Product management is crucial to the success of any business. If your product is being delivered by an outsourced company then there is greater need for timely updates on the conceptualisation of it. Being in the receiver's end, you must be updated on all aspects of the development of a project.

Identification of problems in the initial stage is a quick way to success. The progress of a project can be known through periodical conference calls. By having these meetings you can monitor the product and allay any mistakes before it actually reaches quality assurance testing. Updating plans and project tracking is crucial and is the most painful part of the project management process.

In order to market your product, you need to employ innovative ways of grabbing attention. It involves the whole life cycle of a product right from manufacturing it, positioning, branding and monitoring them. A thorough research of the market is required to understand the competitors. Gathering market information will provide you who are your potential competitors and what are the features of their merchandise? This further lets you identify oppurtunities if any, market your merchandise to the right audience. Thus, managing them right from its conceptualisation to positioning in the market becomes vital.

A software manager will create marketing strategies and will be involved in engineering, manufacturing, quality analysis, market research etc. Pricing will be appropriately decided by him. He also makes recommendations on various elements of the software, considering the organisational side too.

Traditional project planning and management software tools put the burden of creating and updating project plans on the managers itself. On the whole he will be held responsible for the success or failure of a software projec


Canadian business owners and financial managers should consider financing Sr Ed credits as a source of working capital and cash flow. It is a unique and alternative financing strategy that monetizes your Sr&Ed tax credit, and has no long term effects of adding debt to your balance sheet. All you are doing is simply 'cash flowing' or receiving your refund now instead of waiting for a potentially long time for your government refund cheque.

Business owners who file claims under the program already are keenly aware of the power of this great Canadian government program. Hundreds of Millions of dollars are refunding annually to your firm and your competitors - why not get a step ahead of the competition and turn that SR ED credit into immediate working capital.

Naturally the amount of your SR ED financing is related very directly to the total amount of your filed SR ED claim. Therefore it is in the best interests of every Canadian business owner who files under the program to maximize the size of their claim. They do that by working with a solid accountant or SR ED consultant who understands the true nature of the program. It is a misnomer that your research and development must be 'successful 'in the true sense of the word. The reality is that a proper SR ED claim is often increased simply by proving that you had significant trial and error in those business processes and research that you are documenting.

Anyway, you are aware of the program; you have filed a claim, or are in the process of filing a claim. What now? Consider financing the claim and turning your refund into immediate cash. Clients we work worthy with typically utilize funds in a SR ED financing to reduce payables, invest in additional research, buy equipment, or focus on investing in more direct marketing and sales The bottom line is that when you finance you SR&ED claim funds can be used for any worthwhile corporate purpose.

How does SR ED funding work? It's really complimentary to any type of business financing you have ever done. You are not taking on debt; you are simply converting a receivable, i.e. your SR&ED credit, into cash. The best and most easy way to think of a SR ED financing is simply that you are factoring or discounting your claim. The funds will be repaid to the SR ED lender when you claim is approved by the government and your provincial government. (There is a Federal and Provincial component to each Sr&Ed claim)

You can access approximately 70% of the total claim you have filed. If the claim has already been approved by Ottawa and you are just waiting for the confirmed refund the 70% loan to value we just referred to can even be increased in many cases.

Even more sophisticated firms that finance their SR ED claims annually are not aware that under the right circumstances they can receive funds even prior to filing! That process is called a Sr&Ed accrual loan. That's really staying one step ahead of the competition!

Financing SR ED claims in Canada is a boutique financing. You accomplish it successfully when you work with a trusted, credible and experienced financing advisor re SR ED claims. The process involves a simply business financing application, copies of your SR ED filing, and miscellaneous business back up material to substantiate the SR ED loan. The total focus of the loan relies heavily on the actual claim itself, not the overall credit worthiness of your claim, as some might believe.

If you are filing SR ED you can stay ahead of the competition by considering of financing your claim. It's a simple process that can be completed in a couple of weeks with your full co operation of back up info, etc. Your SR ED claim is already not repayable to the government, as it's a grant, so consider supercharging that program by immediately monetizing your claim in valuable cash flow and working capital.

Stan Prokop is founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial. Originating financing for Canadian companies, specializing in working capital, cash flow, and asset based financing, the 6 year old firm has completed in excess of 45 Million $ of financing for companies of all size