6 worked Accounts Payable Bookkeeping case studies — the position a client typically comes to us with, what we do, and what it is worth. Each is an illustrative example built on the rules that apply to accounts payable bookkeeping work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Planning that cut the bill
$46,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Equipment Rental Yard, Winnipeg
An equipment rental yard in Winnipeg, Manitoba asked for a second opinion on accounts payable bookkeeping. That followed three years of rising tax. The review found a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier.
Case 1: what we did
We built the comparison first: current structure against two alternatives. Then we rebuilt sales from the processor settlement reports so gross sales, fees and refunds each landed in an account of their own.
Case 1: the result
First-year saving of $46,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 2 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $55,000 Saved Each Year — Two-Location Cafe, Mississauga
A two-location cafe in Mississauga, Ontario had outgrown the structure it started with. Input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once was the immediate problem. The longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step.
Case 2: what we did
We mapped the current structure and modelled the target. Then we reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support. The tax-deferred elections were filed on time and the supporting valuations documented.
Case 2: the result
The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $55,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 3 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 58 Staff With $64,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Toronto
A specialty coffee roaster in Toronto, Ontario was growing fast, with headcount reaching 58 in eighteen months. The back office had not kept up. Meals and entertainment coded at full cost with the input tax credit claimed on the whole amount was the first thing to break.
Case 3: what we did
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly. We built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
Case 3: the result
The business reached 58 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $64,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
Case Study 4 · Objection and relief
$107,000 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Subscription Box Retailer, Kelowna
Client: A subscription box retailer. Where: Kelowna, British Columbia. Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee.
Penalties and interest cancelled$107,000
Relief groundsAccepted
AssessmentAdjusted to filed position
Case 4: the situation
An assessment of $107,000 landed at a subscription box retailer in Kelowna, British Columbia following a desk review. It turned on three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement. The auditor had not seen the records behind it.
Case 4: what we did
We set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end. We then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it.
Case 4: the result
$107,000 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
Case Study 5 · CRA review defended
$135,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Seasonal Food-Truck Operator, Windsor
Client: A food-truck operator running two seasonal units. Where: Windsor, Ontario. Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee.
Reassessment reduced toNil
Tax protected$135,000
Prior filingsUndisturbed
Case 5: the situation
A review notice arrived at a food-truck operator running two seasonal units in Windsor, Ontario, covering accounts payable bookkeeping for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $135,000. It was driven by eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
Case 5: what we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. We rebuilt the ledger from bank and card statements and matched every receipt to a transaction. We removed duplicated input tax credits before they became a review. We then submitted a point-by-point response that answered each proposed adjustment with the document behind it.
Case 5: the result
The auditor accepted the documented position and closed the review without adjustment, protecting $135,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
6-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $71,000 — Small Law Practice, Kitchener
Client: A small law practice. Where: Kitchener, Ontario. Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee.
Late-filing penalty avoided$71,000
Filed with19 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
Case 6: the situation
A small law practice in Kitchener, Ontario was weeks away from the deadline for accounts payable bookkeeping. Behind that sat sales recorded from bank deposits, so processor fees, chargebacks and refunds appeared nowhere in the ledger. The exposure if the date slipped was around $71,000.
Case 6: what we did
We cleared the payroll and sales tax clearing accounts every month and tied each remittance to the liability it settled. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
Case 6: the result
Filed with 19 days to spare. $71,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Reviewed by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant for the 2025 tax year. These case studies are illustrative worked examples composed from the CRA rules that apply to this type of work, not specific client files; figures are representative and outcomes depend on your own facts.
