Brand Deal Recordkeeping Checklist for Creators and Influencers

• Brand name (the company actually paying)
• Agency name if you are working through one
• Brand or agency contact (name and email)
• Campaign name
• Date the deal was agreed

• Agreed fee (in original currency)
• Currency
• Payment terms (Net 30, Net 60, on receipt, etc.)
• Invoice date
• Invoice number
• Due date
• Payment date (when it actually arrived)
• Net amount received (after fees, currency conversion)
• Whether the payment was matched to the deal in your records

Many brand deals include product on top of (or instead of) a fee. Track it as part of the same deal:

• Item name and description
• Estimated fair market value
• Date received
• Whether content was required
• Whether the item was kept, returned, gifted or sold

More on the tax side in are gifted products taxable for Canadian creators?

• What you agreed to deliver (number and type of posts, videos, stories)
• Platforms (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.)
• Posting dates
• Usage rights (whitelisting, paid ads, exclusivity)
• Exclusivity terms (any competitors you cannot work with, and for how long)
• Approval process

The status of every brand deal at any given moment should be one of:

• Agreed (no invoice yet)
• Invoiced (waiting on payment)
• Partially paid
• Paid in full
• Overdue
• Cancelled

Keeping the status current is what stops the “wait, did this brand actually pay?” moment three months later.

• Contract or signed agreement file
• Campaign brief from the brand
• Email confirming agreed fee and deliverables
• Screenshots of final posts
• Performance summary if the brand requested one
• Invoice file you sent

• Whether GST/HST was charged on the invoice
• If charged, the amount and rate
• Province of the brand or agency (for place-of-supply)
• Currency and CAD equivalent

Background on when GST/HST applies is in GST/HST for Canadian creators.

When the payment arrives, link it back to the deal. This is what gives you a clean audit trail:

• Income transaction date and amount
• Bank, PayPal or Stripe deposit it landed in
• Match to the original invoice number
• Note any underpayment, overpayment or fee deduction

Cadence has a Deals view that mirrors this checklist. Each deal record holds the brand, campaign, fee, gifted product, deliverables, invoice status, contract file and the linked income transaction.

The dashboard surfaces what needs attention — unpaid invoices, overdue payments, deals with no contract, deals missing GST/HST notes — so the recordkeeping happens during the year instead of all at once at tax time.

• Canadian Creator Tax Guide
• Are Gifted Products Taxable for Canadian Creators?
• What to Send Your Accountant as a Creator