6 Catch-Up Bookkeeping 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 catch-up bookkeeping work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Sale and succession
Intergenerational Transfer Completed With $440,000 Deferred — Small Law Practice, Burnaby
Client: A small law practice · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Tax deferred$440,000
TransferCompleted
RecordsReview-ready
The situation
A generational transfer at a small law practice in Burnaby, British Columbia had been discussed for years without a plan. A shareholder loan balance that would have been picked up as income on closing meant the transfer as contemplated would have been fully taxable.
What we did
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, sequencing the steps so each one was complete and documented before the next depended on it.
The result
$440,000 of tax was deferred through the transfer, and the successor generation took over a corporation whose records stood up to review.
Case Study 2 · Backlog brought current
7 Years Filed, $55,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Saskatoon
A residential cleaning franchise in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan had not filed for 7 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement on top of a growing interest balance.
What we did
We started with the oldest year and worked forward so each year's closing balances fed the next. We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, filing the years in sequence rather than all at once.
The result
Every year is now filed and assessed on actual figures. The notional assessments were vacated and $55,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
Case Study 3 · Structure rebuilt
Corporate Structure Rebuilt For $42,000 Of Annual Savings — Equipment Rental Yard, Surrey
Client: An equipment rental yard · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Saving per year$42,000
DocumentationComplete
Transfer basisRollover
The situation
The structure at an equipment rental yard in Surrey, British Columbia had been set up years earlier for a business that no longer existed, and input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once 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
$42,000 of annual saving, achieved on a tax-deferred basis. The minute book, elections and valuations are all in the file.
Case Study 4 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $35,000 Reversed — Wedding Photography Studio, Winnipeg
Client: A wedding photography studio · Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Amount reversed$35,000
ObjectionAllowed in full
Account balanceNil
The situation
A wedding photography studio in Winnipeg, Manitoba had been reassessed for $35,000 and had 16 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier.
What we did
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, 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
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $35,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Client: A specialty coffee roaster · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$122,000
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation
A specialty coffee roaster in Edmonton, Alberta had already missed one deadline and was about to miss a second. Behind it sat a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account, and a penalty of $122,000 was accruing.
What we did
We split the work into what had to happen before the deadline and what could follow it, then separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly.
The result
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $122,000 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier year.
Case Study 6 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 10 Weeks To 8 Days — Home-Renovation Contractor, Vancouver
Client: A home-renovation contractor · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before10 weeks
Close time after8 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a home-renovation contractor in Vancouver, British Columbia was built on eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts. The year-end had taken 10 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support 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 8 days instead of 10 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
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.
