Structure, visibility and control for R&D tax claims management – Introducing WhisperClaims’ Claim Overview

The day to day demands of R&D tax claim preparation have changed significantly.

The merged scheme, the Additional Information Form (AIF), the Claim Notification Form (CNF), multiple guidance updates and a far more compliance-focused environment have all increased the level of structure expected around a claim.

For accountants and advisers, preparing a technically robust claim matters, but so too does the ability to demonstrate a clear, consistent and defensible process around how that claim was prepared, reviewed and managed.

That is one of the reasons software has become increasingly important within modern R&D tax delivery. Not as a shortcut or replacement for professional judgement, but to support structure, continuity, visibility and control across an increasingly complex process.

Structure and safeguards

At WhisperClaims, our focus has never been on simply producing technical narratives or generating reports – the report has always been one output of a much broader process.

From the outset, the app was built around a structured, compliance-first framework designed to help firms apply the rules consistently, manage risk appropriately and maintain visibility across the claim process.

That includes:

dynamic routing across changing scheme rules

built-in compliance validation

risk benchmarking and review processes

collaborative workflows

integrated AIF outputs, and

access to experienced advisers through our unlimited Advice Line

Robust R&D tax delivery is not simply about what gets submitted.

Claim visibility matters more under the merged scheme

Under the merged scheme, being able to maintain visibility around everything connected to a claim is imperative.

Supporting evidence, project documentation, collaborator discussions, cost information, claim rationale, submission status, and internal review history can quickly become dispersed across inboxes, local folders, practice management systems and spreadsheets.

At the same time, many firms are attempting to manage increasingly complex claim processes within leaner teams and under greater commercial pressure, and as such, the need for a more structured way of preparing and delivering claims has become increasingly important.

Introducing Claim Overview

The introduction Claim Overview within WhisperClaims is a continuation of this philosophy.

Its purpose is to bring the wider management of a claim into a more connected, visible and structured environment.

Claim Overview centralises key aspects of the claim lifecycle into a single location, including:

reports and AIF outputs

supporting evidence and uploaded documentation

collaborator visibility and permissions

consolidated notes and communication history

workflow actions and claim management tools

HMRC status tracking and post-submission visibility

The aim is to help firms manage claims more cohesively from start to finish, not simply at the point a report is generated.

Supporting defensible end-to-end delivery

Claims can remain “live” long after submission. Questions can arise months, or years, later. At that point, firms need more than the submitted technical report to refer to, they need visibility around why decisions were made, what evidence existed at the time, how technical discussions evolved, who was involved, what information was reviewed, and how the claim progressed through its lifecycle.

Claim Overview has been designed to support process continuity by helping firms keep relevant information aligned to the claim period itself, rather than retrospectively reconstructing context across disconnected systems months, or even years, later.

Technology supporting professional judgement

We do not believe software removes the need for expertise. If anything, the opposite is true.

As legislation evolves and compliance expectations increase, professional judgement, technical understanding and experience become even more important.

That is why WhisperClaims combines structured software with unlimited access to experienced advisers through our Advice Line – allowing firms to sense-check positions, challenge assumptions, discuss eligibility and engage with claims confidently throughout the process.

The software provides the operational framework, and the adviser remains firmly in control of the technical decision-making.

See Claim Overview in practice

We’ll shortly be hosting a live walkthrough of our new Claim Overview area within WhisperClaims, including, how the new structure works, evidence and document management, HMRC status tracking, workflow visibility and claim management.

If you would like to explore how WhisperClaims supports structured, end-to-end R&D claim delivery within the merged scheme environment, you can register for our next live demo below. We’d love you to join us!

Book your place