6 QuickBooks Online 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 quickbooks online bookkeeping work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · CRA review defended
$144,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Two-Location Cafe, Saskatoon
A review notice arrived at a two-location cafe in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan covering quickbooks online bookkeeping for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $144,000, driven by input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once.
What we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. 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 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 $144,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
Case Study 2 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $28,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Subscription Box Retailer, Guelph
A subscription box retailer in Guelph, Ontario was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. A bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account was tying up $28,000 of cash.
What we did
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
$28,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 3 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $73,000 Vacated — Small Law Practice, London
Client: A small law practice · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$73,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A small law practice in London, Ontario was carrying $73,000 of penalties and interest arising from three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
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 framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $73,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 4 · Sale and succession
$395,000 Sheltered By The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — Equipment Rental Yard, Lethbridge
Client: An equipment rental yard · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Gain sheltered$395,000
ClosingOn schedule
Share qualificationMet
The situation
An equipment rental yard in Lethbridge, Alberta had an offer on the table and 11 months to close. The shares did not qualify for the capital gains exemption, and no valuation on file to support the price the parties had agreed was part of the reason.
What we did
We purified the corporation so the shares met the qualifying tests, then reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support well ahead of the closing date.
The result
The sale closed on schedule with $395,000 sheltered by the lifetime capital gains exemption across the shareholders.
Case Study 5 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $138,000 Of Cash Released — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Burnaby
Client: A specialty coffee roaster · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$138,000
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation
Revenue at a specialty coffee roaster in Burnaby, British Columbia was up sharply and cash was tighter than ever. Underneath it sat eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
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. Every new obligation — registration, remittance frequency, provincial filing — was set up before it was triggered, not after.
The result
$138,000 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 6 · Records and systems rebuilt
23 Months Reconciled And $19,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Toronto
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Toronto, Ontario · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Months reconciled23
Input tax recovered$19,500
Close time6 days
The situation
An owner-operated trades business in Toronto, Ontario was carrying input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 23 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, then set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
23 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 6 days, and $19,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
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.
