6 Payroll 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 payroll services work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
4 Years Filed, $109,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Home-Renovation Contractor, Calgary
Client: A home-renovation contractor · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Years filed4
Assessed balance removed$109,000
CollectionsStopped
The situation
A home-renovation contractor in Calgary, Alberta had not filed for 4 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts 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 reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, 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 $109,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
Case Study 2 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $144,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Owner-Operated Trades Business, Red Deer
Client: An owner-operated trades business · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Cash returned$144,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
The situation
An owner-operated trades business in Red Deer, Alberta was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. A receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier was tying up $144,000 of cash.
What we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end.
The result
$144,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 3 · Sale and succession
Intergenerational Transfer Completed With $540,000 Deferred — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Hamilton
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Hamilton, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Tax deferred$540,000
TransferCompleted
RecordsReview-ready
The situation
A generational transfer at a mobile pet-grooming company in Hamilton, Ontario 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 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, sequencing the steps so each one was complete and documented before the next depended on it.
The result
$540,000 of tax was deferred through the transfer, and the successor generation took over a corporation whose records stood up to review.
Case Study 4 · Records and systems rebuilt
14 Months Reconciled And $18,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Residential Cleaning Franchise, Guelph
A residential cleaning franchise in Guelph, Ontario was carrying a bookkeeping file where owner draws, payroll and supplier payments all landed in the same account. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 14 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, then set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
14 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 7 days, and $18,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Case Study 5 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $111,000 Across 7 Open Years — Wedding Photography Studio, Brampton
Client: A wedding photography studio · Where: Brampton, Ontario · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$111,000
Open years claimed7
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation
An incentive review at a wedding photography studio in Brampton, Ontario started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 7 years, driven by eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts.
What we did
We reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result
The credits produced $111,000 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.
Client: A two-location cafe · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$84,000
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation
A two-location cafe in Edmonton, Alberta had already missed one deadline and was about to miss a second. Behind it sat eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts, and a penalty of $84,000 was accruing.
What we did
We split the work into what had to happen before the deadline and what could follow it, then set up a documented chart of accounts, a receipt-capture workflow and a monthly reconciliation that closes within ten days of month-end.
The result
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $84,000 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier 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.
