6 Backlog Bookkeeping tax and accounting engagements in full — what the client came to us with, what we did, and what it was worth. Each one is specific to backlog bookkeeping work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $128,000 Vacated — Two-Location Cafe, Edmonton
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$128,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A two-location cafe in Edmonton, Alberta was carrying $128,000 of penalties and interest arising from input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
What we did
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly and framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $128,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 2 · Sale and succession
Share Sale Restructured, $495,000 Less Tax On Closing — Subscription Box Retailer, Kitchener
A subscription box retailer in Kitchener, Ontario was preparing to sell. Due diligence surfaced retained cash well above what the business needed to operate, which would have reduced the price or killed the deal outright.
What we did
We cleaned up the historical file, rebuilt the ledger from bank and card statements, matched every receipt to a transaction, and removed duplicated input tax credits before they became a review, and prepared the due-diligence package the buyer's advisers actually asked for.
The result
The deal closed at the agreed price. $495,000 of tax was saved against the structure originally proposed, with no post-closing adjustment.
Case Study 3 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $49,000 Of Cash Released — Small Law Practice, Vancouver
Client: A small law practice · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$49,000
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation
Revenue at a small law practice in Vancouver, British Columbia was up sharply and cash was tighter than ever. Underneath it sat a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account.
What we did
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support. Every new obligation — registration, remittance frequency, provincial filing — was set up before it was triggered, not after.
The result
$49,000 of cash was released from the working capital cycle, and the expansion completed with every registration and filing obligation covered from day one.
Case Study 4 · Records and systems rebuilt
21 Months Reconciled And $16,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Equipment Rental Yard, Brampton
An equipment rental yard in Brampton, Ontario was carrying eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 21 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. We set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end, then set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
21 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 7 days, and $16,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Case Study 5 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $10,500 Saved Each Year — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Toronto
A specialty coffee roaster in Toronto, Ontario had outgrown the structure it started with. Three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement was the immediate problem; the longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step.
What we did
We mapped the current structure, modelled the target, and separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly — with the tax-deferred elections filed on time and the supporting valuations documented.
The result
The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $10,500 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 6 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $129,000 Across 4 Open Years — Owner-Operated Trades Business, London
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$129,000
Open years claimed4
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation
An incentive review at an owner-operated trades business in London, Ontario started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 4 years, driven by eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
What we did
We rebuilt the ledger from bank and card statements, matched every receipt to a transaction, and removed duplicated input tax credits before they became a review, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result
The credits produced $129,000 across the open years, and the tracking now in place means the following year's claim is documented as the work happens rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Certified Tax Accountant. Figures describe representative engagements of this type; outcomes depend on your own facts. Client names and identifying details are omitted for confidentiality.
