6 Year-End Bookkeeping Cleanup 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 year-end bookkeeping cleanup work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Sale and succession
Share Sale Restructured, $195,000 Less Tax On Closing — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Hamilton
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Hamilton, Ontario · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Tax saved on closing$195,000
PriceAs agreed
Post-closing adjustmentsNone
The situation
An owner-operated trades business in Hamilton, Ontario was preparing to sell. Due diligence surfaced retained cash well above what the business needed to operate, which would have reduced the price or killed the deal outright.
What we did
We cleaned up the historical file, set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end, and prepared the due-diligence package the buyer's advisers actually asked for.
The result
The deal closed at the agreed price. $195,000 of tax was saved against the structure originally proposed, with no post-closing adjustment.
Case Study 2 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $113,000 Reversed — Home-Renovation Contractor, Calgary
Client: A home-renovation contractor · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Amount reversed$113,000
ObjectionAllowed in full
Account balanceNil
The situation
A home-renovation contractor in Calgary, Alberta had been reassessed for $113,000 and had 10 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier.
What we did
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, and reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support.
The result
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $113,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Client: A wedding photography studio · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Overpayment refunded$35,000
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
The situation
Remittances at a wedding photography studio in Moncton, New Brunswick were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat 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, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $35,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 4 · CRA review defended
$70,000 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Brampton
A residential cleaning franchise in Brampton, Ontario received a proposal letter opening a review of year-end bookkeeping cleanup. The CRA had identified three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement and proposed an adjustment of $70,000, with 30 days to respond.
What we did
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. 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, then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
The result
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $70,000 of it. The file closed in 10 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Case Study 5 · Backlog brought current
$112,000 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 3 Years — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Surrey
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$112,000
Years brought current3
Account statusCurrent
The situation
3 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at a mobile pet-grooming company in Surrey, British Columbia, with eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts underneath. Collections had already started.
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, then filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result
All 3 years were accepted as filed. $112,000 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 3 years.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
5-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $116,000 — Subscription Box Retailer, Vancouver
Client: A subscription box retailer · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$116,000
Filed with20 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation
With the deadline for year-end bookkeeping cleanup weeks away, a subscription box retailer in Vancouver, British Columbia was carrying a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account. The exposure if the date slipped was around $116,000.
What we did
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 20 days to spare. $116,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
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.
