Chartered Accountants
Meet Our R&D Taxperts – Rachel Bell
R&D Tax Credits are a government-backed initiative designed to encourage innovation. Successful claims can provide a valuable source of cashflow for eligible companies, allowing businesses to invest back into the company.
At EQ, we have a dedicated team of R&D Taxperts that submit claims on behalf of our clients. To date, they have helped claim over £22m of tax savings for our clients, many of which are delivered on a yearly basis.
As accountants, tax and business advisors, we spend time getting to know clients’ businesses, allowing us to fully explore the scope of a potential R&D claim. This has allowed us to ensure that every claim submitted has benefitted the client, resulting in significant tax savings to invest back into their business.
We spoke with our Partner, Rachel Bell, and asked her to provide advice to anyone considering making a claim or changing providers.
How long have you been completing R&D claims for?
“I have been involved in the R&D team for more than 8 years now. I started out by assisting some of my colleagues with claims they were preparing, learning from their experience, and now in addition to preparing claims for my own clients I provide assistance and guidance to other members of the team.”
What kind of claims have you been involved in recently?
“I deal with R&D clients in all sorts of different industries. Claims I prepare include those for companies in the food and drink industry, agricultural businesses and for a number of engineering and manufacturing businesses. I have also been in talks with suppliers for the construction industry recently to determine whether they are eligible to make claims. One of the R&D claims I recently completed was for a construction client, which resulted in a client saving of £22,491.”
You can read the case study in full here.
What do you enjoy most about helping clients claim R&D tax credits?
“I enjoy finding out more about our client’s businesses and what they are passionate about. When preparing an R&D claim you discuss what the companies do in a lot more detail than you might do normally so that that you can get a full understanding of the R&D being undertaken and ensure that an appropriate claim is prepared. It is also very rewarding to know that the tax savings/repayments generated from claims we prepare are put to good use, and the next time you speak to your clients you hear about the steps forward they have taken.”
What advice would you give someone who may be unsure if they are eligible to make a claim?
“If you are unsure if you are eligible to make a claim you should still speak to EQ – we will take the time to run through what you do and determine whether there is scope to make a claim. I often speak to clients who say the projects they are undertaking are ‘just what we do’ and play down the innovation and development involved, but they often do qualify for R&D claims and can make substantial tax savings. Over the years I have come across a number of companies who have been eligible and missed out on valuable claims and wish they had taken the advice sooner.”
If you would like to discuss your circumstances with Rachel or any of our R&D Taxperts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We will never tie you into a contract and would be happy to have a no obligation discussion to see if we can help you make a claim.
You can email us on R&[email protected] or call any of our offices to arrange a chat with our of our team.
