6 ERP and Accounting System Selection 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 erp and accounting system selection work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Sale and succession
$665,000 Sheltered By The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — Construction Company Bidding Larger, Toronto
Client: A construction company bidding larger contracts · Where: Toronto, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Gain sheltered$665,000
ClosingOn schedule
Share qualificationMet
The situation
A construction company bidding larger contracts in Toronto, Ontario had an offer on the table and 22 months to close. The shares did not qualify for the capital gains exemption, and a shareholder loan balance that would have been picked up as income on closing was part of the reason.
What we did
We purified the corporation so the shares met the qualifying tests, then modelled the covenant ratios monthly and restructured the debt before the next test date rather than after it well ahead of the closing date.
The result
The sale closed on schedule with $665,000 sheltered by the lifetime capital gains exemption across the shareholders.
Case Study 2 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $56,000 Cut From A 5-Year Backlog — Subscription Business Tracking Churn, Lethbridge
Client: A subscription business tracking churn · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$56,000
Backlog cleared5 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time a subscription business tracking churn in Lethbridge, Alberta called, 5 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat an owner making hiring decisions on last quarter’s bank balance.
What we did
We reconstructed the records year by year and produced a board-ready monthly package — cash, margin, pipeline and covenant headroom — that replaced a spreadsheet nobody trusted. Each filing replaced an arbitrary assessment with a real one.
The result
The account is current. Filing on real numbers rather than CRA estimates reduced the balance by $56,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 3 · Structure rebuilt
Corporate Structure Rebuilt For $15,500 Of Annual Savings — Distributor Entering a Second, Guelph
Client: A distributor entering a second province · Where: Guelph, Ontario · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Saving per year$15,500
DocumentationComplete
Transfer basisRollover
The situation
The structure at a distributor entering a second province in Guelph, Ontario had been set up years earlier for a business that no longer existed, and pricing set by feel, with no visibility into margin by service line had become expensive.
What we did
We built a rolling thirteen-week cash-flow model, tightened collections, and renegotiated supplier terms so the growth stopped consuming the bank balance. The reorganisation used the rollover provisions rather than a taxable transfer, so no tax fell due on the restructuring itself.
The result
$15,500 of annual saving, achieved on a tax-deferred basis. The minute book, elections and valuations are all in the file.
Case Study 4 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $30,500 Vacated — Clinic Group Acquiring a, Kelowna
Client: A clinic group acquiring a competitor · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$30,500
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A clinic group acquiring a competitor in Kelowna, British Columbia was carrying $30,500 of penalties and interest arising from a growth plan with no forecast behind it and no financing lined up, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
What we did
We rebuilt the reporting around gross margin by service line, which showed two of five offerings were losing money at the current price and framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $30,500 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 5 · Deadline rescue
$55,000 Late-Filing Penalty Cancelled On Relief Application — Technology Company Preparing to, Barrie
Client: A technology company preparing to raise · Where: Barrie, Ontario · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$55,000
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation
A technology company preparing to raise in Barrie, Ontario had already missed one deadline and was about to miss a second. Behind it sat a covenant breach discovered only when the bank called, and a penalty of $55,000 was accruing.
What we did
We split the work into what had to happen before the deadline and what could follow it, then modelled the covenant ratios monthly and restructured the debt before the next test date rather than after it.
The result
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $55,000 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier year.
Case Study 6 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 6 Weeks To 9 Days — Family Business Planning Succession, Moncton
Client: A family business planning succession · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before6 weeks
Close time after9 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a family business planning succession in Moncton, New Brunswick was built on revenue up 40% year over year and a bank balance that kept falling. The year-end had taken 6 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did
We produced a board-ready monthly package — cash, margin, pipeline and covenant headroom — that replaced a spreadsheet nobody trusted 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 9 days instead of 6 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
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.
