Agree on the scope of employer support before commissioning work. Identify who pays for professional review, required records, route-specific government charges and relocation, and when reimbursement occurs. Do not assume an employer that has never hired through TN already has a process for these expenses.
Make the budget understandable to both parties
Use a short written allocation showing confirmed amounts, estimates and costs that depend on the selected procedure. Ask who can approve additional work if the role or ownership arrangement needs deeper analysis. Keep ordinary business expenses distinct from immigration preparation so the employee is not presented with an unexplained combined amount.
A limited budget does not justify omitting an unresolved eligibility question, while a larger legal budget cannot establish genuine professional duties that the employer has not arranged. Make the division explicit and put it in writing, because a small employer and an applicant often have quite different assumptions and neither raises it until an invoice arrives. Set out each category: the employer's own costs of preparing and providing documentation, any professional fees and who instructs the adviser, government charges and who pays them, the applicant's credential and document costs, and travel and relocation.
State who bears each and when payment falls due. Where the company is paying, establish whether reimbursement conditions apply and read them. Where the applicant is paying, be clear that this does not make the adviser theirs unless they instruct separately.
A small business is entitled to say it cannot fund something, and knowing that early is far better than discovering it at the point of commitment.