How far behind can our books be before a cleanup is not worth doing?

There is no cut-off. This client's books had fallen behind by several months of unreconciled data and were brought fully up to date. What changes with the size of the backlog is the time and the price, not whether the work can be done, which is why cleanup is scoped and quoted separately before it starts.

Can we file a GST return while the books are still behind?

Not with any confidence. None of the GST filings on this engagement could be trusted or submitted until the backdated reconciliation was finished, because the discrepancies that had built up over several months sat inside the same accounts the return draws from.

Who files the returns, you or us?

On this engagement Salt filed the GST returns on the client's behalf once the balances reconciled, and did not file the annual return. For that, complete data was prepared and handed to the client for their own annual return filing. Where a filing is reserved to a registered agent, the agent files it.

How long does a books cleanup take?

It depends on how many months are unreconciled and how much source documentation still exists, so no single range is honest across engagements. The work that sets the timeline is not data entry but identifying and correcting the discrepancies that accumulated while the books were behind, and that has to finish before any tax position built on those accounts can be relied on.

Does the cleanup have to finish before monthly bookkeeping starts?

Yes. Ongoing bookkeeping resumes on top of reconciled accounts, otherwise each new month inherits the previous month's errors. On this engagement the cleanup came first, then the GST reconciliation against filed positions, then the annual return data and the tax return preparation.

What happens if the corrected numbers disagree with what was already filed?

The difference is surfaced rather than absorbed. Reconciling accounts and GST balances against the positions already filed is how a discrepancy gets found in the first place, and what to do about it is a decision for the client and whoever files on their behalf.

Transportation · 🇨🇦 Canada

Months of unreconciled data before a GST return could be trusted

A transportation business had fallen behind. The books needed a full cleanup before GST could be reconciled, filed, and the year's data handed off.

Discuss a similar engagement

Canadian transportation business with backlogged books. Client identity withheld — we publish names only with written permission, so this engagement is described by its shape rather than by who it was.

Engagement: Books cleanup, GST reconciliation and filing, annual return data preparation
Software: Xero
Jurisdiction: Canada
Sector: Transportation

The situation

This client's books had fallen behind and needed a full cleanup before ongoing bookkeeping could resume.
Alongside the cleanup, GST had to be reconciled and filed, and the year's data prepared and handed off for annual return filing.

What we did

Cleaned up and brought the books of accounts fully up to date.
Reconciled accounts and GST balances against filed positions.
Filed GST returns on the client's behalf.
Prepared and handed off complete data for the client's annual return filing.
Prepared the client's tax return.

Why we were the right fit

Cleanup work needs someone comfortable working backward through months of unreconciled data without losing accuracy — a different discipline from steady-state monthly bookkeeping, and one built through repeated cleanup engagements.

The outcome

The client moved from disorganised, backlogged books to a fully reconciled, filing-ready position.
GST returns filed and annual return data delivered on time.

What we'd flag

Backdated reconciliation meant identifying and correcting discrepancies that had accumulated over several months. None of the GST filings could be trusted or submitted until that was finished.

Answers

Months of unreconciled data before a GST return could be trusted

Where this applies

Accounting CleanupService Catch-Up BookkeepingService All services in CanadaASPE / IFRS More case studies7 anonymised engagements

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