Here's exactly what an engagement with Prodmatix looks like — from the first call to the filed claim.
Prodmatix uses a hybrid pricing model: a modest base engagement fee plus a percentage contingency on the refund secured. The base fee makes the craft work possible — real interviews, evidence collection, and defensible narratives — rather than racing to file. The contingency keeps our interests aligned with yours.
The base fee is how you get craft. When we're paid partially upfront, we can invest the time your file actually deserves — proper interviews, evidence collection, and narrative drafting that survives CRA review. Pure-contingency firms have to optimize for speed and volume; we optimize for defensible narratives. On most engagements, our total cost comes out lower than a firm charging a straight 20–25% contingency, while producing stronger claims.
Final pricing depends on the estimated refund size, project complexity, whether the claim is single-year or multi-year, and how much technical documentation your team already has in place. We scope every engagement individually and give you a clear, all-in number on the discovery call — no surprises, no shifting fees mid-engagement.
A typical engagement runs 6 to 10 weeks from kickoff to filed claim. Faster is possible when the client is well-organized; slower happens when evidence collection drags. Here's the standard week-by-week shape.
Welcome packet, intake questionnaire, kickoff call. We identify the people we'll need to interview and set the working rhythm. By end of week 1, the engagement folder is set up and you've submitted the intake.
We review the intake and identify candidate SR&ED projects from the work your team did in the last fiscal year. Output: a project list with eligibility hypothesis for each.
60–90 minute interviews with each project lead. We capture the work as engineers describe it and structure it for CRA. In parallel, we gather supporting documents — drawings, lab notes, emails, photos, test data.
First-draft T661 Part 2 technical narratives for every project. We coordinate with your accountant on cost components in parallel — salary allocations, materials, contractor invoices, proxy method.
We run every narrative through a structured self-review and risk-rate each project. If any project is borderline, we tell you transparently and discuss whether to include with caveats, reduce, or exclude.
We send you the full draft for review at least two weeks before the filing deadline. A 45-minute walk-through; you sign off, we incorporate edits, deliver final.
We hand the final claim to your accountant for filing with the T2 corporate return. Engagement closes pending CRA processing. We remain available for any technical review CRA may open.
Most accountants do the cost side competently. The technical narratives are where claims get reduced or denied — and that's where our background does the most work. We're happy to coordinate with your existing accountant rather than replace them; that's actually the standard arrangement.
Technical review defence is included in the engagement — enough to cover the standard follow-ups most claims see. If CRA opens a full audit that goes beyond what's included, we scope the additional work with you separately, either hourly or as a flat fee depending on scope. The financial side of any review stays with your accountant.
If after the eligibility assessment we conclude there's no viable claim, we tell you upfront and invoice only the assessment portion of the engagement — you're not on the hook for the full base fee, and you walk away with a written eligibility memo you can use however you like.
Our hybrid pricing works best for claims where the refund is meaningful enough to justify the technical craft — typically mid-sized manufacturing R&D efforts. For smaller claims, we may propose a flat-fee arrangement, or if it's not the right fit for either side, refer you to a firm better set up for that size. Either way, you get a straight answer on the first call.
The CRA filing deadline for an SR&ED claim is 18 months after fiscal year-end. To do the work properly — not rush it — engage us 8 to 14 weeks before that deadline. If your FY-end was within the last 12 months, you have plenty of runway.
Machine shops, tool & die / mould makers, metal fabrication and welding, additive manufacturing (metal and polymer), foundries, coatings and surface treatment, composites, industrial equipment OEMs, materials processing, battery and energy storage. If you're in advanced manufacturing or materials R&D and you're not on that list, ask — we may still be able to help.
Book a 30-minute discovery call. We'll review the technical work your team has been doing and give you a candid assessment of eligibility and refund range.
Book a discovery call