Recovered $697,569 Through Accounting and Sales Tax Review
Overview
Etlas Freight is a transportation and logistics company operating across Canada and the United States, with operations in Windsor, Ontario, Detroit, Michigan, and North Carolina. The company runs roughly 40 tractor trailers while handling cross border transportation services, intercompany operations, and multi entity accounting. That’s a lot of moving parts, and the systems behind them couldn’t keep up.
As an accounting first firm that also implements and supports Odoo, M7 Group was built to handle exactly this kind of challenge: complex cross border books sitting on top of systems that weren’t talking to each other.
Before working with M7, the company relied on a patchwork of disconnected systems and applications, including Sage 50, spreadsheets, and manual workflows. Because none of it was properly integrated, management was left with operational and financial blind spots.
- No clear AR and AP picture: limited visibility into Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable.
- Intercompany complexity: ongoing intercompany accounting issues across entities.
- Cross border friction: the added complexity of transactions moving between Canada and the U.S.
- Disconnected workflows: operational and accounting processes that lived in separate places.
- Heavy manual workload: a significant manual bookkeeping burden draining time.
- Unreliable data: missing and inaccurate financial information.
- Accumulated errors: historical bookkeeping inconsistencies built up over years.
- Sales tax exposure: reporting challenges spread across multiple jurisdictions.
M7 conducted a detailed review of the accounting structure and surfaced multiple bookkeeping and operational errors that had piled up over several years. One of the most critical findings involved cross border transportation sales tax treatment. Because many transportation services qualified as zero rated cross border transactions, significant Input Tax Credits (ITCs) and sales tax recovery opportunities had never been properly captured.
M7 Solution
M7 recommended moving the organization off Sage 50 and onto Odoo to centralize operations, accounting, and cross border financial management in a single integrated ERP platform. Unlike many accounting systems, Odoo let the business manage both Canadian and U.S. operations inside one unified environment with far better operational visibility.
Full Accounting and Bookkeeping Review
We reviewed the entire accounting and bookkeeping environment to understand exactly where the records had broken down and what needed correcting.
Historical Reconciliation Cleanup
We cleaned up years of accumulated reconciliation issues, bringing the historical records back to an accurate and trustworthy state.
Cross Border Sales Tax Analysis
We analyzed the company’s cross border transactions, correctly identified zero rated services, and captured the Input Tax Credits and recovery opportunities that had been missed.
Intercompany and AR/AP Restructuring
We reviewed intercompany transactions and restructured Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable so balances and relationships between entities finally made sense.
Odoo Implementation and Workflow Optimization
We implemented Odoo, set up operations on the new platform, and optimized the ERP workflows so the business could run accounting and operations together rather than in silos.
CRA Audit Support and Ongoing Advisory
We provided CRA audit assistance and support throughout the process, and we continue to provide ongoing accounting and operational advisory as the business grows.
Results
After implementing Odoo and restructuring the accounting environment, the difference was clear across the business.
- $697,569 recovered through detailed cross border sales tax analysis, accounting review, and CRA audit assistance.
- Significantly improved financial visibility across the organization.
- Easier cross border operations under one unified system.
- More organized intercompany accounting between entities.
- More reliable operational reporting management could trust.
- Reduced manual bookkeeping workload freeing up the team.
- Stronger AR and AP visibility with corrected historical records.
M7 worked directly with the client throughout the CRA audit process and successfully supported the recovery outcome.
Capability
Capability
Proven
Cross border accounting
YES
US and Canada operations
YES
Transportation industry
YES
Multi entity accounting
YES
Intercompany accounting
YES
CRA audit support
YES
ERP migration
YES
Sales tax recovery
YES
Operational visibility
YES
By combining real accounting expertise with deep Odoo knowledge, M7 turned a tangle of disconnected systems and years of accumulated errors into a clean, unified ERP environment that handles both sides of the border. The headline result speaks for itself: $697,569 recovered through careful cross border sales tax analysis and CRA audit support. Beyond the recovery, Etlas walked away with accurate books, clearer visibility, and a scalable foundation it can grow on, backed by a partner who understands both the operations and the accounting behind them.
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