6 Charity Payroll 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 charity payroll services work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 6 Weeks To 4 Days — Foundation Making Grants, Brampton
Client: A foundation making grants · Where: Brampton, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before6 weeks
Close time after4 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a foundation making grants in Brampton, Ontario was built on restricted grant funds recognised as revenue in the year received rather than as spent. The year-end had taken 6 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did
We reclassified restricted contributions under the deferral method so revenue matched the year the funds were actually spent 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 4 days instead of 6 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 2 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $114,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Housing Non-Profit, Mississauga
A housing non-profit in Mississauga, Ontario was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. Donation receipts issued without the required registration number was tying up $114,000 of cash.
What we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and calculated and claimed the public service body rebate for every open period, recovering tax the organisation had been absorbing.
The result
$114,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 3 · Deadline rescue
9-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $94,000 — Social Services Agency, Victoria
Client: A social services agency · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$94,000
Filed with19 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation
With the deadline for charity payroll services weeks away, a social services agency in Victoria, British Columbia was carrying GST/HST paid on everything with no public service body rebate ever claimed. The exposure if the date slipped was around $94,000.
What we did
We brought the T3010 filings current, corrected the prior-year schedules, and set an internal deadline 90 days after year-end so the filing stopped being late. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 19 days to spare. $94,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 4 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $47,000 Saved Each Year — Arts Organisation with Grant, Hamilton
Client: An arts organisation with grant funding · Where: Hamilton, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$47,000
Tax on reorganisationDeferred
Elections filedOn time
The situation
An arts organisation with grant funding in Hamilton, Ontario had outgrown the structure it started with. A T3010 filed eleven months after year-end for the third year running was the immediate problem; the longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step.
What we did
We mapped the current structure, modelled the target, and reissued compliant donation receipts and rebuilt the receipting template against the regulation requirements — with the tax-deferred elections filed on time and the supporting valuations documented.
The result
The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $47,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 5 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $37,500 Reversed — Environmental Charity with Restricted, Kelowna
Client: An environmental charity with restricted funds · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Amount reversed$37,500
ObjectionAllowed in full
Account balanceNil
The situation
An environmental charity with restricted funds in Kelowna, British Columbia had been reassessed for $37,500 and had 20 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on a disbursement quota shortfall discovered during a CRA charity audit.
What we did
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, and reclassified restricted contributions under the deferral method so revenue matched the year the funds were actually spent.
The result
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $37,500 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 6 · Backlog brought current
3 Years Filed, $53,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Religious Congregation, London
Client: A religious congregation · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Years filed3
Assessed balance removed$53,000
CollectionsStopped
The situation
A religious congregation in London, Ontario had not filed for 3 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying restricted grant funds recognised as revenue in the year received rather than as spent 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 calculated and claimed the public service body rebate for every open period, recovering tax the organisation had been absorbing, 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 $53,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
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.
