Your business success hasn’t been based on doing what your competition does, but if they are utilizing SRED financing to grow their business doesn’t it make sense to investigate why cra SRED claims, when financed, might put you a step ahead of the competition?We think so, and if the Scientific Research and Experiment Development Program, (aka ” SR& ed ) pours billions of dollars into Canadian company coffers every year why wouldn’t you want to accelerate the access to cash for those claims and maintain your own competitive posture in your industry.The financing of you SRED claim, via what we could call a SRED bridge loan is a recognized and solid manner in which to recover working capital faster. The very essence of having a SRED claim filed of course means you will recover your funds, but doesn’t it make sense to recover them sooner, putting cash flow and working capital back to work for your company.In business it’s all about timing, and in case you haven’t noticed things aren’t exactly moving slower in Canadian business today. So is it an advantage to get immediate cash for your SRED claim instead of waiting several months, in some cases up to 9 or 12 months for your funds? You probably don’t need exactly cash flow these days – therefore we strongly recommend waiting for your cheque from the feds, it’s ‘ in the mail ‘ so to speak. However, if you’re among the many clients that we meet that could actually use additional cash flow today, then you should be considering financing your claim.What are the mechanics of having your claim financed, ask client such as yourselves? To say that SR&ED financing is a niche industry requiring knowledge and expertise is a bit of an understatement. That is why we strongly suggest you work with a trusted, credible and experience d business financing advisor who will walk you through a very basic process.SRED financing will, 9 times out of ten, get you approximately 70% of your total SR&ED filing as a cash flow bridge loan. Why 70%. It is simply because the remaining 30%, which of course still belongs to you, is held back as a buffer to cover both any adjustments the good folks in Ottawa might make to your claim, and it also helps to cover off the actual financing charges. However, it’s easy to see that if you have a claim, for example, of 300k that an immediate cash flow loan of 70% of that amount generates some real cash back into your firm. Which of course, per the program, is in effect a non repayable grant.Could the benefits therefore be any clearer – The Canadian government is reimbursing you with your R&D funds and you are accelerating that reimbursement straight back into working capital. Use the funds for whatever general corporate purpose – pay payables, buy new equipment, re invest in more R&D, it’s your call!The mechanics of SRED finance are simple – have a claim prepared by a credible consultant or accounting firm. Complete a simple business financing application, go through standard due diligence as you would any type of financing, and execute a financing document which in effect collateralizes the SRED for your SR&Ed loan. The entire process can be completed with a couple of weeks with the right amount of commitment on your part.If your SRED claim was prepared by a consultant who did it on contingency you can even pay them out of the financing – at that point everyone is happy!Your competition probably finances their CRA SRED claim – why not increase your own cash flow and maximize your refund for the best uses your company can utilize. That’s a competitive financing strategy that works!