Choose an SR&ED adviser in Canada by comparing who owns the technical and cost work, how each written quote calculates the fee, and what CRA review support and file handover the contract includes. None of the advisers reviewed publishes a comparable rate, so ask each candidate for a written quote and scope.[1][4][5][6] 
Choose the engagement model first
Technical narratives and eligible-expenditure calculations are the principal claim-preparation challenges identified in Chrono’s comparison.[7] The right service model depends on which capabilities are available internally.
- Turnkey preparation: Consider full outsourcing when technical or financial expertise—or staff time—is unavailable. Documented offerings include interviews, narratives, expenditure schedules and submission support.[1][4][7]
- Hourly assistance or training: Targeted help may suit a team able to own the claim file but needing technical, financial or documentation support. Training is also available for businesses developing an internal process.[4][7]
- Pre-file review or second opinion: These services are available when a claim is substantially prepared but needs an independent review.[4][5][7]
- Refund financing: Treat financing as a separate liquidity purchase. Venbridge is described as offering lump sums, quarterly disbursements or draws, with interest charged on amounts used; ask for its rates and underwriting terms in writing.[7]
Compare advisers on three deciding factors
G6 Consulting
- Ownership of technical and cost work: G6 says its in-house process covers project interviews, the technical write-up, payroll, subcontractor and material information, tax paperwork, accountant coordination and submission.[1]
- Fee disclosure: G6 advertises no-win/no-fee pricing, payable after approval and payout. Ask for the percentage, minimum fee, taxes and disbursements in writing.[1]
- CRA support and file handover: Audit defence and post-submission administration are advertised; agree the contents and delivery date of the claim file in the contract.[1]
SR&ED Education and Resources
- Ownership of technical and cost work: Services include project identification, interviews, narratives, expense collection and tax schedules, along with limited assistance and staff training.[4]
- Fee disclosure: Quote required; the page publishes no contingency percentage or hourly rate.[4]
- CRA support and file handover: Review support is described; ask whether escalation, objection representation and a handover package are included.[4]
Emergex
- Ownership of technical and cost work: Emergex advertises end-to-end services from multidisciplinary technical and tax staff; ask who would write each narrative and calculate each claim.[5]
- Fee disclosure: Emergex advertises a free consultation and technology and financial workshops at no additional charge; its core fees require a quote.[5]
- CRA support and file handover: Audit, escalation and negotiation support are advertised; confirm the limits of post-filing work in the contract.[5]
Schwartz Levitsky Feldman LLP (SLF)
- Ownership of technical and cost work: SLF describes claim administration and related tax-planning advice; ask who prepares narratives and expenditure calculations.[6]
- Fee disclosure: Quote required.[6]
- CRA support and file handover: Ask whether review defence, escalation and file transfer are included.[6]
G6 presents its service as a hands-off model for businesses in several Canadian industries, including companies with complex or cross-border needs supported by accounting and legal partners.[1] SR&ED Education and Resources offers a choice among full preparation, targeted help, training and final review.[4] Emergex also advertises tax-credit and grant assistance beyond SR&ED.[5] SLF positions its service for businesses seeking accounting-firm-led claim administration and tax advice.[6]
Treat these public descriptions as screening information rather than complete proposals; contract length, cancellation rights and liability limits are not published on the pages reviewed.[1][4][5][6]
Assign the technical and cost work
G6 describes an SR&ED application as a technical write-up paired with tax forms allocating expenditures; its process includes interviews and collection of payroll, subcontractor and material information.[1] A proposal should identify who will:
- conduct interviews with project personnel;
- draft, fact-check and revise each technical narrative;
- prepare expenditure schedules and reconcile figures to company records;
- coordinate final figures with the company’s accountant; and
- review the completed technical and financial work before submission.
For each role, confirm whether the work will be performed by an employee or subcontractor. Bond’s procurement checklist recommends examining the adviser’s methodology, use of in-house or subcontracted writers, and responsibility for writing and calculating the claim.[3]
The proposal should also list the records the business must supply, the person responsible and the required format. Confirm whether evidence-development and documentation guidance are deliverables: Bond identifies both as matters buyers should resolve.[3] CRA’s filing policy says that, during a review, CRA may request additional information for clarification and confirmation even when a claim has met the filing requirements, so keep the supporting records organised by project.[8]
Check official claim-preparer disclosure
CRA’s filing policy requires Form T661 Part 9 information for each claim preparer that has accepted consideration to prepare or assist with the claim, including the billing arrangement.[8] Key points for the engagement:
- a $1,000 penalty may be assessed if the claim-preparer or billing-arrangement information is missing, incomplete or inaccurate;[8]
- where a claim preparer helped prepare the form, the claimant and the preparer are jointly and severally liable for that penalty;[8]
- the claim itself is not disallowed only because Part 9 information is missing or wrong;[8]
- for corporations, the SR&ED reporting deadline is generally 18 months after the tax year end.[8]
Ask the adviser to state its billing arrangement in the form CRA requires, and check Part 9 against the signed engagement before filing. Completing Part 9 does not certify the adviser or determine project eligibility.[8]
Make fees and contract terms comparable
A pricing label does not reveal the total cost. G6 advertises payment after approval and payout, and its percentage and minimum charge require a quote.[1] In Chrono’s list of consultants, a firm named Canadian SR&ED (a private consultancy, not a government programme) is described as charging no upfront consulting fee and taking a percentage of the refund already received; ask any contingency-fee firm for the exact percentage and conditions in writing.[7]
Require every quote to address the same fields:
- Price calculation: Percentage or hourly rate, the amount to which a percentage applies, retainers, minimum fees, taxes, disbursements and charges for meetings, revisions, responses or travel.
- Payment trigger: Whether payment is due on filing, approval, receipt of funds or another event.
- Reassessment: Whether the quote says fees are refunded or adjusted if a claim is later reduced, and any conditions or exclusions.
- Contract lifecycle: Engagement length, exclusivity, renewal, termination rights, cancellation charges and responsibility for unfinished work.
- Risk and delivery: Liability caps, indemnities, confidentiality, privacy and security terms, and deadlines for drafts and responses.
Compare the proposed contract wording, not the headline pricing model.
Separate CRA review help from escalation
Ask candidates to price and assign responsibility for each stage separately:
- post-filing status checks and correspondence;
- information requests and drafted responses;
- preparation for and attendance at review meetings;
- organization of technical, expenditure and financial-statement evidence;
- responses to proposed adjustments and negotiations;
- further administrative review and a Notice of Objection; and
- court-level work or transition to separate representation.
For each stage, the contract should identify the lead, included hours or responses, additional charges and whether the original technical and financial preparers stay involved. Bond recommends confirming audit representation, evidence services, financial-statement review, Second Administrative Review and Notice of Objection capability, as well as qualifications for Tax Court work.[3]
Emergex advertises audit, escalation and negotiation support.[5] G6 advertises audit defence and post-claim administration.[1] Ask both for included hours, exclusions, escalation charges and representative qualifications.[1][5]
A vendor’s description of review timing should not define the engagement. CRA’s filing policy says it may request additional information during review even when filing requirements have been met. Require the adviser to identify the filing, response and escalation deadlines for the actual case.[8]
Require a usable claim-file handover
Define the handover package in the request for proposal and engagement agreement; the provider pages describe preparation and review services but not the file you receive at the end.[1][4][5][6]
- Claim record: Final narratives, expenditure schedules, calculation workbooks, submitted forms, evidence index, source-document list, assumptions, CRA correspondence, responses and version history.
- File format: Readable copies and editable source files, with an agreed storage location and delivery date.
- Use rights: Contract wording addressing the company’s ability to retain and use the materials for administration, reviews and a transition to another adviser.
- Closeout: A review of evidence gaps, calculation assumptions, outstanding correspondence and follow-up assigned to company staff.
Bond’s guidance supports examining evidence and documentation services when choosing an adviser.[3]
Complete the contract check
- Send candidates the same scope. Ask who prepares the narratives and calculations, whether work is subcontracted, what company staff must provide and who handles each CRA stage.[3]
- Compare four items separately. Assess preparation ownership, fee certainty, CRA-stage coverage and file portability.
- Resolve every blank. Obtain written terms for minimum charges, taxes, disbursements, included review work, objections, cancellation, reassessment-related fee adjustments and liability limits.
- Verify the assigned team. Confirm personnel, experience, communication arrangements and references, since no independent comparison of adviser performance was found.
- Put the decision in the contract. The responsibility matrix, complete fee schedule, CRA-support boundaries and handover package should appear in the proposal, statement of work or engagement agreement.
References
- SR&ED Consultant | Canada's R&D Tax Credit Experts | G6 Consulting (g6consulting.ca)
- How to hire an SR&ED Consultant? | Bond Consulting Group INC (bondconsulting.ca)
- SR&ED Education and Resources – SR&ED Consulting and Training (sreducation.ca)
- Emergex SR&ED Consultants (emergex.com)
- SR&ED Consulting – Schwartz Levitsky Feldman LLP Toronto (slf.ca)
- 13 SR&ED Tax Credit Consultants in Canada | Chrono (chronoinnovation.com)
- CRA: SR&ED Filing Requirements Policy (canada.ca)
