6 Bookkeeping for Professional Corporations 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 professional corporations work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 5 Weeks To 10 Days — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Saskatoon
The accounting file at a specialty coffee roaster in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 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 10 days instead of 5 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 2 · Planning that cut the bill
$42,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Surrey
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Saving identified$42,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
The situation
A mobile pet-grooming company in Surrey, British Columbia asked for a second opinion on bookkeeping for professional corporations 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 separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly.
The result
First-year saving of $42,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 3 · CRA review defended
$23,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Home-Renovation Contractor, Winnipeg
A review notice arrived at a home-renovation contractor in Winnipeg, Manitoba covering bookkeeping for professional corporations for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $23,000, driven by input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once.
What we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. 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 submitted a point-by-point response that answered each proposed adjustment with the document behind it.
The result
The auditor accepted the documented position and closed the review without adjustment, protecting $23,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
Case Study 4 · Sale and succession
$400,000 Sheltered By The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — Small Law Practice, Edmonton
Client: A small law practice · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Gain sheltered$400,000
ClosingOn schedule
Share qualificationMet
The situation
A small law practice in Edmonton, Alberta had an offer on the table and 15 months to close. The shares did not qualify for the capital gains exemption, and retained cash well above what the business needed to operate was part of the reason.
What we did
We purified the corporation so the shares met the qualifying tests, then reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support well ahead of the closing date.
The result
The sale closed on schedule with $400,000 sheltered by the lifetime capital gains exemption across the shareholders.
Case Study 5 · Structure rebuilt
Corporate Structure Rebuilt For $61,000 Of Annual Savings — Two-Location Cafe, Vancouver
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Saving per year$61,000
DocumentationComplete
Transfer basisRollover
The situation
The structure at a two-location cafe in Vancouver, British Columbia had been set up years earlier for a business that no longer existed, and three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement had become expensive.
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. The reorganisation used the rollover provisions rather than a taxable transfer, so no tax fell due on the restructuring itself.
The result
$61,000 of annual saving, achieved on a tax-deferred basis. The minute book, elections and valuations are all in the file.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $47,000 Penalty Avoided — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Toronto
A residential cleaning franchise in Toronto, Ontario came to us 4 weeks before its filing deadline with a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $47,000 before interest.
What we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
The result
The return was filed on time and complete. The $47,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
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.
