6 worked Chart of Accounts Setup 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 chart of accounts setup work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Deadline rescue
8-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $81,000 — Dental Hygiene Clinic, Brampton
The situation — A dental hygiene clinic, Brampton, Ontario
With the deadline for chart of accounts setup weeks away, a dental hygiene clinic in Brampton, Ontario was carrying three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement. The exposure if the date slipped was around $81,000.
What we did for A dental hygiene clinic, Brampton, Ontario
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result — A dental hygiene clinic, Brampton, Ontario
Filed with 15 days to spare. $81,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 2 · Planning that cut the bill
$64,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Equipment Rental Yard, Hamilton
The situation — An equipment rental yard, Hamilton, Ontario
An equipment rental yard in Hamilton, Ontario was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left meals and entertainment coded at full cost with the input tax credit claimed on the whole amount on the table.
What we did for An equipment rental yard, Hamilton, Ontario
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, then 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 — An equipment rental yard, Hamilton, Ontario
The change saved $64,000 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 3 · Missed incentive claimed
$83,000 In Credits Claimed That Prior Filings Had Missed — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Calgary
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Credits claimed$83,000
Years adjusted4
Review outcomeNo adjustment
The situation — An owner-operated trades business, Calgary, Alberta
An owner-operated trades business in Calgary, Alberta had been filing for 4 years without ever claiming the incentives its activity qualified for. Behind that sat sales recorded from bank deposits, so processor fees, chargebacks and refunds appeared nowhere in the ledger.
What we did for An owner-operated trades business, Calgary, Alberta
We tested each activity against the eligibility criteria rather than the description on the invoice, then recoded the meals and entertainment accounts to the statutory limit and reversed the over-claimed input tax credits before the next return went in.
The result — An owner-operated trades business, Calgary, Alberta
$83,000 in credits claimed, with the open prior years adjusted as well. The claim passed review without adjustment.
Client: A food-truck operator running two seasonal units · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$64,000
ReorganisationTax-neutral
StructureMatches operations
The situation — A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Moncton, New Brunswick
A food-truck operator running two seasonal units in Moncton, New Brunswick was carrying a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier, and every option for fixing it ran through a reorganisation that had to be done without triggering tax.
What we did for A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Moncton, New Brunswick
Working with the client's lawyer, we separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly and prepared the elections, resolutions and valuations the structure needed to stand up.
The result — A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Moncton, New Brunswick
The structure now matches the business. Annual saving of $64,000, and the reorganisation itself was tax-neutral.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 10 Weeks To 5 Days — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Regina
The situation — A residential cleaning franchise, Regina, Saskatchewan
The accounting file at a residential cleaning franchise in Regina, Saskatchewan was built on a payroll clearing account that had never been brought to zero, carrying a balance nobody could explain. The year-end had taken 10 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did for A residential cleaning franchise, Regina, Saskatchewan
We cleared the payroll and sales tax clearing accounts every month and tied each remittance to the liability it settled and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result — A residential cleaning franchise, Regina, Saskatchewan
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 5 days instead of 10 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 6 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 64 Staff With $119,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Two-Location Cafe, Surrey
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached64
Working capital freed$119,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation — A two-location cafe, Surrey, British Columbia
A two-location cafe in Surrey, British Columbia was growing fast — headcount to 64 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. A bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account was the first thing to break.
What we did for A two-location cafe, Surrey, British Columbia
We rebuilt sales from the processor settlement reports so gross sales, fees and refunds each landed in an account of their own, and built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
The result — A two-location cafe, Surrey, British Columbia
The business reached 64 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $119,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
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.
