As long-standing R&D Tax Credit partners of UKPA – the UK PropTech Association – we work with countless businesses pioneering the property market. Our R&D Tax Specialists have developed extensive experience in analysing and reporting PropTech-related expenditure to deliver fully maximised R&D Tax Credit claims.
If you’ve heard the term ‘R&D Tax Relief’ or ‘R&D Tax Credits’ echo around the funding space, but are unfamiliar with how the scheme actually works, it can be difficult to gauge if claiming R&D Tax Credits could offer any real value to your business. And as a time-poor entrepreneur, digging into the R&D Tax Credit initiative might not be at the top of your to-do list. That’s totally understandable. And we're here to help! As R&D Tax Advisors, it’s our job to raise awareness of the scheme to help eligible businesses benefit from it.
Today, we’re going to share how Property Management platform, Ark, found our R&D Tax Credit service to provide an ‘invaluable’ benefit, particularly transforming the development of their technology in the early stages.
Head of Partnerships at Ark, Angus Reid, sat down with us to talk about his experience with our R&D Tax Credit service. He believes that “R&D Tax Credits should be something that businesses are more aware of. Even though many founders have the idea that they can claim tax benefits on research and development, there’s a lot of confusion surrounding the scheme.”
He argued “I think it should be shouted about more because, for companies at an early stage, like us, R&D Tax Relief is invaluable.”
Here’s what Ark had to say about their experience claiming R&D Tax Credits with Claim Capital.
An introduction to Ark: the Property Management Platform
Ark is a property management platform on a mission to radically improve renting for everyone in the UK, from institutional-level landlords that are looking to improve the customer experience for residents, to independent landlords looking to connect with tenants and provide the best service they can – and of course, for the millions of people renting across the UK.
Angus explained that most of the renting horror stories that dominate the press arise from complications with third parties whose interests don’t align with those of the landlord. And often, these could have been prevented by the logistical support offered by Ark - which enables landlords to stay compliant, keep open communication with tenants, and organise everything involved in managing rental property.
How did Ark reinvest their R&D Tax Credit claim?
After successfully claiming R&D Tax Relief with Claim Capital, Ark reinvested their substantial R&D Tax Credit benefit into their technology and are planning to allocate future claims to bring on new personnel and grow their team.
Being a technology-driven platform, research and development tax relief has been instrumental in building and refining their offering.
“Being a tech company first and foremost, our R&D Tax Relief has gone into building that tech – from our first year of incorporation when we were building our MVP and progressing through the proof-of-concept stage, and more recently, growing and expanding our technology, such as Ark’s web dashboard, mobile applications, and so on.”
Ark’s experience with Claim Capital's R&D Tax Credit service
Before claiming R&D Tax Credits with Claim Capital, Angus and the Ark team had a brief understanding of how the scheme worked and knew that their activity would likely qualify for R&D Tax Relief.
But like many businesses, they weren’t sure how to file an R&D Tax Credit claim that would make the most of the scheme, what the process should look like, or whether it would be worth their time.
The team found that a quick call with Claim Capital’s R&D Tax Specialists quickly resolved their confusion around the R&D Tax Relief scheme and clarified the recurring value on offer.
Angus told us that he initially reached out to our Managing Director, Max, following an R&D Tax Credits webinar we hosted.
“From the first conversation right up until the R&D Tax Credit benefit landed with us, communication has been great. We were walked through each step of the R&D claim process in a clear and helpful way, from the Account Management side and from our assigned R&D Tax Specialist, Harry, who was excellent throughout. Overall, the process was really positive.”
What made Ark choose Claim Capital as their R&D Tax Advisor?
When initially comparing R&D Tax Credit providers, the team at Ark became aware of how Claim Capital’s fixed fee model challenges the predominantly percentage-based R&D Tax Credits market.
After speaking to several other R&D Tax Advisors that were charging a commission basis (of up to 20% of the R&D claim benefit), Angus explained how they found that Claim Capital’s fees to stand out as the most cost-effective, attractive route.
“Claim Capital’s payment model was by far the most attractive and made the most sense for us as a business. Some of the other providers we spoke with seemed to be disproportionately expensive in relation to our R&D claim benefit. Not only was the service from Claim Capital very good, but the payment model was an additional win, particularly when compared to other providers out there.”
Ark’s advice to innovative businesses who aren’t yet claiming R&D Tax Credits
Following a quick and easy R&D claim with Claim Capital, Angus said that “for us, continuing to claim R&D Tax Credits is a no brainer.”
They felt that even though the process can come across as quite daunting for a first-time claimant, just one short call with an experienced R&D Tax Credit Specialist can change your perspective.
Something important for Ark’s team was to maintain focus on growing their business, and not have to put their development on pause to handle the R&D Tax Credit claim. They were pleased to find their R&D claim a simple and streamlined process, taking hardly any of their time away from the business.
“Claim Capital’s methodical approach to our R&D Tax Credit delivered us a really good result. I think that anyone thinking about claiming R&D Tax Credits should just do it - when the money came through from HMRC, it felt like free money!”
Would Ark recommend Claim Capital to other businesses looking to claim R&D Tax Relief?
We’re happy that Angus felt confident recommending our R&D Tax Credit service to other innovative companies looking to accelerate growth and optimise cash flow on an annual basis.
“From the other companies that we spoke to, and our own claim experience, we feel that Claim Capital’s quality of service and pricing model were the best out there. We had a great experience from start-to-finish, and we’d be happy to recommend them to other businesses”.
If, like Ark, your innovative business could benefit from the R&D Tax Credit scheme, there’s no harm in arranging an R&D claim eligibility call with one of our R&D Tax Specialists.
We’d be happy to assess the potential scope of your R&D Tax Credit claim and run you through how we work to secure it (with no obligation to proceed).
Stay tuned for more R&D Tax Credit success stories! To watch Ark's full video testimonial, explore their R&D Tax Credit case study.