure borrowed from another province, because Quebec’s legal hypothec works differently.
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