6 Bookkeeping for Contractors 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 for contractors work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Planning that cut the bill
$69,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Home-Renovation Contractor, Calgary
Client: A home-renovation contractor · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Saving identified$69,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
The situation
A home-renovation contractor in Calgary, Alberta asked for a second opinion on bookkeeping for contractors after three years of rising tax. The review found eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
What we did
We built the comparison first — current structure against two alternatives — and then reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support.
The result
First-year saving of $69,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 2 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $132,000 Cut From A 7-Year Backlog — Small Law Practice, Lethbridge
Client: A small law practice · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$132,000
Backlog cleared7 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time a small law practice in Lethbridge, Alberta called, 7 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier.
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 $132,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 3 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $78,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Two-Location Cafe, Kelowna
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Cash returned$78,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
The situation
A two-location cafe in Kelowna, British Columbia was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. Three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement was tying up $78,000 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
$78,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 4 · Sale and succession
$725,000 Sheltered By The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Moncton
Client: A residential cleaning franchise · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Gain sheltered$725,000
ClosingOn schedule
Share qualificationMet
The situation
A residential cleaning franchise in Moncton, New Brunswick had an offer on the table and 22 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 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 $725,000 sheltered by the lifetime capital gains exemption across the shareholders.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $14,500 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Victoria
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Unclaimed tax found$14,500
Records rebuilt21 months
ProcessDocumented
The situation
An owner-operated trades business in Victoria, British Columbia 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 reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, 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, $14,500 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
Case Study 6 · Missed incentive claimed
$18,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Equipment Rental Yard, Kitchener
An equipment rental yard in Kitchener, Ontario assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. A receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and 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
$18,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
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.
