6 Top 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 top bookkeeping work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
$30,500 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 6 Years — Equipment Rental Yard, Edmonton
Client: An equipment rental yard · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$30,500
Years brought current6
Account statusCurrent
The situation
6 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at an equipment rental yard in Edmonton, Alberta, with a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account underneath. Collections had already started.
What we did
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, then filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result
All 6 years were accepted as filed. $30,500 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 6 years.
Case Study 2 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $139,000 Of Cash Released — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Victoria
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$139,000
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation
Revenue at an owner-operated trades business in Victoria, 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
$139,000 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 3 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $48,000 Penalty Avoided — Wedding Photography Studio, Winnipeg
Client: A wedding photography studio · Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty avoided$48,000
Turnaround4 weeks
FiledOn time
The situation
A wedding photography studio in Winnipeg, Manitoba came to us 4 weeks before its filing deadline with three years of returns filed off numbers nobody could trace back to a bank statement. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $48,000 before interest.
What we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, 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 $48,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 4 · Sale and succession
Intergenerational Transfer Completed With $595,000 Deferred — Subscription Box Retailer, Moncton
Client: A subscription box retailer · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Tax deferred$595,000
TransferCompleted
RecordsReview-ready
The situation
A generational transfer at a subscription box retailer in Moncton, New Brunswick had been discussed for years without a plan. A single shareholder holding every share, with no room to multiply the exemption meant the transfer as contemplated would have been fully taxable.
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, sequencing the steps so each one was complete and documented before the next depended on it.
The result
$595,000 of tax was deferred through the transfer, and the successor generation took over a corporation whose records stood up to review.
Case Study 5 · Planning that cut the bill
$49,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Specialty Coffee Roaster, Surrey
Client: A specialty coffee roaster · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
First-year saving$49,000
RepeatsAnnually
Filing positionUnchanged in risk
The situation
A specialty coffee roaster in Surrey, British Columbia was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier on the table.
What we did
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, then separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly.
The result
The change saved $49,000 in the first year and repeats annually. Nothing about the filings became more aggressive; the position is simply the one the rules already allowed.
Case Study 6 · Objection and relief
$56,000 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Kelowna
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Penalties and interest cancelled$56,000
Relief groundsAccepted
AssessmentAdjusted to filed position
The situation
An assessment of $56,000 landed at a mobile pet-grooming company in Kelowna, British Columbia following a desk review. The auditor had not seen the records behind a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account.
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, then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it.
The result
$56,000 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
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.
