Translating custom hardware engineering and prototyping into maximum claim value
COTS PARTS VS. CUSTOM BUILDS
Hardware is unforgiving. If a custom PCB overheats or electromagnetic interference (EMI) ruins your signal integrity, you can't just patch it with a quick software update. Overcoming these physical limitations requires burning through expensive prototypes, scrapping boards, and running endless test bench cycles. Yet, when it comes time to claim SR&ED, the CRA frequently pushes back, arguing that your team was merely "assembling known components." If your engineers are documenting their work as simple bill-of-materials (BOM) updates, you are losing massive amounts of R&D funding.
The Financial Advisor Disconnect
Hardware teams are often let down by generalist tax advisors who view engineering through a purely financial lens. One of our current clients—a sensor manufacturer—was audited because their corporate accountant labeled a complex thermal-dissipation project as standard manufacturing waste. The accountants lacked the electrical engineering background to recognize the scientific method hidden within the CAD revisions and scrapped parts. They alienated the engineering team by demanding business-formatted reports that completely missed the technical reality of the lab.
Hardware Precision & Frictionless Tracking
Checkpoint aligns your physical prototyping directly with strict CRA requirements.
- Engineer-to-Engineer Translation: Our team understands schematic capture, thermal dynamics, and firmware integration. We know how to articulate the exact physical constraints your team was fighting.
- Background Data Collection: We build the claim by harvesting your existing artifacts—Altium logs, Jira tickets, lab notebook photos, and bench test results. Your engineers stay at their workstations.
- Bulletproof Claim Architecture: We reframe your failed builds and scrapped materials not as "waste," but as verifiable, iterative evidence of technological advancement.
In Practice
Always expanding. Check our current coverage below.
“We design high-end audio systems which involves a relentless pursuit of precision across firmware, circuit design, and software.
Cross-Industry Intelligence
Your specific R&D requires a specific assessment?
Peer-To-Peer Expertise
Whether you are architecting a cloud database, scaling a bioreactor, or overcoming mechanical failure, we understand your underlying constraints without needing a beginner's explanation.
Background Tracking
We extract the necessary technical artifacts in the background—pulling directly from your Jira tickets, CAD files, lab logs, or test bench reports—keeping your team focused on their actual work.
Audit-Proof Architecture
By aligning your specific investigations and processes directly with CRA criteria, we build bulletproof claims that provide absolute peace of mind.
We help you capture:
What problem you were solving
What problem you were solving
What problem you were solving
Our technical specialists speak your language.
Whether you are architecting a cloud database, scaling a bioreactor, or overcoming mechanical failure, we understand your underlying constraints without needing a beginner's explanation.
What problem you were solving
What problem you were solving
Let’s Assess Your R&D Potential
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