6 Delivery & Courier Services 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 delivery & courier services work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Deadline rescue
11-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $41,000 — Heavy-Haul Specialist, Red Deer
Client: A heavy-haul specialist · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$41,000
Filed with6 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation
With the deadline for delivery & courier services accounting and tax weeks away, a heavy-haul specialist in Red Deer, Alberta was carrying a chart of accounts that told the owner nothing about delivery & courier services margin. The exposure if the date slipped was around $41,000.
What we did
We rebuilt the chart of accounts around how a delivery & courier services business actually earns and spends. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 6 days to spare. $41,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 2 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $150,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Logistics Brokerage, Burnaby
Client: A logistics brokerage · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Cash returned$150,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
The situation
A logistics brokerage in Burnaby, British Columbia was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. Equipment and asset classes assigned by guesswork rather than the CCA schedule was tying up $150,000 of cash.
What we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and aligned the reporting calendar with the sector’s own seasonal cycle rather than a generic year-end.
The result
$150,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 3 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 71 Staff With $118,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Bus and Coach Operator, Surrey
Client: A bus and coach operator · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached71
Working capital freed$118,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation
A bus and coach operator in Surrey, British Columbia was growing fast — headcount to 71 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. Industry-specific reporting obligations nobody had flagged was the first thing to break.
What we did
We reviewed every sector-specific deduction against the current rules and claimed the ones that had been missed, and built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
The result
The business reached 71 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $118,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
Case Study 4 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $64,000 Across 5 Open Years — Last-Mile Delivery Company, Edmonton
Client: A last-mile delivery company · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$64,000
Open years claimed5
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation
An incentive review at a last-mile delivery company in Edmonton, Alberta started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 5 years, driven by development and improvement work written off as ordinary overhead.
What we did
We reassigned the asset classes on the CCA schedule and corrected the opening balances, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result
The credits produced $64,000 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 5 · Backlog brought current
4 Years Filed, $130,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Owner-Operator Trucking Corporation, Toronto
An owner-operator trucking corporation in Toronto, Ontario had not filed for 4 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying a previous accountant with no experience of this sector on top of a growing interest balance.
What we did
We started with the oldest year and worked forward so each year's closing balances fed the next. We documented the positions to the standard the CRA applies to this sector specifically, filing the years in sequence rather than all at once.
The result
Every year is now filed and assessed on actual figures. The notional assessments were vacated and $130,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
Case Study 6 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $91,000 Vacated — Refrigerated Transport Company, Barrie
Client: A refrigerated transport company · Where: Barrie, Ontario · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$91,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A refrigerated transport company in Barrie, Ontario was carrying $91,000 of penalties and interest arising from sector deductions claimed on a general-business basis rather than the delivery & courier services rules, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
What we did
We rebuilt the chart of accounts around how a delivery & courier services business actually earns and spends and framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $91,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
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.
