As a proud member of the UK Proptech Association (UKPA), Claim Capital are on a mission to help Proptech startups grow by securing them financial aid through Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credits.
Our experts are well-versed when it comes to assessing the scope of your R&D Tax Credit claim, and strive to deliver maximum benefit year after year.
In this blog, we’re going to tell you a little more about how we helped a particularly happy client reinvest and scale their business.
We sat down with Kristjan Byfield, co-founder of The Depositary, to hear about his experience with Claim Capital.
What service does The Depositary provide and what R&D did you carry out?
The Depositary is an easy-to-use Proptech platform aimed at the residential estate agency market. Through innovative software, The Depositary streamlines and automates the tenancy conclusion process, from notice of tenancy termination right the way through to refund of moneys.
As the first product of its kind, Co-Founders Kristjan and An carried out innovative research and development to ensure their technology complies with the complex legal regulations that come with deposit deduction and tenant liabilities, and to provide a customisable operation that their target client base would need.
How can an R&D Tax Credit contribute to your business?
These Research & Development costs are where founders are incentivised by the UK government with the reward of claiming up to 33% of R&D spending back. By filing their R&D Tax Credits with Claim Capital, “The Depositary managed to reclaim sufficient funds to map out their next 12-18 months, and help pursue their next stage of growth, faster”.
Thanks to R&D Tax Credits, Kristjan told us that “planned modules, products, and integrations of The Depositary will be able to come to life sooner than they’d imagined”.
Only 16 months into trading, The Depositary were yet to become profit-making at the time of filing their claim. This is good news for R&D Tax Credits, as loss-making companies are entitled to the highest possible financial return.
We were delighted to hear that “The Depositary was able to mitigate the monetary losses that are part and parcel of growing a business”.
What impressed you when working with Claim Capital?
Choosing the wrong advisor can severely limit the size of your claim by either undervaluing your R&D costs, or charging a percentage-based fee that will increase alongside the size of your claim. After comparing several R&D advisors, Kristjan found that “Claim Capital offers the most cost-efficient route”.
After their accountants first told them they weren’t eligible for R&D Tax Credits, and then trialing a less effective application platform, The Depositary was impressed with Claim Capital’s “expert knowledge of the tech space, proactive approach and pledge to submit to HMRC within a 3–5-day window”.
We strive to make sure our clients feel supported at every turn of their R&D Tax Credit claim. Kristjan re-affirmed our goal - “the feedback we got going through the drafts of the application was all very clear and helpful!”.
Kristjan’s advice to PropTech founders
After his experience with Claim Capital, Kristjan believes that “founders not claiming R&D Tax relief are doing their business a disservice.”
By using Claim Capital, Proptech startups can gain substantial financial reward with very little effort. The guidance Claim Capital provides makes the process seamless from start to finish.
“If you’re a time-poor founder that’s struggling to prioritize R&D Tax Claims within your workday, or if your accountant isn’t clued up on the tech world, then it’s an absolute no brainer to engage Claim Capital.” - Kristjan Byfield, Co-founder of The Depositary