WhisperClaims directors

Why WhisperClaims qualifies for R&D tax benefit for advancement in software development

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Our Operations Director Jen Badger explains why developments in WhisperClaims technology qualifies for R&D tax relief and why we’re making ‘an advancement in software development’.

At WhisperClaims, we aim to always walk the walk as much as we talk the talk, and it’s no different when it comes around to preparing our R&D claim. We’ve prepared three claims so far using our own software, and enjoyed every one!

But why do an R&D claim in the first place?

We’re a successful business with a growing client base and a robust product, so we don’t technically need to claim. However, there are two really good reasons for doing so. Firstly, it’s money that we’re entitled to, based on the eligible work we do developing our system, and what company would pass that up?

WhisperClaims team

Secondly, and probably more importantly, it gives me an annual opportunity to do a real live test of the app. Now, of course I know our app well, in fact probably better than anyone else. However, I still like to use preparing our claim as an opportunity to put the myself into the shoes of our clients and to see it through their eyes. This gives me incredibly valuable insight into our user experience.

These two factors (a cash injection and insight into how the app works in the real world) plus all of the feedback and research we get from our customers, helps us invest in continuing improvements to our app.

In our development pipeline we have a host of changes and features we’re planning to build. Some are small, like tweaking the background calculations to adjust for the new rules around employment allowance, and some are a whole lot bigger.

For example, over the past few months we’ve done a lot of research into how we can improve the look and feel of the app to make sure our users get the best possible experience. This has led to a whole heap of changes to be made to all areas of the app, and we’ll be starting work on that over the next few weeks.

Richard Edwards & Jen Badger, WhisperClaims

In addition, in response to the current circumstances, we’re kicking off a project to improve the collaboration side of the app. We want to make sure that this works seamlessly for all of our users, no matter how they prefer to engage with their clients.

All of this work involves, to some degree, making an advance in the software development science.

We’re pushing the boundaries of the technologies we use to make sure that our app is performant and robust, which will enable us to claim again next year for salary costs, some of our consumables and the consultants that help us with our R&D. I’ll be looking forward to preparing a claim for that work, and anything else we decide to do over the next year!

How to write an R&D tax relief technical narrative

With HMRC’s new mandatory requirement for project descriptions on all submissions, we wanted to share our experiences to help others to write their best possible technical narratives.

Available to download here.

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