The art of preparing R&D tax claims while working remotely
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As we all adjusted to the current normal and get settled into working from home, I saw a lot of posts and blogs where people shared their beautiful home working set-ups. They had actual desks! And plants! Now, here at WhisperClaims we pride ourselves on our honesty, and I can honestly say that my home working set-up does not involve a desk of any kind. In fact, my workstation has become ‘wherever I can see the children and still type effectively!’
To illustrate this point, I thought I’d give you an insight into how I prepared WhisperClaims’ FY2020 R&D tax claim:
Day 1:
Goal: Set up my R&D claim from the sofa; Feed the kids!
5:00pm, on the sofa: Suddenly realise that the kids are quiet, and I have twenty minutes until I need to start cooking dinner.
Quickly sign in to WhisperClaims and set up our FY2020 claim.
Day 2:
Goal: Prepare an R&D claims report; Escape childcare carnage!
9:00am, in the garden: PE with Joe.
9:30am, at the kitchen table: Gasp for air. Catch up with the team over Zoom.
10:00am, at the kitchen table: Attempt to start filling out the R&D claim question set.
10:03am: The bickering starts.
10:04am: Throw snacks into the living room.
10:10am: Realise the snacks are not enough. Gather broomsticks, blankets, doll, doll’s pushchair, frisbee, laptop and chair and head down to the garden.
10:15am-11:15am, in the garden: Sit shivering in garden wearing winter coat, hat and gloves. Fill out technical questions. Pull salary details from Xero and enter into the app.
11:15am – 11:30am, in the garden: The bickering starts again. Put laptop down and arrange timed laps of the lawn.
11:30am: Give up. Heave all of the stuff back into our second floor flat.
11:45 – 12:00, on the sofa: Sit awkwardly with a child on either side of me watching cartoons. Enter and apportion the rest of the R&D costs.
12:00pm – 12:30pm, in the kitchen: Feed the ravenous hordes.
12:30pm – 1:00pm: Rare moment of peace while kids do crafts. Make space in amongst the chaos of craft materials on the coffee table for my laptop. Check through R&D claim, finalise and download report. Email to accountant while the going is good….
And that, my friends, was that. Half a day, two and a quarter hours of actual work, two happy-ish children and a complete R&D claim sent to our accountant – not bad at all!
WhisperClaims | Operations Director
Jen has spent the past nine years working in and around the R&D tax credit industry, and in that time has prepared hundreds of claims for companies of all shapes, sizes, colours and flavours. She’s passionate about making sure all of the users of the WhisperClaims app have the information and training they need to produce robust and compliant claims.
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