As long-standing R&D Tax Credit partners of UKPA – the UK PropTech Association – we work with many businesses innovating within the property industry. Our R&D Tax Specialists have significant 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’ before, but are unfamiliar with how the scheme actually works, it can be difficult gauge if claiming R&D Tax Credits could offer any real value to your business. And as a time-poor entrepreneur, learning the ins and outs of the R&D Tax Credits initiative might not be at the top of your to-do list.
That’s understandable! As R&D Tax Advisors, it’s our to job to raise awareness of the scheme to help eligible businesses benefit from it.
Today we’re going to recount how, by switching their R&D Tax Credits from their Accountant to Claim Capital, Unissu was able to maximise their R&D claim benefit by an additional £32,000.
Co-Founder of Unissu, Eddie Holmes, sat down with us to help share the benefits of using a specialist R&D Tax Credit service, instead of including an R&D claim within general bookkeeping.
An introduction to Unissu
Unissu is the UK’s leading source for PropTech-related data, insights, content, and research. Their marketplace offers real-estate professionals an opportunity to gain important information regarding innovation within the world of PropTech, and what the future might look like.
“At Unissu, we’ve engaged in R&D activity in a number of ways over the years. The R&D Tax Relief scheme is actually very easy to apply for if you work with the right advisor – such as Claim Capital.”
Tell us about Unissu’s experience with Claim Capital’s R&D Tax Credit service.
“Initially, we had our accountants advise us on our R&D claim for the 2019 tax year. After appointing Claim Capital to complete our R&D Tax Credit claim in 2020, we we’re pleasantly surprised to receive a larger claim benefit than expected - so we asked Claim Capital to review the previous R&D claim filed by our accountant."
"Our R&D Tax Specialist at Claim Capital was able identify £32,000 shortfall in the R&D claim that our accountants had filed for us.”
After our team recognised that Unissu’s accountant had previously undervalued their R&D claim significantly, we were fortunately able to carry forward the excluded spending and recoup this additional £32,000 on behalf of Unissu.
R&D Tax Credits allow claimants to recover up to 33% of their R&D spending retrospectively over the past two financial years, so if you have concerns about the valuation of your previous R&D claim, it might not be too late to re-maximise you R&D Tax Credit benefit with the help of an experienced specialist.
Overall, Unissu’s experience with Claim Capital exceeded their expectations and delivered substantial value across multiple R&D claims. Understandably, Unissu found the experience to be eye-opening, showing the importance of filing R&D Tax Credits through a reputable specialist rather than taking the general accounting route.
Fast forward to the present day, Claim Capital has now filed three R&D Tax Credits on behalf of Unissu. Eddie reflected on his experience: “the R&D claims that we have made since switching to Claim Capital have been very beneficial to our business, helping us to alleviate cashflow pressures and accelerate growth.”
How did Unissu reinvest their R&D Tax Credit benefit?
The money Unissu has been able to reinvest through their R&D Tax Credit claims has provided a significant boost to the business’ momentum.
Eddie told us that Unissu’s R&D claims enabled them to bring on new personnel and grow their team, as well as supercharge their product development processes.
In addition, the R&D Tax Credit benefit was allocated to Unissu’s marketing budgeting, bringing about further revenue.
“R&D Tax Credits have made an extremely positive impact to the progress that we’ve made over the past three years”, Eddie argued. It’s clear that in this case, R&D Tax Relief has truly fulfilled its purpose of helping innovative businesses grow and scale.
What led Unissu to file their R&D claim with Claim Capital?
As mentioned, Unissu’s initial motivation to engage Claim Capital was to switch from a general accountant to an R&D Tax Specialist.
But why Claim Capital over the other R&D Tax Advisors out there?
Unissu was recommended to our R&D Tax Credit service through the UK PropTech Association – where we are long-standing Gold Members. Our successful partnership with UKPA is a testament to our expertise within the PropTech sector and the credible reputation that we work hard to uphold.
Eddie told us that another draw towards Claim Capital was our fixed fee pricing model.
Where most R&D Tax Advisors charge a percentage of the claim benefit (10-30%), we operate a transparent, cost-effective fixed fee. As an R&D claim grows in size over time, businesses committing to hand over a percentage of their R&D Tax Credit benefit often end up being significantly overcharged.
What advice would Unissu give to companies who aren’t yet claiming R&D Tax Credits?
“To tech-intensive companies that aren’t currently claiming R&D Tax Credits, I would definitely explore the potential for you to do so – which only takes a short eligibility call with a Specialist Advisor.”
Eddie went on to say that “I would further urge anyone who is using a general advisor for their R&D Tax Credits, such as their accountant, to offload their R&D claim to a Specialist firm. It’s clear that their additional expertise translates into real value.”
If, like Unissu, 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 and maximise it (with no obligation to proceed).
Stay tuned for more R&D Tax Credit success stories! To watch Unissu's testimonial video, explore their R&D Tax Credit case study.
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