Catch-Up & Clean-Up Bookkeeping for Canadian small businesses
Months or years behind? Missed GST/HST, a shoebox of receipts, a letter from the CRA — we've seen it, and we don't judge it. We get your books accurate and current, then keep them that way, for one fixed price agreed after a free file review.
Signs you've fallen behind.
Unreconciled accounts
Bank and card accounts haven't been reconciled in months, and you're not sure the balances mean anything.
Late GST/HST
One or more sales-tax returns are unfiled, and the deadlines keep moving further behind you.
A letter from the CRA
A notice or a demand to file landed, and the pile only got harder to open. This is the moment to act, not avoid.
Personal and business, mixed
Everything runs through the same accounts, and nobody has untangled what belongs where.
No year-end package
Last year-end came and went without clean books; your accountant improvised, or simply waited.
You need clean books now
A loan, a grant, or a buyer's due diligence needs financials you don't currently have.
Catch-up, clean-up, or reconstruction?
They're not the same job, and the honest scope matters — it's the difference between a quick get-current and a full rebuild.
Catch-up. The books were kept, then stopped. We bring them current to today.
Clean-up. The books were kept but drifted — miscategorized entries, duplicates, a QuickBooks file that no longer matches reality. We fix and re-reconcile.
Reconstruction. Little or nothing was recorded. We rebuild from bank, credit-card, and loan statements.
Statements rebuild the numbers, but receipts still matter for claiming GST/HST input tax credits — and Canadian records must be kept six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to (canada.ca, checked August 2026). We'll tell you exactly what's defensible.
What a catch-up covers
- Every account reconciled, month by month, to the statement
- Transactions categorized, personal spending separated from business
- Prior GST/HST periods prepared and brought current
- Payroll and source-deduction records reconciled, if any
- Corrected profit-and-loss and balance sheet for each period
- A tax-ready package your accountant can file from
- A clean starting point so ongoing monthly books are right from day one
What it actually costs to stay behind.
Late books aren't just stressful — in Canada they compound, on a schedule. Here's the arithmetic most bookkeepers won't show you. General information, checked August 2026, not tax advice.
| If this is late | The late-filing penalty | On top of that |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate T2 return | 5% of the unpaid tax, plus 1% for each complete month late, up to 12 months | Interest, and steeper rates if you were penalized in a recent year |
| Personal T1 return | 5% of the balance owing, plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months | Higher again for repeat late filing |
| GST/HST return | 1% of the amount owing, plus a further 25% of that penalty per complete month, up to 12 months | Nothing if you owe $0 or are due a refund |
| Interest on overdue amounts | 7% per year for Q3 2026, compounded daily | Reset by the CRA every quarter |
Penalty and interest figures from the CRA — T2, T1, GST/HST, and the prescribed interest rate (canada.ca), checked August 2026; the rate is reset quarterly. Profitick is a bookkeeping practice — we get your records filing-ready and coordinate the year-end filing with a licensed CPA.
The pattern never changes: filing late costs far less than not filing at all, and both cost less today than they will next month. Getting current stops the clock.
Worried that surfacing this makes it worse?
Coming forward first is usually how it gets better. Canada's Voluntary Disclosures Program exists for exactly this situation.
The Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) lets you correct unfiled or inaccurate returns before the CRA contacts you about them. If your application is accepted, it can grant relief from penalties, relief from part of the interest, and relief from prosecution. The rules were updated on October 1, 2025 — simpler eligibility, plus an anonymous "pre-disclosure" conversation you can have before you give your name (canada.ca).
Profitick's principal is Anam Gul, a bookkeeper pursuing the CPB designation. We prepare the reconciled, documented books a disclosure needs and coordinate the filing with a licensed CPA we arrange — you work directly with her.
An accepted VDP can mean
- Relief from late-filing and other penalties
- Relief from part of the interest owing
- Relief from criminal prosecution
- An anonymous pre-disclosure talk before you are named
The VDP is case-by-case and time-sensitive; the eligibility rules changed October 1, 2025. We get your books in order and point you to the right route — the disclosure itself is completed by a licensed CPA.
From behind to current, step by step.
No judgment, just a plan
Free file review
Share read-only access or your statements. We assess how far behind you are and exactly what's missing, at no charge and with no judgment.
A fixed quote
One flat price for the whole catch-up, agreed before any work starts. Months or years, we scope it honestly, with no hourly meter running.
We catch you up
We reconcile every account, correct and categorize, separate personal from business, and prepare your prior GST/HST, period by period until you're current.
Filed, and kept current
You get a tax-ready package; we coordinate year-end and GST filing with a licensed CPA, then roll you onto flat monthly bookkeeping so it never happens again.
What catch-up bookkeeping costs.
Every catch-up is quoted as one fixed project after the free review — but you shouldn't have to guess at the range. Here's roughly what Canadian small businesses pay, by how far behind they are.
| How far behind | Typical fixed-project range |
|---|---|
| Up to 6 months | $500 – $2,000 |
| 6 to 12 months | $1,500 – $5,000 |
| 1 to 2 years | $3,000 – $10,000 |
| 3+ years, or reconstruction | Quoted after a free file review |
Ranges reflect published Canadian catch-up pricing; your quote depends on transaction volume, how many filings were missed, and the state of your records. Once you're current, ongoing bookkeeping is a flat monthly fee from $200 — full breakdown on the pricing page. Behind specifically on sales tax? See HST filing.
Behind, answered.
How far back can you catch up my books?
Do I need all my receipts to catch up?
How much does catch-up bookkeeping cost?
I have not filed corporate taxes or GST in years. Can you help?
Will catching up trigger a CRA audit?
How long does a catch-up take?
Do I have to switch accounting software?
What happens after I am caught up?
Let's get you current.
Book a free file review and get a fixed quote within one business day. No judgment, no obligation.
Get a free file review