6 Sole Proprietor 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 sole proprietor bookkeeping work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · CRA review defended
$70,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Husband-And-Wife Retail Partnership, London
A review notice arrived at a husband-and-wife retail partnership in London, Ontario covering sole proprietor bookkeeping for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $70,000, driven by a profit split applied in practice that the written agreement did not support.
What we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. We restructured the draw policy so no partner’s adjusted cost base went negative again, and reported the deemed gain correctly for the year it arose 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 $70,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
Case Study 2 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $90,000 Cut From A 4-Year Backlog — Two-Partner Architecture Practice, Lethbridge
Client: A two-partner architecture practice · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$90,000
Backlog cleared4 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time a two-partner architecture practice in Lethbridge, Alberta called, 4 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat an incorporation completed without the section 85 election, triggering an unnecessary gain.
What we did
We reconstructed the records year by year and filed the outstanding T5013 returns with full partner allocations and requested penalty relief on the basis of the first-time nature of the failure. 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 $90,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 3 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $41,000 Penalty Avoided — Food-Truck Sole Proprietorship, Burnaby
Client: A food-truck sole proprietorship · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty avoided$41,000
Turnaround5 weeks
FiledOn time
The situation
A food-truck sole proprietorship in Burnaby, British Columbia came to us 5 weeks before its filing deadline with partner draws that had pushed one partner’s adjusted cost base negative. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $41,000 before interest.
What we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We filed the section 85 election with correct elected amounts and rolled the assets in without a taxable disposition, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
The result
The return was filed on time and complete. The $41,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 4 · Planning that cut the bill
$41,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Partnership with a Corporate, Toronto
Client: A partnership with a corporate partner · Where: Toronto, Ontario · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Saving identified$41,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
The situation
A partnership with a corporate partner in Toronto, Ontario asked for a second opinion on sole proprietor bookkeeping after three years of rising tax. The review found business income reported entirely on one spouse’s return despite shared operations.
What we did
We built the comparison first — current structure against two alternatives — and then rewrote the partnership allocation to match how the practice actually operated, effective for the following fiscal year.
The result
First-year saving of $41,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 5 · Missed incentive claimed
$133,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Freelance Developer, Brampton
A freelance developer in Brampton, Ontario assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. An incorporation completed without the section 85 election, triggering an unnecessary gain meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and restructured the draw policy so no partner’s adjusted cost base went negative again, and reported the deemed gain correctly for the year it arose.
The result
$133,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 6 · Structure rebuilt
Corporate Structure Rebuilt For $45,000 Of Annual Savings — Joint-Venture Property Partnership, Calgary
Client: A joint-venture property partnership · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Saving per year$45,000
DocumentationComplete
Transfer basisRollover
The situation
The structure at a joint-venture property partnership in Calgary, Alberta had been set up years earlier for a business that no longer existed, and a profit split applied in practice that the written agreement did not support had become expensive.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T5013 returns with full partner allocations and requested penalty relief on the basis of the first-time nature of the failure. The reorganisation used the rollover provisions rather than a taxable transfer, so no tax fell due on the restructuring itself.
The result
$45,000 of annual saving, achieved on a tax-deferred basis. The minute book, elections and valuations are all in the file.
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.
