6 worked Past-Due 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 past-due bookkeeping work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $39,500 Penalty Avoided — Two-Location Cafe, Guelph
A two-location cafe in Guelph, Ontario came to us 8 weeks before its filing deadline. The file came with a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $39,500 before interest.
Case 1: what we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We rebuilt sales from the processor settlement reports so gross sales, fees and refunds each landed in an account of their own. We prioritised the items that actually gated the filing and deferred everything that did not.
Case 1: the result
The return was filed on time and complete. The $39,500 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
Month-End Close Cut From 8 Weeks To 9 Days — Subscription Box Retailer, Vancouver
Client: A subscription box retailer. Where: Vancouver, British Columbia. Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee.
Close time before8 weeks
Close time after9 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
Case 2: the situation
The accounting file at a subscription box retailer in Vancouver, British Columbia had a weak foundation. It 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.
Case 2: what we did
We recoded the meals and entertainment accounts to the statutory limit and reversed the over-claimed input tax credits before the next return went in. We also moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
Case 2: the result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 9 days instead of 8 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 3 · Cash and remittance control
Remittance Schedule Corrected, $44,000 Refunded — Small Law Practice, Winnipeg
Client: A small law practice. Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba. Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee.
Overpayment refunded$44,000
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
Case 3: the situation
Remittances at a small law practice in Winnipeg, Manitoba were consistently late by a few days. That was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
Case 3: what we did
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. Then we moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
Case 3: the result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $44,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 4 · Planning that cut the bill
$36,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Equipment Rental Yard, Saskatoon
An equipment rental yard in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan asked for a second opinion on past-due bookkeeping. That followed three years of rising tax. The review found meals and entertainment coded at full cost with the input tax credit claimed on the whole amount.
Case 4: what we did
We built the comparison first: current structure against two alternatives. Then we cleared the payroll and sales tax clearing accounts every month and tied each remittance to the liability it settled.
Case 4: the result
First-year saving of $36,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 5 · Scaling without breaking
Growth Handled Without A Missed Filing, $141,000 Freed — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Regina
A specialty coffee roaster in Regina, Saskatchewan was opening in a second province. That meant different filing obligations and a different payroll regime. Sales recorded from bank deposits, so processor fees, chargebacks and refunds appeared nowhere in the ledger already sat in the file.
Case 5: what we did
We rebuilt the ledger from bank and card statements and matched every receipt to a transaction. We removed duplicated input tax credits before they became a review. We then put monthly reporting in place. That let the owner see the cash effect of growth while there was still time to act on it.
Case 5: the result
Growth was absorbed without a compliance failure. $141,000 of cash was released, and the monthly reporting now flags a problem while it is still small.
Case Study 6 · CRA review defended
$14,500 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — Seasonal Food-Truck Operator, Windsor
Client: A food-truck operator running two seasonal units. Where: Windsor, Ontario. Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee.
Adjustment withdrawn$14,500
File closed in4 weeks
Penalties assessedNone
Case 6: the situation
A food-truck operator running two seasonal units in Windsor, Ontario received a proposal letter opening a review of past-due bookkeeping. The CRA had identified three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement. It proposed an adjustment of $14,500, with 30 days to respond.
Case 6: what we did
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. We set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end. We then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
Case 6: the result
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $14,500 of it. The file closed in 4 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Reviewed by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant for the 2025 tax year. 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.
