Most SR&ED claims fail due to poor documentation.
Successful SR&ED claims require proper documentation, expense support, and accurate CRA filing not just innovation. Wefinx connects technical work, payroll, costs, and tax filing into one defensible claim.
SR&ED TAX CREDIT SUPPORT
Most SR&ED problems are documentation problems long before they become tax problems.
Many businesses perform eligible SR&ED work without realizing it. Others assume they qualify but cannot support the claim when CRA asks. Time tracking is incomplete. Development work was never documented contemporaneously. Contractor costs are unsupported. Payroll records do not reconcile to the claim.
At that point it is no longer an innovation question. It is an evidence problem.
A large claim unsupported by documentation is usually far more dangerous than a smaller claim prepared properly. Wefinx connects the technical, financial, accounting, and tax sides of the claim so the filing is structured correctly from the start.
Identify Eligible Work
Strong Documentation
Accurate Claim Preparation
CRA Ready Support
Most SR&ED problems are documentation problems long before they become tax problems.
Many businesses perform eligible SR&ED work without realizing it. Others assume they qualify but cannot support the claim when CRA asks. Time tracking is incomplete. Development work was never documented contemporaneously. Contractor costs are unsupported. Payroll records do not reconcile to the claim.
At that point it is no longer an innovation question. It is an evidence problem.
A large claim unsupported by documentation is usually far more dangerous than a smaller claim prepared properly. Wefinx connects the technical, financial, accounting, and tax sides of the claim so the filing is structured correctly from the start.
What SR&ED Tax Credit Support Looks Like Inside Your Business
These are the areas a Wefinx SR&ED engagement manages to support accurate, defensible claims.
CRA evaluates claims against five questions: Was there scientific or technological uncertainty? Did the work advance scientific or technological knowledge? Was there a systematic investigation? Was the work in a field of science or technology? Was it performed in Canada? We review projects, development activities, and process improvements against these criteria before resources are committed to preparing a claim that may not hold up.
What changes: Eligible SR&ED activities are identified properly before a claim is prepared rather than after CRA questions it.
CRA expects technical narratives filed on Form T661 explaining the uncertainty faced, work performed, experimentation process, and advancement achieved. Narratives written after the fact or at a high level of generality consistently underperform in review. We structure contemporaneous documentation, development records, testing evidence, and project support so the claim reflects the actual work and can be defended specifically.
What changes: The technical side of the claim is structured, supportable, and aligned with CRA expectations before filing.
CCPCs can claim a 35% refundable federal credit on the first $3 million of eligible expenditures and 15% non-refundable beyond that. Non-CCPCs receive 15% non-refundable credits. Recent federal changes expanded the enhanced refundable expenditure limit and restored capital expenditures as eligible SR&ED costs, significantly increasing recovery potential for qualifying businesses. Eligible salaries, subcontractor costs, materials, cloud computing expenses, and overhead allocations all need to be identified, classified, and traced back to accounting records and the T2 filing. We also assess whether the traditional or proxy method produces the strongest and most supportable claim structure based on the nature of the expenditures and available documentation.
What changes: Financial support for the claim is organized, traceable, and defensible against CRA review.
Labor expenditures are typically the largest component of an SR&ED claim and the most frequently challenged. Employee time allocation, project involvement, and eligible salary calculations need to be supported by records maintained during the work, not reconstructed months after fiscal year-end. We help establish tracking processes that produce supportable labour documentation from the outset.
What changes: Labour expenditures are supportable rather than approximated.
A claim inconsistent with the T2 or financial records creates questions that would otherwise not exist. We coordinate the technical claim, financial schedules, and T2 filing together so the claim integrates properly into the broader tax position rather than sitting alongside it in a way that invites scrutiny.
What changes: The claim is coordinated with accounting and tax reporting rather than filed in isolation.
SR&ED claims are frequently selected for CRA technical or financial review, and review rates have increased as CRA has added reviewers and raised documentation standards. We manage documentation requests, support schedules, technical clarification, and communication throughout the process.
What changes: CRA reviews are managed and structured rather than reactive and disruptive.
Built for Canadian Businesses Performing Technical
or Process Development Work
Developing software platforms, internal systems, automation tools, integrations, or infrastructure improvements involving uncertainty and systematic experimentation rather than routine development.
Improving production methods, engineering processes, equipment performance, or operational efficiency through systematic technical development.
Owners who believe they may qualify but need guidance on eligibility, contemporaneous documentation, and preparing a defensible T661 the first time.
Claims under CRA review or prior claims prepared by other firms that need to be defended, rebuilt, or supported through the response process.
SR&ED claims are only as strong as the records supporting them.
Payroll records, contractor payments, project costing, financial statements, and T2 filings all support the claim directly. Businesses with current books, organized documentation, and structured reporting are significantly better positioned during CRA review than those rebuilding support after filing.
What Our Clients Are Saying
Real feedback from real business owners. We let the work speak.
Services That Work Alongside This
SR&ED expenditures, accruals, payroll allocations, and project costs need to flow properly through accounting records and financial statements before the claim is filed.
SR&ED claims integrate directly into corporate tax filing, broader tax planning, and long-term cash flow planning. The claim and T2 filing need to be prepared together properly.
Employee payroll records, salary allocations, and labor support are typically the most significant component of an SR&ED claim and the most frequently reviewed by CRA.
A strong SR&ED claim is built long before the filing deadline arrives
Every Wefinx SR&ED engagement starts with a structured review of your projects, financial records, payroll support, and documentation process before the claim is prepared.
30-minute discovery call is all it takes.
Questions About SR&ED Tax Credit Services
SR&ED is Canada’s largest federal tax incentive program. CCPCs receive a 35% refundable federal credit on the first $3 million of eligible expenditures and 15% non-refundable beyond that. Non-CCPCs receive 15% non-refundable credits. Provincial credits range from 4.5 to 30% on top of federal amounts. The 2025 federal budget doubled the expenditure limit and restored capital expenditures as eligible costs, expanding what businesses can recover.
SR&ED applies across many industries beyond technology. Software development, manufacturing process improvements, engineering work, automation projects, and technical experimentation may all qualify if they involve technological uncertainty and systematic investigation. The work does not need to occur in a laboratory. It can happen on a shop floor, in a software environment, or anywhere genuine technical uncertainty is being resolved systematically.
SR&ED applies across many industries beyond technology. Software development, manufacturing process improvements, engineering work, automation projects, and technical experimentation may all qualify if they involve technological uncertainty and systematic investigation. Eligible SR&ED work does not need to occur in a laboratory. It can happen in software development environments, manufacturing facilities, engineering operations, or anywhere systematic technical uncertainty is being resolved.
Contemporaneous records are documentation created during development, not reconstructed afterward. Testing notes, project logs, development documentation, version history, and internal records all qualify. CRA places significant weight on records created in real time because they demonstrate systematic investigation actually occurred. Most claims reduced or denied in review are challenged on documentation rather than technical eligibility.
Recent federal changes doubled the eligible expenditure limit for the enhanced 35% refundable credit and restored capital expenditures as eligible costs, allowing businesses to claim credits on equipment used directly in SR&ED work. These changes meaningfully expand recovery potential and make it worth reassessing prior claims filed under the old rules.
Yes. We manage documentation requests, support schedules, technical clarification, and communication throughout CRA reviews. For claims under review or reduced by CRA, we support the response and appeal process. The best outcome in a CRA review comes from having organized, accurate documentation ready before the request arrives rather than assembling it under deadline pressure.