Free Money for Your Tech Build

Written by Rea Hailley, CEO and Co-Founder

No repayment. No equity. Most business owners who qualify never apply, because nobody told them they could.

These are Canadian programs for Canadian companies.

SR&ED Tax Credits

Run by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Claimed on your corporate tax return. Your project does not have to succeed to qualify. What counts is that you genuinely tried to solve a technical problem.

• 35% back for Canadian-controlled private corporations
• The 35% rate applies to your first $6 million in eligible spending, which covers nearly every project we build
• Pre-revenue companies are eligible
• 18 months from fiscal year end to file. Miss it and it's gone
• Work must be done in Canada to qualify
• Reduces tax payable or results in a refund
• We connect our clients with vetted SR&ED consultants who work on contingency. You pay nothing until your refund is secured

What qualifies

Building on top of existing software can qualify. The CRA specifically includes incremental improvements to existing products under experimental development. You are not disqualified because something similar already exists.

• Experimental development: testing whether a technical approach will work when you genuinely do not know if it will
• Applied research: advancing knowledge with a practical application in mind
• Programming, testing, and data collection that directly support the above

What is technological uncertainty?

It means you did not know at the start whether your approach would work. Not "we were not sure which tool to use." More like: we did not know if this was technically possible at all, and we had to experiment to find out.

What does not qualify

• Building with existing, well-understood technology the same way it has always been used
• Market research or user preference testing
• Routine quality control or testing
• Training your team
• Work done outside Canada

The one question that decides everything: are you solving a problem where the technical answer is genuinely unknown? Or are you implementing something that has been done before? SR&ED is for the first one only.

What to document

The CRA does not just want to know what you built. They want to know what you were trying to solve, what you tried, and what you learned. Start keeping records from day one. Not at tax time.

• The technical problem you defined at the start
• Your hypothesis for how to solve it
• What you tested and what the results were
• What you concluded, even if that conclusion was "that approach does not work"
• Who worked on what and when: timesheets, invoices, and payment records for employees and contractors
• Meeting notes, design documents, test logs

A failed experiment with thorough documentation qualifies. A successful product with no paper trail does not. We keep and provide technical records throughout every build, so our clients have everything they need to support a SR&ED claim.

How this works when you build with us

80% of what you pay us counts as eligible SR&ED spending, and the 35% credit applies to that amount. For example, on a $100,000 project, $80,000 is eligible, which means you can get $28,000 back. Our development is done in Canada, so your build stays eligible.

Real client story

One business owner paid $28,000 to build her MVP. She received $10,000 in non-dilutive funding through Alberta Innovates first. She is now applying SR&ED credits to recover a portion of what she paid out of pocket. One build. Multiple layers of funding working together.

IRAP Grants

Cash, not a tax credit. Run by the National Research Council of Canada. One phone call to find out if you qualify. Call 1-877-994-4727 to start. It's free.

• Incorporated Canadian companies with 500 or fewer employees
• Pre-revenue companies are eligible
• Commercialization intent required, real product, real plan

What it is for: companies actively doing technical R&D with a real plan to bring something to market. Not research for research's sake. You need to demonstrate credible commercial intent.

Stacking IRAP and SR&ED: you can use both programs for the same project. But IRAP money you receive reduces your SR&ED eligible spending dollar for dollar. We connect our clients with vetted funding experts who plan this properly.

Funding By Province

Two Things to Sort Out Before You Apply

Your IP has to be yours.

To claim SR&ED or receive IRAP funding, the work and the code must legally belong to you. Not your developer. Not your agency. When you build with us, this is never an issue: you own 100% of your code from day one. Most contracts are not written to protect the business owner. Read our IP Protection guide before you sign anything. Free. No email required.

Grants are reimbursement-based.

You spend first. You apply. Then you wait. Then you get some back. This is not a way to fund a project from zero. It is a way to recover a meaningful portion of money you were going to spend anyway. Our Tech Innovation Roadmap covers every option with real numbers.

Programs change. Verify current terms before planning around them. These layer on top of federal programs. Apply separately for each. Most are reimbursement-based and require a cash contribution from you first.

Building in Canada keeps your project eligible.

You have something to build and a budget to protect. Book a call to talk about your project. Funding is one of the ways we help you save money, and we connect you with vetted funding experts when it applies.

No pitch. No pressure. Just smart advice.