6 Monthly Bookkeeping 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 monthly bookkeeping work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Missed incentive claimed
$102,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Vancouver
Client: A specialty coffee roaster · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$102,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation
A specialty coffee roaster in Vancouver, British Columbia 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 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
$102,000 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
Collections Halted And $45,000 Cut From A 3-Year Backlog — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Toronto
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Toronto, Ontario · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$45,000
Backlog cleared3 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time an owner-operated trades business in Toronto, Ontario called, 3 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
What we did
We reconstructed the records year by year and reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support. 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 $45,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 3 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $114,000 Vacated — Small Law Practice, Guelph
Client: A small law practice · Where: Guelph, Ontario · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$114,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A small law practice in Guelph, Ontario was carrying $114,000 of penalties and interest arising from input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
What we did
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly and framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $114,000 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
Month-End Close Cut From 8 Weeks To 7 Days — Wedding Photography Studio, Barrie
Client: A wedding photography studio · Where: Barrie, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before8 weeks
Close time after7 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a wedding photography studio in Barrie, Ontario was built on a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account. The year-end had taken 8 weeks each of the last three years.
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 moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 7 days instead of 8 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 5 · Planning that cut the bill
$70,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Two-Location Cafe, Windsor
A two-location cafe in Windsor, Ontario was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement on the table.
What we did
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
The change saved $70,000 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
$117,000 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Red Deer
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Adjustment withdrawn$117,000
File closed in7 weeks
Penalties assessedNone
The situation
A mobile pet-grooming company in Red Deer, Alberta received a proposal letter opening a review of monthly bookkeeping. The CRA had identified a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier and proposed an adjustment of $117,000, with 30 days to respond.
What we did
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
The result
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $117,000 of it. The file closed in 7 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
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.
