There are a number of benefits to utilizing a consultant to assist you with your tax credit filings
Benefits of utilizing an external consultant
- Consultants can minimize the amount of valuable time your company spends on developing a SR&ED claim. Typically, only 4-8 hours of a company’s time is usually required by a consultant for small claims.
- A consultant intimately understands claim eligibility criteria, enabling a focus of effort on worthwhile activities and the ability to find eligibility opportunities that may be otherwise overlooked. Quite often, the incremental client claim recovery from overlooked projects exceeds total consultancy fees.
- An experienced consultant will prepares technical reports using the format and terminology required by the Canada Revenue Agency, and can prevent errors which increase the risk of audit.
- Consultants have experience in dealing with government audits; should an audit occur, a consultant will provide training, coaching, and support during the audit, helping you maximize the approved claim value.
- A consultant can provide training, coaching on eligibility, and assistance to deploy or improve your documentation systems, helping to improve claim credibility.
- By understanding your development and other strategic objectives as part of the partnership, TSI’s consultants can help identify opportunities for funding via other grant programs for activities like training, hiring, exporting, and more.
If you elect to utilize a consultant, there are a number of key questions that should be asked to ensure you are receiving qualified support:
Key questions to ask an external consultant
- What are the credentials and experience of the technical and financial staff that will be working on your claim?
- Is the technical consultant a specialist in your industry or field of technology, or a generalist who may not know the key questions to ask?
- Does the consultant provide audit/review support as part of their services? Without this valuable support, you risk substantial reductions in your claim values if you are not prepared for the audit.
- With a consultant who carries errors & omissions insurance, like most professional organizations, you can rest easy that your filed claim is protected.
- Does your consultant investigate other government grant and tax credit programs which may benefit your company?
- Ensure you ask for references from a potential consultant. Delighted clients are the best way to validate a consultant’s professionalism, attentiveness, and bottom-line results.
With TSI, you can rest assured that have all the “checks in the box” and are working with a top-notch professional services organization. Find out more about what differentiates TSI from other consultants.
