Business Innovation Consulting for SMEs
We structure your R&D&I so that it generates tax deductions of up to 42%, Social Security contribution reductions and access to public funding for companies operating in Spain. Innovation assessment, roadmap, Sello PYME Innovadora (the Innovative SME Certification) and CDTI or ACCIÓ projects.
42%
Maximum corporate tax deduction for R&D activity
Which companies need innovation consulting?
Only 27.3% of Spanish companies are innovative (INE, 2024). The remaining 72.7% leave money on the table in tax deductions and public funding.
Companies with technical activity
- Industrial, food and engineering SMEs that improve products or processes
- Software and technology companies with in-house development
- Businesses that invest in improvements but do not classify them as R&D&I
What the service includes
- Innovation maturity assessment and map of R&D&I activity
- 3-year innovation roadmap with milestones and budget
- UNE 166002 and the Innovative SME Certification
Funding it connects to
- CDTI: up to 85% funding for R&D projects
- ACCIÓ: FEDER grants and innovation vouchers
- Art. 35 LIS deductions: 25-42% on R&D, 12% on technological innovation
Results you get
- Lower tax cost of innovation (corporate tax and Social Security)
- Innovative SME Certification: 40% Social Security reduction for research staff
- An innovation roadmap as a 3-5 year strategic asset
How we structure innovation in your company
Innovation assessment
We analyse your technical activity to identify what qualifies as R&D or technological innovation under Art. 35 LIS. We calculate the potential tax deduction and the projects eligible for public funding.
Roadmap design
We build a 3-year innovation roadmap with you: objectives, types of project, a timetable of applications to CDTI and ACCIÓ, and a UNE 166002 implementation plan.
Projects and certification
We write and submit projects to CDTI, ACCIÓ and Horizon Europe. We handle UNE 166002 and the Innovative SME Certification with the Spanish Ministry of Science.
Monitoring and optimisation
We manage progress reports, cost justification and renewals. Each year we calculate the Art. 35 LIS deduction base for Spanish corporate income tax.
Funding for innovation in your company
Every well-structured innovation project opens the door to public funding and tax deductions. Tecnocim manages both in parallel.
CDTI grants
Up to 85% funding for R&D projects: PID, Neotec, Misiones and Cervera. The CDTI is the natural channel for business innovation.
R&D&I Tax Deductions
Art. 35 LIS: 25-42% deduction on R&D and 12% on technological innovation. Innovation consulting identifies the eligible activity.
ACCIÓ Vouchers
Up to €12,000 per innovation voucher for Catalan SMEs. They fund consulting, prototypes and technology validation.
Is your company innovating without knowing it?
Many SMEs carry out activity that qualifies as R&D&I without formalising it: product improvements, process optimisation, in-house software development. Each of those activities can generate a tax deduction of 25% to 42%.
Request a free assessmentFirst review of your R&D&I potential, no commitment
Other strategic consulting services
Strategic Plan
The strategic plan sets the direction. The innovation roadmap delivers it. The two services complement each other.
Digital Transformation Consulting
Digital maturity assessment, roadmap and rollout of ERP, BI and AI. Digitalisation is process innovation.
Fractional CFO
Professional finance leadership for SMEs. The CFO tracks the return on the money invested in innovation.
Business innovation in figures
27,3%
Of Spanish companies are innovative (INE, 2024)
42%
Maximum corporate tax deduction for R&D activity
23.931 M€
Spanish R&D investment in 2024 (a record)
Frequently asked questions about business innovation
Innovation consulting focuses on structuring, certifying and funding a company's R&D&I activity. It combines three elements: the innovation strategy (roadmap, types of project), the R&D&I management system (UNE 166002, the Innovative SME Certification) and the connection with public funding (CDTI, ACCIÓ) and tax deductions (Art. 35 LIS). The result is that innovation stops being a cost and becomes a measurable source of tax and financial return.
The Innovative SME Certification is a recognition granted by the Spanish Ministry of Science (RD 475/2014). It is applied for free of charge through the Ministry's electronic office. Its advantages: a 40% reduction in Social Security contributions for research staff who spend at least 85% of their time on R&D&I, compatibility with the Art. 35 LIS deductions, access to Public Procurement of Innovation and to ICO funding lines. It is valid for 3 years and renewable.
UNE 166002 is the Spanish standard for R&D&I management systems. Certification shows that the company manages its innovation in a systematic and documented way. It is one of the three routes to the Innovative SME Certification and it raises the success rate in public funding calls (CDTI, ACCIÓ), because evaluators value the existence of a formal system.
Art. 35 LIS allows you to deduct 25% of R&D spending (42% on the amount above the average of the two previous years) and 12% of spending on technological innovation. With the Innovative SME Certification you add a 40% reduction in Social Security contributions for research staff. The two incentives are compatible and can be combined. Innovation consulting identifies which activities qualify and documents the deduction bases correctly.
The main routes are: CDTI (PID, Neotec, Misiones), with funding of up to 85%; ACCIÓ in Catalonia, with FEDER grants for technological innovation and innovation vouchers of up to €12,000; and Horizon Europe at European level (EIC Accelerator, Eurostars). Tecnocim structures each project to maximise both the public funding and the tax deduction that applies.
In the short term (3-6 months): assessment, roadmap and the start of the Innovative SME Certification application. In the medium term (6-18 months): submission of projects to CDTI or ACCIÓ, UNE 166002 rollout and the first application of the Art. 35 LIS deductions. The deductions take effect in the corporate tax return for the same year in which the spending happens, so the tax return is immediate if the company is already innovating.
Ready to turn innovation into a tax advantage?
Free assessment of innovation maturity and a calculation of your R&D&I potential in 48 hours.
Request an innovation assessment
