6 worked Vendor Payment Processing 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 vendor payment processing work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Objection and relief
$41,000 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Machine-Shop Owner-Operator, Lethbridge
Client: A machine-shop owner-operator · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Penalties and interest cancelled$41,000
Relief groundsAccepted
AssessmentAdjusted to filed position
The situation — A machine-shop owner-operator, Lethbridge, Alberta
An assessment of $41,000 landed at a machine-shop owner-operator in Lethbridge, Alberta following a desk review. The auditor had not seen the records behind capital assets written off in full in the year of purchase, with no fixed-asset schedule behind the deduction.
What we did for A machine-shop owner-operator, Lethbridge, Alberta
We valued work in progress on one consistent basis and documented the method, so the comparative year could be relied on, then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it.
The result — A machine-shop owner-operator, Lethbridge, Alberta
$41,000 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
Case Study 2 · Cash and remittance control
$155,000 Of Working Capital Freed From The Tax Cycle — Fitness Studio Group, Surrey
Client: A boutique fitness studio group · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Working capital freed$155,000
On-time remittancesEvery period since
Forecast horizon13 weeks
The situation — A boutique fitness studio group, Surrey, British Columbia
A boutique fitness studio group in Surrey, British Columbia was profitable on paper and short of cash every month. Work in progress carried at billing value one year and at cost the next, so neither year was comparable explained most of the gap.
What we did for A boutique fitness studio group, Surrey, British Columbia
We rebuilt the trial balance from source documents, reconciled every bank and credit-card account, and issued a CSRS 4200 compilation with a proper basis-of-accounting note and built a thirteen-week cash view so tax payments stopped competing with payroll for the same dollars.
The result — A boutique fitness studio group, Surrey, British Columbia
$155,000 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 3 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 10 Weeks, $109,000 Cleared — Specialty Food Importer, Victoria
Client: A specialty food importer · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$109,000
Review duration10 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation — A specialty food importer, Victoria, British Columbia
A specialty food importer in Victoria, British Columbia was selected for review after a year-end moved informally, leaving twelve months of trading reported as though nothing had changed showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on vendor payment processing came to $109,000.
What we did for A specialty food importer, Victoria, British Columbia
We reconciled the inter-company accounts, papered the arrangement with a written agreement, and aligned both corporations’ year-ends. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question.
The result — A specialty food importer, Victoria, British Columbia
The review closed with no change. $109,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 4 · Backlog brought current
$46,000 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 4 Years — Landscaping Company, Vancouver
Client: A growing landscaping company · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$46,000
Years brought current4
Account statusCurrent
The situation — A growing landscaping company, Vancouver, British Columbia
4 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at a growing landscaping company in Vancouver, British Columbia, with year-end statements that arrived four months late and never tied to the bank underneath. Collections had already started.
What we did for A growing landscaping company, Vancouver, British Columbia
We reconciled the general ledger to the GIFI schedules filed for each open year and corrected the two years where they disagreed, then filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result — A growing landscaping company, Vancouver, British Columbia
All 4 years were accepted as filed. $46,000 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 4 years.
Case Study 5 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $32,500 Penalty Avoided — Family Wholesale Distributor, London
The situation — A family-owned wholesale distributor, London, Ontario
A family-owned wholesale distributor in London, Ontario came to us 4 weeks before its filing deadline with a bank that refused to renew an operating line without compliant statements. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $32,500 before interest.
What we did for A family-owned wholesale distributor, London, Ontario
We worked backwards from the deadline. We separated personal and corporate spending, cleared the shareholder loan through a documented salary and dividend mix, and restated the comparative year, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
The result — A family-owned wholesale distributor, London, Ontario
The return was filed on time and complete. The $32,500 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 6 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $10,000 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Off-Calendar Year-End Supplier, Barrie
Client: A supplier with an off-calendar fiscal year-end · Where: Barrie, Ontario · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Combined saving$10,000
ScopeCorporate + personal
Future yearsNo rework needed
The situation — A supplier with an off-calendar fiscal year-end, Barrie, Ontario
Nothing was wrong at a supplier with an off-calendar fiscal year-end in Barrie, Ontario — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. Two sets of numbers — one in the accounting file, one the owner actually ran the business on had never been reviewed.
What we did for A supplier with an off-calendar fiscal year-end, Barrie, Ontario
We built a fixed-asset continuity schedule from the purchase invoices and set the capital cost allowance claim class by class rather than claiming the maximum by default, 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 — A supplier with an off-calendar fiscal year-end, Barrie, Ontario
$10,000 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
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.
