The CRA's SR & ED program can be very beneficial to Canadian companies, yet there are a lot of businesses who are not claiming it - in fact, the Canadian government estimates that only 50% of eligible companies actually claim SR & ED.
Below are the top ten reasons why companies should be claiming for the SR & ED program:
1. You don't normally get paid for failed attempts at products. The SR & ED program helps you cover costs that are incurred when projects don't go exactly how you want them to go. An SR & ED eligible project does not have to necessarily be a successful one, as long as you have proof that you have somehow increased your technical knowledge.
2. The money you receive can help you support continual growth. Whether it is adding new equipment or new employees, the money that you receive from the SR & ED program can help you finance ways that will help grow your company.
3. The program gives you an incentive to accept projects where you don't know how easy it will be to complete. It can be risky to take on certain projects especially if you don't know the likelihood of completing it to your (and the clients') satisfaction. Knowing that you can get money back from the SR & ED program for projects that take more work than expected, or you find aren't even possible to complete, can definitely make it look more worthwhile to take on projects that you can't easily complete.
4. It can help to get some money back to keep your business afloat while you build sales and become profitable again. In tough economic times like these, the money you receive can help keep bankruptcy at bay.
5. It can help you refocus on different sectors of industry. A lot of companies are finding that the area they've always focused on can no longer be their sole area of expertise. Refocusing your company will cause you to run into obstacles that you may not initially know how to solve, and the work you do to solve these obstacles is eligible for the SR & ED program.
6. You can increase your competitiveness both on a national and global level. In an economy where you not only have to compete with the people down the road from you, but also with companies around the world, anything you can do to stay ahead of the competition will be of great benefit to you. The money that you receive from the SR & ED program can help you remain competitive.
7. You can get reimbursed for money that was already spent. Let's face it, material costs, labour costs and equipment costs can add up to quite a lot of money. If you can recover part of it, it will definitely help out your bottom line.
8. The CRA actually wants to give you money. How often does it happen that the CRA actually wants to give you money? Doesn't it make sense to take advantage of it if they want to help you out?
9. Your competition is probably already claiming for it, and you don't want them to have an edge over you. According to the CRA, there are more than 18,000 companies claiming SR & ED each year. Chances are that your competition are already claiming, or will be at some point soon. The money that they get back from the SR & ED program could help them grow their company and become more competitive than you.
10. You're already doing R & D anyway. Even if you may not realize it, chances are that you are already doing some sort of R & D work you just may see it as an every day activity. Why not take advantage of a program that rewards what you do on a day-to-day basis?
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
