R&D Human Capital and SR&ED: What Really Counts
R&D human capital is the people, technical skills, and expertise a company uses to develop new or improved technologies — engineers, developers, scientists, and technicians. Labour is often the largest cost in R&D, and it's central to SR&ED eligibility.
Building a Productive R&D Team
Productive teams need clear objectives, technical expertise, and time to investigate real uncertainties. Best practices:
- Define clear technical objectives per project
- Track experiments and development iterations
- Share technical knowledge across teams
- Document decisions and results as work happens
What Qualifies for SR&ED
Having an R&D job title doesn't make a salary eligible — the nature of the work does. Potentially eligible work includes:
- Investigating technological uncertainties
- Designing and conducting experiments
- Testing prototypes and analyzing results
- Attempting to overcome technological obstacles
Routine development, standard testing, and regular engineering work don't qualify.
Why Documentation Is Non-Negotiable
Strong records should answer four questions: What problem were we solving? What uncertainty did we face? What did we do to investigate it? What did we learn? Keeping notes, logs, and time records throughout the project beats reconstructing everything at claim time.
The Bottom Line
R&D human capital isn't just a cost — it's a strategic asset. Connecting skilled people, clear processes, and solid documentation makes it easier to innovate and to claim the SR&ED credits that work is eligible for.