6 Bank Reconciliation Cleanup 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 reconciliation cleanup work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Planning that cut the bill
$54,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Residential Cleaning Franchise, London
A residential cleaning franchise in London, Ontario was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once on the table.
What we did
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, then set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end.
The result
The change saved $54,000 in the first year and repeats annually. Nothing about the filings became more aggressive; the position is simply the one the rules already allowed.
Case Study 2 · Sale and succession
$270,000 Sheltered By The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — Small Law Practice, Saskatoon
Client: A small law practice · Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Gain sheltered$270,000
ClosingOn schedule
Share qualificationMet
The situation
A small law practice in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan had an offer on the table and 28 months to close. The shares did not qualify for the capital gains exemption, and no valuation on file to support the price the parties had agreed was part of the reason.
What we did
We purified the corporation so the shares met the qualifying tests, then 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 well ahead of the closing date.
The result
The sale closed on schedule with $270,000 sheltered by the lifetime capital gains exemption across the shareholders.
Case Study 3 · Deadline rescue
8-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $38,000 — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Halifax
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$38,000
Filed with21 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation
With the deadline for bank reconciliation cleanup weeks away, a mobile pet-grooming company in Halifax, Nova Scotia was carrying eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts. The exposure if the date slipped was around $38,000.
What we did
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 21 days to spare. $38,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 4 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $58,000 Of Cash Released — Subscription Box Retailer, Surrey
Client: A subscription box retailer · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$58,000
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation
Revenue at a subscription box retailer in Surrey, 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 separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly. Every new obligation — registration, remittance frequency, provincial filing — was set up before it was triggered, not after.
The result
$58,000 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 5 · Backlog brought current
3 Years Filed, $56,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Hamilton
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Hamilton, Ontario · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Years filed3
Assessed balance removed$56,000
CollectionsStopped
The situation
An owner-operated trades business in Hamilton, Ontario had not filed for 3 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier on top of a growing interest balance.
What we did
We started with the oldest year and worked forward so each year's closing balances fed the next. We set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end, filing the years in sequence rather than all at once.
The result
Every year is now filed and assessed on actual figures. The notional assessments were vacated and $56,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
Case Study 6 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $17,500 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Two-Location Cafe, Winnipeg
A two-location cafe in Winnipeg, Manitoba could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
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, then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done.
The result
Records rebuilt and reconciled, $17,500 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
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.
