Three ways to work with us, from a strong claim to full protection.

There are three: Core claim, Assured claim and Zero Risk. Each builds on the one before. Core is a well-evidenced claim prepared and filed by us. Assured adds a pre-submission risk review and an evidence pack. Zero Risk adds full defence if HMRC opens an enquiry. Every claim is reviewed and signed off by a Chartered Tax Adviser.

Every engagement is quoted on request after a free scoping call. We need to understand the company, the projects and the records before we can quote sensibly. Book a call, tell us a little about the company, and we reply the same working day. There is no obligation to proceed after the call.

Because no two claims are the same. The work depends on how many projects there are, how good the records are, whether the company has claimed before and whether anyone else has been involved. A short scoping call lets us quote for your claim rather than an average one. That is simply how we work.

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. There is no obligation to go further.

Core gets a strong claim filed. Assured also reduces the chance of trouble afterwards: it adds a pre-submission HMRC risk review, an evidence pack for future enquiries, a prior-year review, record-keeping set-up with quarterly check-ins and help with HMRC nudge letters and simple queries. Both are prepared and signed off to the same standard.

Full enquiry defence at no extra cost: written responses, technical answers, preparation of your competent professionals and meetings with HMRC. It also includes an annual R&D process health check, priority handling and a full refund of our fees for that claim if HMRC rejects it in full, on the conditions we set out in writing.

No. Core claim does not include it, and Assured includes help with HMRC nudge letters and simple queries only. Zero Risk includes full enquiry defence. If you are not on Zero Risk and HMRC does open an enquiry, we can still help, as a separate engagement. It is better to decide this before you file than after.

If HMRC opens an enquiry into a Zero Risk claim and, after the enquiry, rejects the claim in full, we refund the fees you paid us for that claim in full. This applies where you gave us complete and accurate information, kept the records we asked you to keep, and cooperated with the enquiry. It does not apply to a partial adjustment, or where the claim is rejected because of information that was withheld or inaccurate.

Usually, yes. If you start on Core and later want the added protection, tell us before the claim is filed and we will explain what it would involve. Some elements, such as the pre-submission risk review, are only useful before filing, so the earlier you ask the better. Either way, we will explain the options plainly.

Usually Assured, or Zero Risk if you want the most protection. HMRC's own figures show first-time claims have been the highest risk: in 2021-22, 64% of the value of first-time claims was non-compliant. That makes evidence and record-keeping from day one valuable, which is what Assured and Zero Risk are built around.

Yes. Scheme optimisation is part of every package, including whether the merged scheme or ERIS is better for your company and the intensity calculation behind it. If the period began before 1 April 2024, the older SME or RDEC rules may apply, and we confirm the position at the scoping call.

Yes. We file the claim notification, or confirm that one is not needed, and we register and submit the additional information form with the company tax return. All agents have to be named on both, so we are named too. Assured and Zero Risk add a notification reminder for next year.

Yes, and we recommend it. Every package includes liaison with your accountants on the financials, and your accountant stays your accountant. We only do R&D tax work, so we work around their role. Accountants can also refer clients to us or white-label our work. Your accountant remains responsible for their own work.

A completed questionnaire, access to the people who did the work, and the records of R&D activity and costs: staff time, payments to externally provided workers and subcontractors, consumables, software, and any grants. We request them in a short, ordered list. The better the records, the smoother the claim. We help you gather it.

Yes. We also defend R&D enquiries on claims prepared by others, as a separate engagement. Book a call, tell us the reply date on the HMRC letter, and we triage the case the same working day. Our enquiry defence page explains how we run it. It is a separate engagement from the packages.