6 Bookkeeping Cleanup Services 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 bookkeeping cleanup services work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Missed incentive claimed
$99,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Two-Location Cafe, Red Deer
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$99,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation
A two-location cafe in Red Deer, Alberta assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. Eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly.
The result
$99,000 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 · Planning that cut the bill
$12,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Guelph
A specialty coffee roaster in Guelph, Ontario was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier on the table.
What we did
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, 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.
The result
The change saved $12,000 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 3 · Deadline rescue
3-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $63,000 — Equipment Rental Yard, Edmonton
Client: An equipment rental yard · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$63,000
Filed with9 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation
With the deadline for bookkeeping cleanup services weeks away, an equipment rental yard in Edmonton, Alberta was carrying a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account. The exposure if the date slipped was around $63,000.
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 9 days to spare. $63,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 4 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $74,000 Cut From A 6-Year Backlog — Small Law Practice, Saskatoon
Client: A small law practice · Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$74,000
Backlog cleared6 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time a small law practice in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan called, 6 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
What we did
We reconstructed the records year by year and set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end. Each filing replaced an arbitrary assessment with a real one.
The result
The account is current. Filing on real numbers rather than CRA estimates reduced the balance by $74,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 5 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 9 Weeks, $65,000 Cleared — Subscription Box Retailer, Victoria
Client: A subscription box retailer · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$65,000
Review duration9 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
A subscription box retailer in Victoria, British Columbia was selected for review after three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on bookkeeping cleanup services came to $65,000.
What we did
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question.
The result
The review closed with no change. $65,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Overpayment refunded$128,000
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
The situation
Remittances at an owner-operated trades business in Lethbridge, Alberta were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once.
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 moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $128,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
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.
