6 worked Dext and Receipt Management 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 dext and receipt management setup work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $61,000 Penalty Avoided — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Red Deer
Client: A specialty coffee roaster · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty avoided$61,000
Turnaround5 weeks
FiledOn time
The situation — A specialty coffee roaster, Red Deer, Alberta
A specialty coffee roaster in Red Deer, Alberta came to us 5 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 $61,000 before interest.
What we did for A specialty coffee roaster, Red Deer, Alberta
We worked backwards from the deadline. We converted the foreign-currency purchases at transaction-date rates and recorded the exchange difference at settlement instead of burying it in cost of sales, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
The result — A specialty coffee roaster, Red Deer, Alberta
The return was filed on time and complete. The $61,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 2 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $18,000 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Courier Subcontractor, Ottawa
Client: A courier subcontractor paid by the drop · Where: Ottawa, Ontario · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Unclaimed tax found$18,000
Records rebuilt15 months
ProcessDocumented
The situation — A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Ottawa, Ontario
A courier subcontractor paid by the drop in Ottawa, Ontario could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because sales recorded from bank deposits, so processor fees, chargebacks and refunds appeared nowhere in the ledger sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
What we did for A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Ottawa, Ontario
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, then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done.
The result — A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Ottawa, Ontario
Records rebuilt and reconciled, $18,000 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
The situation — A subscription box retailer, Windsor, Ontario
Remittances at a subscription box retailer in Windsor, Ontario were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier.
What we did for A subscription box retailer, Windsor, Ontario
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result — A subscription box retailer, Windsor, Ontario
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $138,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 4 · Planning that cut the bill
$73,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Equipment Rental Yard, Hamilton
The situation — An equipment rental yard, Hamilton, Ontario
An equipment rental yard in Hamilton, Ontario asked for a second opinion on dext and receipt management setup after three years of rising tax. The review found three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement.
What we did for An equipment rental yard, Hamilton, Ontario
We built the comparison first — current structure against two alternatives — and then rebuilt sales from the processor settlement reports so gross sales, fees and refunds each landed in an account of their own.
The result — An equipment rental yard, Hamilton, Ontario
First-year saving of $73,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 5 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $25,500 Of Cash Released — Seasonal Food-Truck Operator, Barrie
Client: A food-truck operator running two seasonal units · Where: Barrie, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$25,500
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation — A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Barrie, Ontario
Revenue at a food-truck operator running two seasonal units in Barrie, Ontario was up sharply and cash was tighter than ever. Underneath it sat a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account.
What we did for A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Barrie, Ontario
We cleared the payroll and sales tax clearing accounts every month and tied each remittance to the liability it settled. Every new obligation — registration, remittance frequency, provincial filing — was set up before it was triggered, not after.
The result — A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Barrie, Ontario
$25,500 of cash was released from the working capital cycle, and the expansion completed with every registration and filing obligation covered from day one.
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$90,000
Review duration10 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation — A two-location cafe, Halifax, Nova Scotia
A two-location cafe in Halifax, Nova Scotia was selected for review after input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on dext and receipt management setup came to $90,000.
What we did for A two-location cafe, Halifax, Nova Scotia
We set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question.
The result — A two-location cafe, Halifax, Nova Scotia
The review closed with no change. $90,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
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.
