6 Credit Card Reconciliation 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 credit card reconciliation services work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · CRA review defended
$109,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Boutique Fitness Studio Group, Lethbridge
Client: A boutique fitness studio group · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Reassessment reduced toNil
Tax protected$109,000
Prior filingsUndisturbed
The situation
A review notice arrived at a boutique fitness studio group in Lethbridge, Alberta covering credit card reconciliation services for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $109,000, driven by a shareholder loan account that had drifted for three years with no supporting entries.
What we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. We separated personal and corporate spending, cleared the shareholder loan through a documented salary and dividend mix, and restated the comparative year 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 $109,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
Case Study 2 · Scaling without breaking
Growth Handled Without A Missed Filing, $136,000 Freed — Growing Landscaping Company, Kitchener
Client: A growing landscaping company · Where: Kitchener, Ontario · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Cash freed$136,000
Compliance failuresNone
ReportingMonthly
The situation
A growing landscaping company in Kitchener, Ontario was opening in a second province — different filing obligations, a different payroll regime, and year-end statements that arrived four months late and never tied to the bank already in the file.
What we did
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 put monthly reporting in place so the owner could see the cash effect of growth while there was still time to act on it.
The result
Growth was absorbed without a compliance failure. $136,000 of cash was released, and the monthly reporting now flags a problem while it is still small.
Case Study 3 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $31,500 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Machine-Shop Owner-Operator, Hamilton
Nothing was wrong at a machine-shop owner-operator in Hamilton, 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
We reconciled the inter-company accounts, papered the arrangement with a written agreement, and aligned both corporations’ year-ends, 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
$31,500 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Case Study 4 · Cash and remittance control
Remittance Schedule Corrected, $143,000 Refunded — Specialty Food Importer, Toronto
Remittances at a specialty food importer in Toronto, Ontario were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat inter-company balances between two related corporations that had never been reconciled.
What we did
We set a monthly close calendar with a fixed cut-off, so the year-end became a review of work already done rather than a twelve-month rebuild, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $143,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 12 Weeks To 7 Days — Family-Owned Wholesale Distributor, Red Deer
Client: A family-owned wholesale distributor · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before12 weeks
Close time after7 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a family-owned wholesale distributor in Red Deer, Alberta was built on a bank that refused to renew an operating line without compliant statements. The year-end had taken 12 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did
We separated personal and corporate spending, cleared the shareholder loan through a documented salary and dividend mix, and restated the comparative year and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 7 days instead of 12 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $122,000 Penalty Avoided — Commercial Cleaning Contractor, Surrey
Client: A commercial cleaning contractor · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty avoided$122,000
Turnaround4 weeks
FiledOn time
The situation
A commercial cleaning contractor in Surrey, British Columbia came to us 4 weeks before its filing deadline with a shareholder loan account that had drifted for three years with no supporting entries. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $122,000 before interest.
What we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. 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, 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 $122,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
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.
