R&D Cost Tracking
ReaDI-Watch enables you to capture what you actually spend on R&D, qualify those costs for different funding schemes, and continuously improve how R&D expenditure is managed. Capture or import costs and supporting evidence against your R&D projects as the work happens, then use the Funding Hub and ReaDI Assistant to assess and stage costs as eligible, ineligible or partially eligible for each claim. Maintain one traceable record of R&D expenditure, apply different funding rules and apportionments for different schemes, and feed qualification decisions back into your projects to improve future cost capture. Support more eligible costs, reduce retrospective reconciliation and make each funding cycle easier to prepare and defend.
R&D Cost Tracking
Capture costs. Connect them to the R&D. Prepare for funding.
Bring your cost data into ReaDI using the method that works for your team.
What is this cost connected to in the R&D?
One R&D cost — Linked to your R&D project structure
How should this cost be treated?
One R&D cost — Different treatment by funding mechanism
A clear, evidence-backed record of R&D expenditure.
Our collaboration with ReaDI-Watch is very important for our business. We are working with them closely to digitalize our RD&I governance & leadership. We need to innovate, and our innovation effectiveness is centrally important to our success.
SR&ED Case Study — Software Start-Up
A 5-person software startup — 2 founders, 3 engineers — was building a complicated software product. Delivering it required experimental R&D. ReaDI surfaced it, structured it, and filed a defensible SR&ED claim — averaging less than 20 minutes of team effort per month across the year.
The Situation
The team was shipping a complex software product. Sprints were organised around features and milestones. But underneath that delivery rhythm, a different journey was unfolding — sub-systems being proven independently, experimental approaches tested and refined, and proven components integrated into next-generation functionality, introducing new unknowns at each stage. That R&D was real, continuous, and qualifying. It just hadn’t been formalised. ReaDI extracted it from what already existed — GitLab release notes and Jira sprint records. The gap wasn’t activity. It was structure. No existing documentation infrastructure for SR&ED compliance. Founders needed to stay focused on product and growth — not paperwork.
The R&D Structure
Sprints shipped product. But the R&D story was structured around sub-systems, experimentation, and integration uncertainty — a journey that advanced technical know-how beyond any individual release. Sub-systems were identified, isolated, and experimentally proven. Approaches were tested — some validated, some discarded. Proven sub-systems were introduced into next-gen functionality goals, and integration created new variabilities and new unknowns to resolve. The SR&ED claim was structured around this R&D journey. GitLab commits and Jira sprints provided the evidence trail — but ReaDI’s role was to re-read that history through an R&D lens: identifying the sub-systems, mapping the experimental iterations, and articulating the technological uncertainty at each stage of integration.
The Result
SR&ED claim filed on-time — $80K CAD returned to the business. Submitted with less than 20 minutes of founder and engineer time per month. Existing GitLab and Jira artefacts did the heavy lifting — ReaDI provided the structure. A lightweight timelog practice was introduced for FY+1, and eligible SaaS tools were identified and mapped to R&D activity. With timelogs and subscription tracking in place, the FY+1 claim will be faster to prepare, more complete, and likely larger in value.
Building something innovative? You’re probably eligible.
If your team is pushing the boundaries of what’s technically possible, you likely qualify for SR&ED. ReaDI takes the entire process off your plate — using what you already have. No disruption. No parallel systems.
Frequently asked questions
Still have questions?
Book a 30-minute consultation with a ReaDI-Watch expert to explore how to get the most out of your RD&I.
ReaDI is a structured platform, supported by an expert team, that helps R&D-intensive organisations capture, document and fund their Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) activity. It keeps the work organised, defensible and ready for reporting, funding and decision-making, instead of leaving it scattered across people’s memories, inboxes and spreadsheets.
Both. The platform provides a structured environment, while our team can help define projects, maintain momentum and support reporting where needed. You get a managed system with expert support, as well as access to the software.
No. Many organisations we work with do not have a formal R&D function. The work can sit across engineering, product, operations and quality. ReaDI helps when your team is solving technical problems but cannot easily show what was tried, what worked and why.
RD&I becomes more structured and easier to manage. Projects are framed clearly from the outset, documentation is captured as the work happens and leadership gains better visibility. This reduces the need to reconstruct technical activity at year-end.
The aim is to make capturing your team’s work feel like a natural part of the process, without adding a separate administrative burden. ReaDI works alongside your existing tools and workflows, so engineers do not have to adopt a completely different way of working.