6 worked Bookkeeping 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 bookkeeping work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
$30,500 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 6 Years — Two-Location Cafe, Edmonton
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$30,500
Years brought current6
Account statusCurrent
The situation — A two-location cafe, Edmonton, Alberta
6 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at a two-location cafe in Edmonton, Alberta, with a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account underneath. Collections had already started.
What we did for A two-location cafe, Edmonton, Alberta
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, then filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result — A two-location cafe, Edmonton, Alberta
All 6 years were accepted as filed. $30,500 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 6 years.
Case Study 2 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $139,000 Of Cash Released — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Victoria
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$139,000
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation — A mobile pet-grooming company, Victoria, British Columbia
Revenue at a mobile pet-grooming company in Victoria, British Columbia was up sharply and cash was tighter than ever. Underneath it sat eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
What we did for A mobile pet-grooming company, Victoria, British Columbia
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support. Every new obligation — registration, remittance frequency, provincial filing — was set up before it was triggered, not after.
The result — A mobile pet-grooming company, Victoria, British Columbia
$139,000 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 3 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $48,000 Penalty Avoided — Equipment Rental Yard, Winnipeg
The situation — An equipment rental yard, Winnipeg, Manitoba
An equipment rental yard in Winnipeg, Manitoba came to us 4 weeks before its filing deadline with meals and entertainment coded at full cost with the input tax credit claimed on the whole amount. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $48,000 before interest.
What we did for An equipment rental yard, Winnipeg, Manitoba
We worked backwards from the deadline. We rebuilt sales from the processor settlement reports so gross sales, fees and refunds each landed in an account of their own, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
The result — An equipment rental yard, Winnipeg, Manitoba
The return was filed on time and complete. The $48,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 4 · Sale and succession
Intergenerational Transfer Completed With $595,000 Deferred — Home-Renovation Contractor, Moncton
Client: A home-renovation contractor · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Tax deferred$595,000
TransferCompleted
RecordsReview-ready
The situation — A home-renovation contractor, Moncton, New Brunswick
A generational transfer at a home-renovation contractor in Moncton, New Brunswick had been discussed for years without a plan. A single shareholder holding every share, with no room to multiply the exemption meant the transfer as contemplated would have been fully taxable.
What we did for A home-renovation contractor, Moncton, New Brunswick
We recoded the meals and entertainment accounts to the statutory limit and reversed the over-claimed input tax credits before the next return went in, sequencing the steps so each one was complete and documented before the next depended on it.
The result — A home-renovation contractor, Moncton, New Brunswick
$595,000 of tax was deferred through the transfer, and the successor generation took over a corporation whose records stood up to review.
Case Study 5 · Planning that cut the bill
$49,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Courier Subcontractor, Surrey
Client: A courier subcontractor paid by the drop · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
First-year saving$49,000
RepeatsAnnually
Filing positionUnchanged in risk
The situation — A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Surrey, British Columbia
A courier subcontractor paid by the drop in Surrey, British Columbia was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement on the table.
What we did for A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Surrey, British Columbia
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, then converted the foreign-currency purchases at transaction-date rates and recorded the exchange difference at settlement instead of burying it in cost of sales.
The result — A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Surrey, British Columbia
The change saved $49,000 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 6 · Objection and relief
$56,000 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Kelowna
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Penalties and interest cancelled$56,000
Relief groundsAccepted
AssessmentAdjusted to filed position
The situation — An owner-operated trades business, Kelowna, British Columbia
An assessment of $56,000 landed at an owner-operated trades business in Kelowna, British Columbia following a desk review. The auditor had not seen the records behind input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once.
What we did for An owner-operated trades business, Kelowna, British Columbia
We cleared the payroll and sales tax clearing accounts every month and tied each remittance to the liability it settled, then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it.
The result — An owner-operated trades business, Kelowna, British Columbia
$56,000 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant. 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.
