Businesses can sometimes qualify for R&D tax relief when they are trying to solve a technical problem, improve a process, develop something new or find a better way of doing something that was not straightforward.

The difficulty is that many business owners would never describe what they are doing as “R&D”.

They are simply trying to solve a problem.

We can help you work out whether the work you have carried out is worth looking at more closely.

It starts with a conversation

The first step is understanding what you have actually been working on.

You may have developed a new product.

You may have created something new, improved an existing product or worked through technical challenges to get an idea off the ground.

You may have changed or improved a process.

That could include refining manufacturing, improving a system, solving production issues or finding a better way of doing something.

You may have built or improved software.

If you’ve developed software, added functionality or worked through technical uncertainty to make something work, that could also be worth exploring.

We will talk through the project with you and ask the questions that help us understand whether there is a genuine R&D element.

If there is not, we will tell you.

If there is, we can help you take it further.

The work needs to stand up to scrutiny

R&D claims need to be based on real qualifying activity and supported properly.

We will look at what was being developed, what uncertainty existed, what you were trying to achieve and what work was carried out to overcome the problem.
We can then help bring together the financial information needed for the claim and make sure the technical side reflects what genuinely happened.

We can help you through the process

If we think there might be a claim there, we can help you understand what information is needed, review the work you’ve done, identify the areas that may qualify and help gather the detail needed to support the claim.

You don’t need to know whether something definitely qualifies before you speak to us.

You may have heard of R&D Tax Credits and assumed they’re only for laboratories, scientists or huge companies. Or you might simply have been so busy improving a product, process or piece of software that you haven’t realised the work you’re doing could be relevant.

In many cases, you may already have much of the information we need through the work you’ve done, the decisions you’ve made and the problems you’ve had to solve.

You may already have the information we need

Business owners sometimes assume an R&D claim will mean creating huge amounts of extra paperwork.

Often, useful evidence already exists within the business.

There may be project notes, development records, staff time, supplier costs, testing information or conversations that help show how the work developed.

We can help you work out what is relevant and what we need to support the claim properly.

It can be worth asking before you dismiss it

Some of the most interesting R&D conversations start with a client saying, “I don’t think this counts, but…”

If you have spent time and money trying to solve a technical problem and you were not simply following an obvious or established route, it is worth mentioning it.

You do not need to decide whether it qualifies before speaking to us.

We can help you assess that.

Book a 15-minute chat

Planning ahead can make future claims easier

If R&D is a regular part of what your business does, it can help to think about the record-keeping before the year has finished.

Keeping clearer records of projects, staff involvement, costs and the technical challenges being worked on can make the process much easier later.

We can help you understand what is useful to keep so that, if a claim is appropriate, the information is already there.

Talk us through what you have been working on

If you think your business may have been doing qualifying work, or you’d simply like us to sense-check it, send us a few details and we can take a look.

Corporate Tax Planning Corporation Tax Finance Director Support

Think you may have carried out qualifying R&D?

Talk us through what you have been working on.

We can help you understand whether it is worth exploring and, if it is, make sure the claim reflects the work that was genuinely carried out.

Talk us through what you have been working on