SRED flat fees are changing the way Canadian innovators access the program. For too long, percentage-based consulting has drained refunds that should fuel R&D. It’s time for something different.
A contingency fee is a percentage of your SR&ED refund, so the fee rises as the claim grows. A flat fee is a fixed price agreed before the work starts, so the fee stays the same whatever the refund.
For more on how these models compare, see SR&ED consultant fees in Canada.
For years, the “standard” SR&ED pricing model has been simple on the surface: consultants take a percentage of your refund. But over time, this becomes a drag on innovation.
Take a company claiming $200K in SR&ED every year. At 15%, you’ll pay $150K in consulting fees over five years. That’s money meant for R&D being siphoned off year after year. Many entrepreneurs have come to see this as the “SR&ED tax.”
We’ve always believed transparency is the foundation of trust. That’s why SRED.ca was the first SR&ED firm in Canada to publicly post our pricing. Now, we’ve gone further with a SRED flat fee model no one else in the country is offering:
You can pay monthly or all at once – that’s entirely up to you. And unlike contingency fees, our rates don’t rise as your claim grows. That same $200K claim over five years? With SRED.ca, you’ll pay $75K in total.
The key takeaway: tiered percentages still penalize success. Even with lower rates at higher claim levels, costs balloon over time. With SRED.ca’s flat fees, entrepreneurs know exactly what they’ll pay, whether their claim is $200K or even over a million!
Flat fees aren’t just about paying less. They change the whole relationship between consultant and client.
Audits are stressful, but they don’t have to be. Here’s how SRED.ca helps:
That’s real protection, built to give entrepreneurs confidence, not fear.
Canada’s economy is in a tough spot. Growth has been stagnant, and entrepreneurs are carrying the cost and risk of R&D. The last thing they need is consultants charging more simply because claims get bigger.
What’s needed now is a model that respects the effort founders put into innovation, keeps more capital in their hands, and makes SR&ED a tool for growth rather than a drain. Flat fees and clear expectations aren’t just pricing changes – they’re a shift in how this industry supports entrepreneurs.
The SR&ED flat-fee model means you pay a fixed, transparent cost for claim preparation instead of a percentage of your refund. At SRED.ca, this ensures your consulting fees stay predictable, no matter how large your claim grows.
With percentage models, consultants earn more as your refund increases. Over several years, this adds up to a significant cost – often hundreds of thousands of dollars. Flat fees prevent this “SR&ED tax,” keeping more capital in your business for R&D.
We build claims with audit readiness in mind, giving founders confidence if CRA reviews their filing. If you want us by your side, full audit support is available for a flat $15K. Plus, if CRA cuts your claim below 75%, we waive both the audit fee and our consulting fee.
Do you have a SRED question? Planning for the future or perhaps you want to know how much your claim might be? Don’t worry, our CPA is always ready to answer any question. Get a SRED expert in your corner.
Have a question? We’d love to help. If you don’t have a SR&ED expert in your corner, doesn’t it make sense to have one?
