Executive Summary
From ISP to Software Innovator
Gaiia’s journey is anything but conventional. The company began as OXIO, a Quebec-based internet service provider serving 40,000 subscribers and generating approximately $25M in annual revenue. While building their ISP business, the team recognized a critical gap in the market: The existing operating systems for internet service providers were inadequate for modern needs.
Rather than continuing to work with subpar infrastructure, Gaiia built their own comprehensive OSS (Operating Support System) from scratch. The platform handles everything an ISP needs to operate, from tracking physical router inventory and managing support tickets to billing customers and connecting to networks. It’s the behind-the-scenes CRM that powers the entire ISP operation.
In early 2023, the company made a bold strategic pivot. They sold OXIO’s assets to Cogeco (which continues to operate the brand as a secondary offering) and used the proceeds as seed funding for Gaiia, transforming into a pure software business. This transition brought unique challenges: Revenue dropped from $25M to under $1M with a single customer (Cogeco), while the team retained nearly 30 R&D professionals from the original ISP business.
“We went from a large Internet business with 40,000 subscribers to less than $1 million in revenue with a single customer,” explains Erin Bury, Head of Finance at Gaiia, who joined just after the sale. “The CFO who had managed the Internet business decided this wasn’t the right stage for him, so I came on board to help navigate this new chapter.”
“We went from a large Internet business with 40,000 subscribers to less than $1 million in revenue with a single customer”
Today, Gaiia has grown to over 70 employees and successfully raised a Series A with Montreal-based Innovia Capital. The company maintains its deep Quebec roots, with most of the team based in Quebec City and a strategic focus on attracting top engineering talent from the province (ie. larger telecom companies like Bell Canada).
THE R&D TAX CREDIT CHALLENGE
A Finance Team of One
BAs Gaiia transformed from an established ISP into a high-growth SaaS startup, Bury faced a common but daunting challenge: Maximizing R&D tax credit opportunities while running a lean finance operation as a team of one.
Prior to the sale, OXIO had successfully claimed SR&ED credits with Boast’s support, but the company hadn’t qualified for many provincial Quebec programs because their revenue and assets were tied to the Internet business rather than technology development. Once Gaiia emerged as a pure SaaS company with a substantial R&D team, new opportunities opened up—particularly Quebec’s CDAE (crédit d’impôt pour le développement des affaires électroniques) tax credit program.
Key Pain Points
THE BOAST SOLUTION
Expert Partnership with Minimal Time Investment
Gaiia’s relationship with Boast began during the OXIO days, when they first started claiming SR&ED credits. As the company transformed and new opportunities emerged with the CDAE program, Boast’s value proposition became even more critical.
“The platform makes it easy to upload the data they need,” Bury explains. “I provide all the finance data, and it’s straightforward. The challenges we face are typically with our HR system— getting payroll and T4 data — not with Boast.”
Streamlined SR&ED Process
The foundation of Gaiia’s success with R&D tax credits lies in Boast’s efficient SR&ED claim process. Despite the complexity of documenting R&D activities for a team of 30+ engineers, Bury estimates spending only 8-10 hours per claim cycle.
The flexibility extends to how Boast works with Gaiia’s CTO, known as Ollie. Initially, Ollie wrote much of the technical documentation himself. As the team grew and his responsibilities expanded, Boast adapted the process to rely more on interviews rather than written submissions, accommodating the reality that CTOs at high-growth startups have increasingly limited bandwidth.
“I look at programs where I need next to no support from our actual engineering team as awesome,” Bury notes. “Engineers love writing code—they didn’t become CPAs for a reason. Boast made it really easy for me to provide all the data without pulling our technical team away from building our product.”
Navigating Currency Complexity
In 2024, Gaiia switched from CAD to USD reporting currency, a strategic decision driven by the fact that Cogeco effectively holds exclusivity as their only Canadian customer, with all other revenue coming from the United States. This change, while necessary for investor communications and financial reporting, created potential complications for R&D tax credit claims.
Boast helped Gaiia navigate this transition seamlessly, working through the currency conversion implications for SR&ED calculations and ensuring their CRA T2 filing in USD didn’t create obstacles for claiming credits.
“They helped us figure out what SR&ED would be in US dollars because our CRA T2 is now filed in USD,” Bury recalls. “It’s just easier to report in USD since we’re likely getting US investors and all our financial reporting is in that currency.”
Quebec CDAE: Expertise Where It Matters Most
The Quebec CDAE program represented new territory for Gaiia. As their first full year operating as a SaaS business, 2024 was the first year they truly qualified for the program. The CDAE focuses on e-business development activities and offered an opportunity to top up their SR&ED claims, but only if they could navigate Quebec’s specific requirements and language expectations.
This is where Boast’s Quebec-specific expertise proved invaluable. The team’s bilingual capabilities and established relationships with Investment Québec removed what could have been significant obstacles.
“I don’t speak French,” Bury acknowledges. “We obviously file with Revenu Québec, and the Boast team being bilingual is very helpful. Candidly, I would have struggled significantly more—both from a technical understanding of the program and from a language perspective.”
Meeting with them, it builds a lot more credibility if it’s not just me speaking English in a broken conversation versus having people that can show we’re a legit company.”
The CDAE process required almost no involvement from Gaiia’s engineering team. Aside from Ollie conducting the presentation with Investment Québec in French, Bury handled everything administratively with Boast’s support.
“For the CDAE specifically, the team was clear at the start about what to potentially expect,” Bury explains. “They framed it as ‘this is topping up on top of SR&ED—it’s not going to be the same amount, but if we’re already doing the work, there’s no point leaving this money on the table.’ And it was really, for me, the easiest money we don’t want to leave on the table.”
Pragmatic Approach to Startup Realities
Unlike larger accounting firms that might demand robust time-tracking systems and extensive documentation, Boast understands the realities of startup operations.
“I like how the team is pragmatic,” Bury says. “We don’t have robust timesheets. There might be a few people we’ll add timesheets for specific things, but there’s an understanding of how startups are actually working that is very helpful.”
This pragmatism extends to how Boast manages the relationship with Quebec authorities. When meeting with Investment Québec for the CDAE certification process, the experience was notably positive.
“The people we met with at Investment Québec were lovely—they were so nice,” Bury recalls. “Often, I feel like relationships with government bodies giving money could be adversarial, but everyone involved was very friendly. It went really smoothly.”
RESULTS
Maximum Return with Minimal Time Investment
The partnership with Boast has delivered tangible value across multiple dimensions for Gaiia:
Extended Runway Supporting Rapid Growth
R&D tax credit funding has a direct impact on Gaiia’s ability to maintain their rapid growth trajectory.
“Anything that extends runway helps us grow,” Bury explains. “We’re growing so quickly that adding a month or two or a quarter has potentially a huge impact on our valuation because we add so much ARR month over month.”
Foundation for Long-Term Success
Successfully navigating the CDAE process in year one sets Gaiia up for continued success, even as the program evolves to include AI development components starting in 2026.
“Part of it was getting that first certificate,” Bury notes. “Year one is the most lift, and that still was very manageable. So I think we can do it for 2025. Even if the program changes, the time I’ve spent for the money we’re expecting to receive still felt worth it.”
Finance as a Value Driver
For a finance team of one, demonstrating measurable value creation is critical.
“Finance is often a cost center,” Bury reflects. “So any grants I can secure that mean I cost the company nothing—even though it’s really R&D salaries being recovered—that feels good.”
WHY BOAST
Why Gaiia Chose Boast Over Alternatives
Gaiia’s experience working with Boast contrasts sharply with both tech-only competitors and traditional accounting firms:
Not Just Software
While automated R&D tax credit platforms promise low-cost, AI-driven solutions, they lack the human expertise and regional specialization that Gaiia needed—particularly for navigating Quebec’s CDAE program and building credibility with Revenu Québec.
“The team is really flexible,” Bury says, noting how Boast adapted to Ollie’s changing availability and communication preferences over time. “They understand how startups actually work.”
“Boast understands we don’t have robust timesheets or perfect documentation,” Bury explains. “There’s a pragmatic understanding of startup realities that you don’t get from traditional firms.”
Not Just Another Service Line
Unlike Big 4 accounting firms where R&D tax credits might be just another checkbox on a broader service menu, Boast brings specialized focus to this specific domain.
Regional Expertise That Matters
For a Quebec-based company with significant provincial R&D tax credit opportunities, Boast’s bilingual team and established relationships with Quebec authorities provide tangible value.
“Having people who can speak French and show we’re a legitimate company makes a huge difference in those meetings,” Bury notes. “It’s about credibility with the authorities who are evaluating your claims.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Scaling with Confidence
As Gaiia prepares for their Series B funding round in 2026 and continues expanding their ISP software platform across North American markets, R&D tax credits will remain a critical component of their growth strategy.
The company’s focus on hiring top engineering talent in Quebec—”we’re slowly attracting all the strong engineers in Quebec and keep poaching people from Bell,” Bury jokes—means their R&D activities will continue qualifying for both federal SR&ED and Quebec CDAE programs.
With Boast handling the complexity of navigating these programs, Bury can focus her limited bandwidth on the strategic priorities that will drive Gaiia’s next phase of growth: preparing for Series B investor conversations, managing the company’s expansion in USD markets, and supporting the rapid ARR growth that makes every additional month of runway exponentially more valuable.
“The process went really smoothly,” Bury concludes. “We were able to do this without it really adding to my workload. It was just a few nice meetings, and now we have that foundation set for year two and beyond.”
Key Takeaways
For Finance Leaders at Quebec-Based Tech Companies:
- R&D tax credits (SR&ED and CDAE) can meaningfully extend runway without requiring extensive engineering team involvement
- Regional expertise and language capabilities matter when building credibility with Quebec authorities
- The right partner should adapt to your startup’s realities, not demand perfect documentation systems you don’t have
For Fast-Growing SaaS Companies:
- Even with a finance team of one, comprehensive R&D tax credit programs are manageable with the right platform and expertise
- Year one setup creates a foundation that makes subsequent claims increasingly efficient
- Currency conversion and complex business circumstances can be accommodated with specialized expertise
The Boast Difference:
- 8-10 hours of finance team time per SR&ED claim cycle (vs. 150+ hours reported with some competitors)
- Bilingual team capable of engaging directly with Revenu Québec and Investment Québec
- Pragmatic approach that understands startup realities and accommodates less-than-perfect documentation
- Specialized Quebec expertise for navigating CDAE alongside federal SR&ED programs
- Flexible engagement model that adapts as your team’s bandwidth and priorities evolve
