6 CRA Audit Bookkeeping Cleanup 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 cra audit bookkeeping cleanup work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Missed incentive claimed
$49,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Toronto
A specialty coffee roaster in Toronto, Ontario assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. Three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly.
The result
$49,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 2 · Backlog brought current
$61,000 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 5 Years — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Calgary
Client: A residential cleaning franchise · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$61,000
Years brought current5
Account statusCurrent
The situation
5 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at a residential cleaning franchise in Calgary, 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
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, then filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result
All 5 years were accepted as filed. $61,000 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 5 years.
Case Study 3 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $130,000 Vacated — Subscription Box Retailer, Vancouver
Client: A subscription box retailer · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$130,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A subscription box retailer in Vancouver, British Columbia was carrying $130,000 of penalties and interest arising from eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
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 framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $130,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 4 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $6,300 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Home-Renovation Contractor, Mississauga
A home-renovation contractor in Mississauga, Ontario could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
What we did
We set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end, then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done.
The result
Records rebuilt and reconciled, $6,300 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
Case Study 5 · Planning that cut the bill
$63,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Equipment Rental Yard, Edmonton
Client: An equipment rental yard · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
First-year saving$63,000
RepeatsAnnually
Filing positionUnchanged in risk
The situation
An equipment rental yard in Edmonton, Alberta was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once on the table.
What we did
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, then separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly.
The result
The change saved $63,000 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 · CRA review defended
$22,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Ottawa
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Ottawa, Ontario · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Reassessment reduced toNil
Tax protected$22,000
Prior filingsUndisturbed
The situation
A review notice arrived at a mobile pet-grooming company in Ottawa, Ontario covering cra audit bookkeeping cleanup for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $22,000, driven by a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier.
What we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support 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 $22,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
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.
