6 worked Multi-Company Bookkeeping 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 multi-company bookkeeping work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Deadline rescue
11-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $74,000 — Seasonal Food-Truck Operator, Red Deer
Client: A food-truck operator running two seasonal units · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$74,000
Filed with8 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation — A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Red Deer, Alberta
With the deadline for multi-company bookkeeping weeks away, a food-truck operator running two seasonal units in Red Deer, Alberta was carrying meals and entertainment coded at full cost with the input tax credit claimed on the whole amount. The exposure if the date slipped was around $74,000.
What we did for A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Red Deer, Alberta
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. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result — A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Red Deer, Alberta
Filed with 8 days to spare. $74,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 2 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $93,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Wedding Photography Studio, London
Client: A wedding photography studio · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Cash returned$93,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
The situation — A wedding photography studio, London, Ontario
A wedding photography studio in London, Ontario was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. Eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts was tying up $93,000 of cash.
What we did for A wedding photography studio, London, Ontario
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly.
The result — A wedding photography studio, London, Ontario
$93,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 3 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $155,000 Of Cash Released — Small Law Practice, Winnipeg
Client: A small law practice · Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$155,000
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation — A small law practice, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Revenue at a small law practice in Winnipeg, Manitoba 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 small law practice, Winnipeg, Manitoba
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 small law practice, Winnipeg, Manitoba
$155,000 of cash was released from the working capital cycle, and the expansion completed with every registration and filing obligation covered from day one.
Case Study 4 · Missed incentive claimed
$119,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Calgary
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$119,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation — An owner-operated trades business, Calgary, Alberta
An owner-operated trades business in Calgary, Alberta 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 for An owner-operated trades business, Calgary, Alberta
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 — An owner-operated trades business, Calgary, Alberta
$119,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 5 · Backlog brought current
7 Years Filed, $47,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Courier Subcontractor, Barrie
Client: A courier subcontractor paid by the drop · Where: Barrie, Ontario · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Years filed7
Assessed balance removed$47,000
CollectionsStopped
The situation — A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Barrie, Ontario
A courier subcontractor paid by the drop in Barrie, Ontario had not filed for 7 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying a payroll clearing account that had never been brought to zero, carrying a balance nobody could explain on top of a growing interest balance.
What we did for A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Barrie, Ontario
We started with the oldest year and worked forward so each year's closing balances fed the next. 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, filing the years in sequence rather than all at once.
The result — A courier subcontractor paid by the drop, Barrie, Ontario
Every year is now filed and assessed on actual figures. The notional assessments were vacated and $47,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
Case Study 6 · Objection and relief
$40,000 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Home-Renovation Contractor, Kitchener
The situation — A home-renovation contractor, Kitchener, Ontario
An assessment of $40,000 landed at a home-renovation contractor in Kitchener, Ontario following a desk review. The auditor had not seen the records behind input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once.
What we did for A home-renovation contractor, Kitchener, Ontario
We rebuilt sales from the processor settlement reports so gross sales, fees and refunds each landed in an account of their own, then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it.
The result — A home-renovation contractor, Kitchener, Ontario
$40,000 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
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.
