6 Vendor Payment Processing 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 vendor payment processing work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Objection and relief
$41,000 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Family-Owned Wholesale Distributor, Lethbridge
Client: A family-owned wholesale distributor · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Penalties and interest cancelled$41,000
Relief groundsAccepted
AssessmentAdjusted to filed position
The situation
An assessment of $41,000 landed at a family-owned wholesale distributor in Lethbridge, Alberta following a desk review. The auditor had not seen the records behind two sets of numbers — one in the accounting file, one the owner actually ran the business on.
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, then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it.
The result
$41,000 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
Case Study 2 · Cash and remittance control
$155,000 Of Working Capital Freed From The Tax Cycle — Boutique Fitness Studio Group, Surrey
Client: A boutique fitness studio group · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Working capital freed$155,000
On-time remittancesEvery period since
Forecast horizon13 weeks
The situation
A boutique fitness studio group in Surrey, British Columbia was profitable on paper and short of cash every month. Inter-company balances between two related corporations that had never been reconciled explained most of the gap.
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 built a thirteen-week cash view so tax payments stopped competing with payroll for the same dollars.
The result
$155,000 was released back into working capital. Remittances have been on time every period since, and the forecast shows the tax outflow before it lands.
Case Study 3 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 10 Weeks, $109,000 Cleared — Growing Landscaping Company, Victoria
Client: A growing landscaping company · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$109,000
Review duration10 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
A growing landscaping company in Victoria, British Columbia was selected for review after a bank that refused to renew an operating line without compliant statements showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on vendor payment processing came to $109,000.
What we did
We reconciled the inter-company accounts, papered the arrangement with a written agreement, and aligned both corporations’ year-ends. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question.
The result
The review closed with no change. $109,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 4 · Backlog brought current
$46,000 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 4 Years — Machine-Shop Owner-Operator, Vancouver
Client: A machine-shop owner-operator · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$46,000
Years brought current4
Account statusCurrent
The situation
4 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at a machine-shop owner-operator in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a shareholder loan account that had drifted for three years with no supporting entries underneath. Collections had already started.
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 filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result
All 4 years were accepted as filed. $46,000 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 4 years.
Case Study 5 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $32,500 Penalty Avoided — Specialty Food Importer, London
A specialty food importer in London, Ontario came to us 4 weeks before its filing deadline with year-end statements that arrived four months late and never tied to the bank. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $32,500 before interest.
What we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We separated personal and corporate spending, cleared the shareholder loan through a documented salary and dividend mix, and restated the comparative year, 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 $32,500 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 6 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $10,000 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Two-Partner Engineering Firm, Barrie
Nothing was wrong at a two-partner engineering firm in Barrie, 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 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 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
$10,000 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
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.
