SR&ED for manufacturing
Manufacturers often do SR&ED without calling it that. The work of getting a new process to hold tolerance, or a new material to behave, frequently involves exactly the uncertainty SR&ED is meant to support.
The eligible work is usually on the process, not the product.
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Where the eligible work usually is
- Developing or adapting a production process where the outcome wasn't predictable — new tolerances, higher yields, faster cycle times without a known method.
- Working with a new or substituted material whose behaviour under your conditions was uncertain.
- Designing tooling, jigs or automation that required experimentation, not just engineering to spec.
- Scaling a bench result to production volume where the scale-up itself introduced unknowns.
What usually doesn't qualify
Routine production, quality control, tooling built to a known spec, and commissioning equipment the standard way generally aren't SR&ED. Style or cosmetic changes and meeting a customer requirement with established methods don't clear the uncertainty bar either — even when they're a lot of work.
Evidence from the floor
Manufacturing generates its own strong records: process trials and their results, scrap and yield data, test reports, engineering change notes, and time on the experimental runs. Upload these and SREDlog reads and organizes them against the project, keeping each claimed cost tied to the run that supports it.
Frequently asked questions
Usually not on its own. Commissioning equipment the standard way is routine. It can become eligible if making it work in your process required resolving a genuine technological uncertainty through experimentation.
No. Standard QC and testing to confirm a known specification isn't SR&ED. Experimental work to develop a new process or overcome an unknown can be.
Process-trial records, yield and scrap data, and test reports are strong contemporaneous evidence. See documentation requirements.
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This guide is general information, not tax advice. SR&ED rules, rates and limits change, so confirm the current figures with the CRA or your advisor before you file.