How Delayed R&DTI Refunds Impacts Burn Rate For Startups & Valuation

Financial charts and a pen next to a laptop, representing startup burn rate and valuation tracking.

The Quick Version You’ve spent $2 million on R&D this financial year. Your R&D Tax Incentive claim will return $870,000 at the refundable offset (your 25% company tax rate plus the 18.5% R&D premium, totalling 43.5% for most eligible companies under $20M turnover), and that number is probably sitting in your financial model right now, … Read more

Accounting for Software R&D: Capitalise or Expense? Deep Dive by Use Case

software R&D accounting

You’ve just closed a quarter where your engineering team shipped three major features, refactored your authentication system, and started building a new customer portal. Your finance lead asks: “Which of these costs should we capitalise?” The question sounds simple. However, the answer reshapes your balance sheet, influences investor conversations, and determines how much you’ll claim … Read more

The Real ROI of Innovation: Measuring the Payoff of Every R&D Dollar

R and D ROI

For much of the last decade, Australian SMEs operated in a unique environment: A zero-interest-rate policy made capital abundant, and R&D budgets were treated as faith-based initiatives, necessary for the innovation narrative, but opaque in their financial attribution. That era has ended. With the Reserve Bank maintaining elevated cash rates and business investment expected to … Read more

AI R&D Tax Claims: Navigating Audit Risks in Clinical Research

AI R&D Tax Claims

Artificial intelligence is revolutionising how we approach clinical research in Australia. Today, AI systems are diagnosing leukaemia, matching lung cancer patients to appropriate clinical trials, and analysing medical imaging with remarkable accuracy. Walk into any major Australian clinical setting, and you’ll find AI tools calculating sepsis risk in emergency departments and predicting cancer outcomes.   Here’s … Read more

Why IP Ownership Structures Matter for Biotech R&D Claims

Why IP Ownership Structures Matter for Biotech R&D Claims

The IP structure you set up to protect your assets might be the exact reason the ATO denies your multi-million dollar R&D Tax Incentive claim. The ATO doesn’t just ask whether you’re doing genuine R&D. They ask: who has effective ownership of the results (including IP), who controls the R&D day-to-day, and who bears the … Read more

Plan ahead with our brand new three-year R&D finance option

three year R&D finance option

The constraint for most teams isn’t ambition or execution; it’s the mismatch between when costs land and when support arrives. When you turn your cost of capital into a known constant across several cycles, you take back control of timing and keep momentum. If you want funding that keeps pace with your roadmap, you’re not … Read more

How to access your R&D Tax Incentive early

how to access your r&d tax incentive early

Every year, thousands of Australian businesses wait for their R&D Tax Incentive (R&DTI) rebate to be processed by the ATO. While the rebate is a welcome boost, the reality is that many companies wait months after lodgement to see it, which leaves a cashflow gap right when you’re ready to hire, test, or scale. If … Read more

Australian Government R&D Grants Every Startup Should Know About

Australian Government R&D Grants

If you’re building something new—software, science, tech or anything in between—there’s a strong chance you could tap into Australia’s government R&D funding. The tricky part is understanding what’s available, how to access it, and when the funds actually land in your account. From rebates to competitive grants, the options are powerful, but often misunderstood. This … Read more

A Global Investor’s Guide to Understanding Australian Innovation Policy

Global Investor’s Guide to Understanding Australian Innovation Policy

Australia is becoming a top location for research and tech development. However, for international investors, understanding Australian innovation policy is essential. This guide explains how Australia supports innovation through tax incentives, grants, and national strategies, and what it means for global investors. The R&D Tax Advantage A major part of Australian innovation policy is the … Read more