4 strategies to help maximize government funding for your business

The Canadian federal and provincial governments offer more than $37 billion in tax credits, grants and other funding every year to help boost the economy and increase competitiveness across high priority sectors.

Many companies may have limited knowledge about the programs available, and few resources to develop a strong funding plan and take advantage of the tax incentive opportunities – including navigating and understanding their requirements and applications.

The government funding landscape can be overwhelming due to its vast nature – and only looking at programs on an individual basis can lead to missed opportunities, leaving critical funding on the table. Instead, consider taking a strategic approach to maximize the funding you are able to access through various government incentive programs – starting with these four key steps:

• Plan ahead and identify future expenditures that may qualify for funding. Many government programs have specific application intake periods, limiting when you can apply and what you can apply for. You want to ensure you map out your projects and align them with available funding programs in order to achieve the maximum benefit.
  
• Analyze each program’s eligible expenditures and ensure you capture all costs directly related to the project throughout its lifecycle. Examine each phase of your project and identify all associated costs to help maximize the benefits.
  
• Stack applications for the same project costs where possible. Most programs have prescribed stacking limitations that provide guidance when you request funding related to a single project through multiple programs.
  
• Leverage multiple programs to cover all facets of the company business growth initiative. You may be able to apply to several incentive programs to capture different aspects of the overall initiative and help increase the amount of funding you receive.

An agri-food processing business had a multi-year vision for their organizational growth. They were looking to accelerate their existing processes by investing in new equipment, which can be costly. After attempting to access government funding through both internal and external avenues, they found little success.

The funding landscape in Canada can be complex – but the KPMG Tax Incentives team helped the agri-food business navigate through it. As a first step, they took the project plan to the next level by considering a full, detailed scope of implementation and project budget, including activities needed to facilitate the installation of the major planned equipment. By aligning a deep knowledge of government funding programs with business growth initiatives, the KPMG Tax Incentives team helped identify and develop a systematic approach to government funding based on company expenditures. The experienced team of professionals and their understanding of the government funding landscape, stacking limitations, and eligibility criteria helped maximize funding opportunities by leveraging multiple funding programs.

The agri-food business was approved for funding through several government incentive programs to secure nearly $2 million in funding support from both federal and provincial funding agencies. These funding opportunities helped plant the seeds for the agri-food business’ future growth!

Government incentive programs are often complex, and have limited and sometimes short application intake periods, which can be challenging to manage. Few organizations have the internal resources available to stay on top of federal and provincial incentives, their guidelines, requirements, and deadlines, as well as the knowledge and insight to prepare applications that stand out amongst the high volume of other competitive submissions.

KPMG in Canada can help you through every stage of your funding application journey – from planning your approach and understanding the Canadian tax incentive/funding landscape, to developing the application and submitting reporting packages to receive the secured funding. We can help you achieve the best possible funding benefits from your incentive applications, and stay on track throughout your project's funding lifecycle.