A claim built to be checked, from the first call to filing.

Six: a scoping call, a questionnaire and recorded consultations, a project strength assessment, cost and scheme work, the written report and sign-off by a Chartered Tax Adviser, then filing and support. Each stage has a purpose, and we explain it before we start. The packages differ in how much protection they add around the same core stages.

On a free eligibility scoping call. We ask about the company, what it has been working on, what it spends on R&D, whether it has claimed before and whether HMRC has been in touch. We tell you honestly whether the work looks likely to qualify and which package fits. Quotes are on request, and there is no obligation to go on.

It depends on the number of projects and how good the records are. The main demands are interviews with the people who did the R&D, and a contact in finance for the figures. We keep requests short and ordered, so the technical staff are not buried in paperwork. We agree the plan with you at the start, and we reply the same working day.

The whole claim before it leaves us: which projects are included and why, whether each meets the Government's definition of R&D, how the costs were built, the scheme choice, the technical report and the forms. Nothing is filed without this sign-off. If the reviewer is not satisfied, the claim is amended before it goes anywhere.

Every cost is tied to a project and to a source: payroll for staff, invoices for consumables, software and subcontractors, and contracts for externally provided workers. Staff time is apportioned by a method we agree with you, recorded so it can be explained. If a cost cannot be evidenced or explained, we leave it out.

A full written R&D report, a plain-English claim summary for directors, and a benefit and cash-flow schedule showing how the relief is used across years. We also file the claim with the CT600, register and submit the additional information form, and file the claim notification or confirm that one is not needed. Assured and Zero Risk add more.

Yes. Every package includes progress updates. Assured adds an evidence pack, year-round record-keeping with quarterly check-ins, help with HMRC nudge letters and simple queries, and a next-year planning meeting. Zero Risk adds full enquiry defence at no extra cost. If you did not take Zero Risk and HMRC opens an enquiry, we can still help as a separate engagement.

It is our test of each project before it goes into the claim. We ask whether it sought an advance in the field, what the uncertainty was, whether a competent professional could have readily resolved it and what evidence exists. Weak projects are amended or removed. A smaller claim you can defend is better than a larger one you cannot.

We work with them. Every package includes liaison with your accountants on the financials, and your accountant stays your accountant. We deal with the R&D claim and leave their other services to them. If your accountant files the CT600, we supply the R&D workings and the additional information form, and agree the filing timetable with them.

We explain our reasoning against the Government's guidelines and show you the evidence that is missing or the point that is weak. Sometimes more evidence changes the answer, and we will say so. If we still think a project will not stand up, we will recommend leaving it out, and you can take a second view.

Projects that do not meet the R&D definition, costs that cannot be evidenced, capital expenditure, costs that fall outside the cost rules, and boilerplate descriptions that could apply to any company. We never describe a claim as HMRC-approved. HMRC says its R&D Anti-Abuse Unit has worked with the advertising regulator to remove false advertising by agents claiming to be HMRC-approved.

By email, phone and scheduled calls, whichever you prefer, with progress updates through the claim. We reply the same working day, and we tell you the next step each time. Interviews with your technical people are booked at times that suit them, and they are recorded, so nobody has to repeat themselves.

Send us the letter and the reply date. We triage it the same working day and tell you what it means. What happens next depends on your package: Zero Risk includes full defence, Assured includes help with nudge letters and simple queries, and otherwise we can act as a separate engagement. Please do not reply before getting advice.

Talk to us: whether work can be paused depends on the engagement, and the HMRC deadlines do not pause. A claim notification, where one is needed, must be made within six months of the end of the period, or the claim is invalid. A claim for a period of up to 18 months must be made within two years of the end of the period of account. We tell you the dates that matter before you decide.

ERIS is for loss-making SMEs whose R&D spend is at least 30% of total relevant expenditure. If a company qualifies, it can choose ERIS or the merged scheme, but not both for the same costs. We run the intensity calculation and model both, so you see the benefit and the cash-flow difference before we file.