Benefits of Using an SR&ED Consulting Firm vs. Filing In-House
By admin
Published On August 2, 2018
In theory, the Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Credit guidelines provide everything you need to know to make a claim and your staff know your business better than anyone, so why engage a consultant firm?
Firstly they specialize in this and for many – like Braithwaite – it is all they do, so they effectively live and breathe the terminology that Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recognize. This has the advantage that the consultant can discuss it with your staff in layman’s terms and that they can, in turn, explain your technology to CRA in terms they will understand. To aid in this Braithwaite employs technical consultants who have previously worked in the industry and can understand technical conversations.
Secondly, they work across a broad sector of industries and by doing this they have a breadth of knowledge of what has been claimed by other companies both in terms of technological content and finances, which they can bring to your claim.
Thirdly they bring fresh eyes to your claims. Your company may have an R&D or new product development (NPD) department and your claims may have been focused solely on this department’s activities. Consultant firms broaden the horizon by considering a company as a whole and may possibly identify activities in production, packaging, or tendering that might be eligible. Remember the scope of this scheme is very broad. Additionally those fresh eyes – alongside experience of SR&ED claim preparation – can help identify methods for your company to monitor R&D in real-time going forward.
Fourthly audits are necessary to ensure the scheme is fairly applied. Consultant firms offer the service to support companies through this process and every time they attend an audit, they gain experience of what CRA’s concerns are and they can then impart this knowledge to other companies when helping them prepare claims.
Fifthly your company’s primary objective is to make money and diverting your staff’s time to prepare a tax credit claim takes time away from this objective. At Braithwaite, we aim to minimize the disruption to your staff and help install processes to make the claim process as easy as possible.
Braithwaite welcomes the opportunity to discuss any further questions you may have with the SR&ED Tax Credit. Contact the experts for your next claim!
