6 E-commerce Payment Reconciliation 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 e-commerce payment reconciliation work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Records and systems rebuilt
12 Months Reconciled And $13,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Small Law Practice, Vancouver
Client: A small law practice · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Months reconciled12
Input tax recovered$13,500
Close time6 days
The situation
A small law practice in Vancouver, British Columbia was carrying eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 12 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. 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 set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
12 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 6 days, and $13,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Overpayment refunded$32,500
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
The situation
Remittances at a two-location cafe in Lethbridge, Alberta were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once.
What we did
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $32,500 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 3 · Planning that cut the bill
$67,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Equipment Rental Yard, Barrie
An equipment rental yard in Barrie, Ontario was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account 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 $67,000 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 4 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 84 Staff With $25,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Subscription Box Retailer, Victoria
Client: A subscription box retailer · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached84
Working capital freed$25,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation
A subscription box retailer in Victoria, British Columbia was growing fast — headcount to 84 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. Three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement was the first thing to break.
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, and built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
The result
The business reached 84 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $25,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
Case Study 5 · CRA review defended
$33,500 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Regina
A specialty coffee roaster in Regina, Saskatchewan received a proposal letter opening a review of e-commerce payment reconciliation. The CRA had identified a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier and proposed an adjustment of $33,500, with 30 days to respond.
What we did
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. 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 indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
The result
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $33,500 of it. The file closed in 8 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Case Study 6 · Missed incentive claimed
$71,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Residential Cleaning Franchise, London
A residential cleaning franchise in London, Ontario assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. A receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support.
The result
$71,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
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.
