6 Payroll 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 payroll bookkeeping work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Cash and remittance control
$68,000 Of Working Capital Freed From The Tax Cycle — Small Law Practice, Edmonton
Client: A small law practice · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Working capital freed$68,000
On-time remittancesEvery period since
Forecast horizon13 weeks
The situation
A small law practice in Edmonton, Alberta was profitable on paper and short of cash every month. Eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts explained most of the gap.
What we did
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly and built a thirteen-week cash view so tax payments stopped competing with payroll for the same dollars.
The result
$68,000 was released back into working capital. Remittances have been on time every period since, and the forecast shows the tax outflow before it lands.
Case Study 2 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $28,500 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Home-Renovation Contractor, Windsor
Nothing was wrong at a home-renovation contractor in Windsor, Ontario — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. Three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement had never been reviewed.
What we did
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, and ran the numbers across both the corporate and personal returns so the saving was real rather than deferred into someone else's hands.
The result
$28,500 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Case Study 3 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $32,000 Of Cash Released — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Surrey
Client: A residential cleaning franchise · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$32,000
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation
Revenue at a residential cleaning franchise in Surrey, British Columbia was up sharply and cash was tighter than ever. Underneath 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. Every new obligation — registration, remittance frequency, provincial filing — was set up before it was triggered, not after.
The result
$32,000 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 · CRA review defended
$49,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Two-Location Cafe, Guelph
A review notice arrived at a two-location cafe in Guelph, Ontario covering payroll bookkeeping for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $49,000, driven by a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier.
What we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. 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 submitted a point-by-point response that answered each proposed adjustment with the document behind it.
The result
The auditor accepted the documented position and closed the review without adjustment, protecting $49,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
Case Study 5 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $70,000 Across 3 Open Years — Equipment Rental Yard, Burnaby
Client: An equipment rental yard · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$70,000
Open years claimed3
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation
An incentive review at an equipment rental yard in Burnaby, British Columbia started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 3 years, driven by input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once.
What we did
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result
The credits produced $70,000 across the open years, and the tracking now in place means the following year's claim is documented as the work happens rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Case Study 6 · Sale and succession
Share Sale Restructured, $565,000 Less Tax On Closing — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Vancouver
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Tax saved on closing$565,000
PriceAs agreed
Post-closing adjustmentsNone
The situation
An owner-operated trades business in Vancouver, British Columbia was preparing to sell. Due diligence surfaced a minute book with no resolutions behind a decade of dividends, which would have reduced the price or killed the deal outright.
What we did
We cleaned up the historical file, 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, and prepared the due-diligence package the buyer's advisers actually asked for.
The result
The deal closed at the agreed price. $565,000 of tax was saved against the structure originally proposed, with no post-closing adjustment.
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.
