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Behind on books

Disorganized records cost more to fix than to maintain

Months of unreviewed bank feeds, overdue GST/HST, and receipts in three different places create a catch-up problem that grows the longer it sits. The right structure fixes it once and keeps it from happening again.

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Common situations

Most contractors who arrive behind on books are not negligent. The work was steady, the filing felt distant, and the records accumulated faster than the time to deal with them.

  • Revenue has been deposited for months but transactions have never been categorized
  • Bank feeds have unreviewed transactions going back one or more years
  • GST/HST has been collected but filings are overdue
  • Receipts are scattered across email, photos, and folders with no consistent structure
  • Tax season is approaching with no clear picture of income or deductible expenses
  • A previous accountant relationship ended and no clean file was handed over

What Teplov CPA handles

Catch-up work, a proper QuickBooks Online setup, and the going-forward process so the same problem does not return at the next tax season.

01 · Catch-up

Catch-up bookkeeping

  • Full historical reconciliation in QuickBooks Online
  • Transaction categorization from bank feeds and statements
  • GST/HST input tax credit recovery for unclaimed periods
  • Overdue GST/HST and QST filing preparation
  • Clean trial balance ready for tax preparation
02 · QBO

QBO setup and structure

  • QuickBooks Online setup with contractor-specific chart of accounts
  • Bank feed connection and historical import
  • Receipt organization and attachment workflow
  • GST/HST configuration for registered contractors
  • Monthly close process so catch-up does not repeat
03 · Tax

Tax compliance

  • T1 personal or T2 and CO-17 (Quebec) corporate return prepared from clean books
  • CRA late-filing and penalty review
  • Prior-year adjustment assessment where applicable
  • Instalment calculation for the going-forward year
  • CRA correspondence support

Why proper software matters

The catch-up solves the immediate problem. The software setup solves the underlying one. QuickBooks Online connects directly to bank feeds, categorizes transactions against a chart of accounts built for contractor income, tracks GST/HST automatically, and produces the monthly statements a CPA needs to file accurately.

Contractors who manage books reactively in spreadsheets or not at all spend more time and money at tax season, miss deductions that were never recorded, and have no clear picture of their financial position during the year. A monthly close process, even a simple one, eliminates most of that cost.

Related guides

Detailed breakdowns of the document organization and compliance decisions that come up when catching up records.

Common questions

Q.01 How far back can you go to catch up my books?
There is no fixed limit, though the practical constraint is document availability. Bank statements are generally available for six to seven years. The further back the catch-up goes, the more time is needed to source and verify records. A scoped catch-up typically starts from the last clean period or the most recent filed return.
Q.02 Will I owe penalties for late GST/HST filings?
CRA charges late-filing penalties and interest on overdue GST/HST balances. The amounts depend on how much was owing and how long the filing was outstanding. In some cases, the Voluntary Disclosures Program can reduce penalties where returns were never filed. The right approach depends on the specific situation.
Q.03 Can you recover missed input tax credits from prior periods?
Generally yes, within a four-year window from the end of the reporting period in which the credit could first have been claimed. ITCs that were missed due to late or amended returns can often be recovered. The catch-up process identifies which credits were not claimed so they can be included in a current or amended filing.
Q.04 Why QuickBooks Online instead of spreadsheets?
Spreadsheets do not reconcile to bank feeds, do not track GST/HST automatically, and do not produce financial statements that hold together under CRA review. QuickBooks Online creates an audit trail, links to source documents, and generates the monthly statements needed for tax preparation. The structure it provides is the difference between reactive cleanup and a file that stays organized.
Behind on books

Records that need to be organized?

Describe how far behind the books are, what software you are currently using, and whether GST/HST filings are outstanding. Teplov CPA responds within one business day.

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