6 Bank and Credit Card Reconciliation 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 bank and credit card reconciliation work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Structure rebuilt
Corporate Structure Rebuilt For $23,500 Of Annual Savings — Owner-Operated Trades Business, London
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Saving per year$23,500
DocumentationComplete
Transfer basisRollover
The situation
The structure at an owner-operated trades business in London, Ontario had been set up years earlier for a business that no longer existed, and a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account had become expensive.
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. The reorganisation used the rollover provisions rather than a taxable transfer, so no tax fell due on the restructuring itself.
The result
$23,500 of annual saving, achieved on a tax-deferred basis. The minute book, elections and valuations are all in the file.
Case Study 2 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 5 Weeks To 7 Days — Wedding Photography Studio, Surrey
Client: A wedding photography studio · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before5 weeks
Close time after7 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a wedding photography studio in Surrey, British Columbia was built on a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier. The year-end had taken 5 weeks each of the last three years.
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 and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 7 days instead of 5 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 3 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 88 Staff With $77,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Ottawa
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Ottawa, Ontario · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached88
Working capital freed$77,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation
A mobile pet-grooming company in Ottawa, Ontario was growing fast — headcount to 88 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. Input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once was the first thing to break.
What we did
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, and built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
The result
The business reached 88 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $77,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
Case Study 4 · Sale and succession
$320,000 Sheltered By The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — Home-Renovation Contractor, Vancouver
Client: A home-renovation contractor · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Gain sheltered$320,000
ClosingOn schedule
Share qualificationMet
The situation
A home-renovation contractor in Vancouver, British Columbia had an offer on the table and 30 months to close. The shares did not qualify for the capital gains exemption, and a shareholder loan balance that would have been picked up as income on closing was part of the reason.
What we did
We purified the corporation so the shares met the qualifying tests, then separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly well ahead of the closing date.
The result
The sale closed on schedule with $320,000 sheltered by the lifetime capital gains exemption across the shareholders.
Case Study 5 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $50,000 Vacated — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Lethbridge
Client: A residential cleaning franchise · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$50,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A residential cleaning franchise in Lethbridge, Alberta was carrying $50,000 of penalties and interest arising from eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
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 and framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $50,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 6 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $116,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Subscription Box Retailer, Barrie
A subscription box retailer in Barrie, Ontario was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. A bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account was tying up $116,000 of cash.
What we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and 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.
The result
$116,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
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.
