Claimants of Research & Development (R&D) tax credits have seen HMRC clamping down on the scheme, with some advisers failing to support their clients during serious compliance checks. Given the turbulence, we ask is it time to consider a new R&D adviser?

Red flags

The expertise of an experienced adviser can provide invaluable support when preparing successful R&D claims, however, an inexperienced adviser can land claimants with a demand to repay the credit and the potential of penalties from HMRC. Here are some red flags you should be aware of with advisers:

• The team you meet during the sales process is not the team that will be preparing the claim

• You’re being offered a one size fits all claims process

• The adviser wants you to sign up for an excessively long or indefinite contract

• It’s not clear if your claims will be prepared in-house or are outsourced to another third party company

• The adviser has a high contingency fee that is non-refundable in the case of enquiry

• Your adviser claims that their workings cannot be shared as they represent their IP

What you should expect from an R&D adviser

Improved service quality

Have you ever found that time spent towards finalising your R&D claim has significantly disrupted your day-to-day activities, and each year is a battle to get engagement from the technical teams? Businesses are likely to find that the R&D claim process will become a major activity in the financial year due to requirements for up to ten technical descriptions per claim. Therefore, having a partner who can help you plan and manage this process can ease the disruption to the business.

We work with clients to provide a range of support levels from full outsourcing to training and review engagements. The key point to consider in all cases is being clear on linking the costs to the technical work, as preparing descriptions for a minor project can waste time and annoy everyone involved. Therefore, having a clear and well-defined claim process is critical to producing a high quality claim.

Understandable costs

A lot of claimants have been using the same R&D advisers for a number of years, and as the business grows, so does the R&D claim preparation fee. Once claimants have begun to review how much they are paying, they find the company is trapped in a rolling contract and will have to provide 12 months’ notice before appointing someone else. Good advisers will rely on quality work, rather than contractual arrangements to trap long-term clients.

Improved transparency

We believe that advisers should be fully transparent with their claims and explain to claimants how they have implemented their claim methodology to adhere to the updated guidelines and legislations. Going forward, any R&D claim will become the responsibility of someone within the business, and when anything goes wrong, HMRC will be asking them questions about how and why the R&D claim was prepared in a certain way. We ensure that all our clients know exactly what is included in their claim, so there are no nasty surprises later on.

Access to new expertise and insights

Have you ever questioned your adviser’s experience within your own sector? A new R&D adviser can bring out fresh perspectives and expertise to your R&D projects, which can be of particular advantage if your current adviser is not up to date on the latest developments within your industry. Claimants should expect to see staff within the consultancy that are sector-specific specialists. Buzzacott’s specialist R&D team has backgrounds in engineering, science, and policy, allowing us to thoroughly understand the eligible work undertaken by your business to product a robust claim.

Support in the event of an R&D enquiry

A concerning number of claimants have approached us after their original adviser refused to support their compliance check response. As R&D enquiries are increasingly common place, it’s important to use an adviser who can confirm the robustness of your claim and deliver a response to HMRC. Therefore, it will be useful for claimants to be working with an adviser who prepared the initial R&D claim to pull together the required information in the enquiry. Switching advisers will allow claimants to review all services which their R&D adviser can provide.

How we can help

Buzzacott’s R&D team are dedicated specialists who solely work on R&D claims. Our team has technical backgrounds, allowing us to thoroughly understand the eligible work undertaken by your business. Making a successful claim takes a nose for detail. When you work with our dedicated team of R&D tax credit advisers, you can count on that.

We can provide you with advice tailored specifically to your requirements, making your R&D claim fully compliant with all the latest legislation to create a strong R&D report to reduce the chance of an R&D enquiry. As a regulated firm, we provide advice that you can trust.

We’ll be completely transparent and keep you updated regularly on each stage of the process – and of course you’ll be presented with the full detail of the final claim before we submit it to HMRC. We can also provide you with a joined-up service with our tax and accountancy teams who have in-depth knowledge of tax legislation in the UK.

Fill out the form below and our specialists will be in touch to discuss your requirements and how we can work together to prepare your successful R&D claims.