6 worked Bank Reconciliation Services 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 bank reconciliation services work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Missed incentive claimed
$78,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Multi-Processor Online Seller, Brampton
Client: An online seller reconciling three payment processors. Where: Brampton, Ontario. Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee.
Claim value$78,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
Case 1: the situation
An online seller reconciling three payment processors in Brampton, Ontario assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. A payroll clearing account that had never been brought to zero, carrying a balance nobody could explain meant they had applied all along.
Case 1: what we did
We identified the qualifying activity and built the documentation to support it. Then we reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support.
Case 1: the result
$78,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 2 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $53,000 Saved Each Year — Equipment Rental Yard, Edmonton
An equipment rental yard in Edmonton, Alberta had outgrown the structure it started with. Eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts 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 separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly. 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 $53,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 3 · Records and systems rebuilt
9 Months Reconciled And $18,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Two-Location Cafe, Moncton
Client: A two-location cafe. Where: Moncton, New Brunswick. Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee.
Months reconciled9
Input tax recovered$18,500
Close time8 days
Case 3: the situation
Nothing reconciled at a two-location cafe in Moncton, New Brunswick. Every filing started with 9 months of cleanup. The file was carrying sales recorded from bank deposits, so processor fees, chargebacks and refunds appeared nowhere in the ledger.
Case 3: 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 we set the routine that keeps it clean.
Case 3: the result
9 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 8 days, and $18,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Case Study 4 · Scaling without breaking
Growth Handled Without A Missed Filing, $56,000 Freed — Wedding Photography Studio, Saskatoon
A wedding photography studio in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was opening in a second province. That meant different filing obligations and a different payroll regime. A bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account already sat in the file.
Case 4: what we did
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 put monthly reporting in place. That let the owner see the cash effect of growth while there was still time to act on it.
Case 4: the result
Growth was absorbed without a compliance failure. $56,000 of cash was released, and the monthly reporting now flags a problem while it is still small.
Case Study 5 · Sale and succession
$610,000 Sheltered By The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Calgary
An owner-operated trades business in Calgary, Alberta had an offer on the table and 33 months to close. The shares did not qualify for the capital gains exemption. A shareholder loan balance that would have been picked up as income on closing was part of the reason.
Case 5: what we did
We purified the corporation so the shares met the qualifying tests. We cleared the payroll and sales tax clearing accounts every month and tied each remittance to the liability it settled. All of it was done well ahead of the closing date.
Case 5: the result
The sale closed on schedule with $610,000 sheltered by the lifetime capital gains exemption across the shareholders.
Case Study 6 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $119,000 Vacated — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Red Deer
Client: A specialty coffee roaster. Where: Red Deer, Alberta. Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee.
Assessment vacated$119,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
Case 6: the situation
A specialty coffee roaster in Red Deer, Alberta was carrying $119,000 of penalties and interest. The charges arose from a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier. Much of that amount accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
Case 6: what we did
We converted the foreign-currency purchases at transaction-date rates and recorded the exchange difference at settlement instead of burying it in cost of sales. We framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
Case 6: the result
The assessment was vacated. $119,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
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.
