7 Benefits of a senior SR&ED consultant
Thinking about preparing your SR & ED claim without using a consultant ? Here are seven good reasons to seek skilled professional help before putting your claim at risk. What we are talking about is to seek help of senior consultants experienced in R & D, and not of green technical writers.
1 Save your time
You have better things to do than to prepare R & D forms. You and your employees are focused on customer satisfaction and the development of your technologies. Documenting your SR & ED and filing your claim is an additional task outside of your main objectives and motivations. It’s easy to “forget” it, to postpone it or make it a little fast.
2 Benefit from highly motivated specialists
A consultant is centered on obtaining credits. He knows what it takes to get them and how to do it effectively. He knows the schedule and if you do not get credit, it will not be paid. SR & ED is central to his motivation.
3 Maximize your claim while minimizing efforts
The experienced consultant can identify all eligible costs while avoiding the pitfalls that attract a detailed CRA audit of your claim.
Partagez ce Tweet SVP4 Understand the disconnect between the CRA management and it’s base
We often met with CRA officials about the update of the SR &ED program. We also know many Deputy Directors, they are responsible for implementing the program in their area. We have absolutely not doubt about their good intentions. Some of their definitions could indeed bring the program back to the “incentive” one it was earlier in the millennium. But the reality of audit meetings is that in practice the program has evolved into a compliance and audit program, rather than a program to take technological risks. This is probably related to the internal environment of the CRA, particularly in the context of budget cuts of recent years. This dissonance is impossible to follow without being in the daily reality of the program.
5 Adapt to changes in the requirements
Also, despite numerous attempts by the CRA to improve the program, it is harder than ever to claim and to have a good degree of certainty of the results. As the CRA attempts to simplify the SR & ED program there is more confusion between the RTA, even within some of CRA offices (TSO). It takes longer to complete audits, to review objections, to react to more letters to the Minister, MPs etc. A good consultant knows how to distinguish reality between what is written on the website of the CRA and what is happening on the ground, he depends on it.
6 Provide evidence, and understand what is acceptable
Several claimants whose claims are selected for audit encounter enormous difficulties in providing the supporting documentation. The CRA requires contemporaneous documentation, but without defining what it considers adequate documentation. An experienced consultant can identify issues or challenge the documentation during the year. He can provide feedback and take corrective action before the audit – often saving hours of frustration and thousands of dollars in costs cuts.
7 Build a sound SR&ED documentation
Finally, skilled consultants are best positionned to implement and follow-up on a contemporary documentation process that will be acceptable by the CRA. It is not enough anymore to write the report by year’s end. It is not enough either to pick up some documents here and there. The CRA now expects a systematic process that few employees really want to update.
Conclusion
In conclusion, experienced consultants are required to prepare a SR & ED claim. Self-preparation of your claim exposes you to risks that you will only measure on the day of the audit.
And you what do you think ? What are your experiences of self-preparation of your claims? Have you been audited for these claims? Do you have any recommendations to share?
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