Why incorporating R&D tax services into your practice could boost profitability

Published: 20^th September, 2023

In recent years, we have witnessed a seismic shift in the expectations of businesses that engage the services of accountants and tax advisors.

In this dynamic landscape, infusing Research and Development (R&D) tax services into the operations of your accountancy firms stands out as a simple strategic move, that will not only help your clients to access funding and stimulate innovation, it will deliver success to your practice through potential fee growth and client engagement.

Below we discuss some of the benefits of incorporating R&D tax into your accounting services.

Identifying new revenue streams: By venturing into R&D services, accountancy firms can explore untapped avenues and identify new revenue streams.
Enhanced service offerings: Accountancy firms can significantly broaden their service offerings, moving beyond the traditional tax and audit services to include advisory services grounded in extensive research and data analytics.
Tax credits and incentives: In the UK, the government encourages R&D initiatives through R&D tax credits, which serve as a lucrative incentive for SME’s engaging in innovative projects. – it’s inevitable that your clients would expect you to have a handle on this
Fostering innovation: Incorporating an R&D tax service promotes a culture of innovation within your client base – the very fact you are offering it will prompt a debate with your clients about their suitability and the prospect of utilising the scheme for eligible projects.
Differentiation in a competitive market: an R&D tax service serves as a differentiator, helping accountancy firms to carve out a niche. Expanding your portfolio to include this service helps you to distinguish yourself in a busy marketplace. If you don’t offer this service, your competitors inevitably will, creating an opportunity for them to speak with your clients.
Strengthening client relationships: Accountancy firms can strengthen client relationships by offering an advisory service built around R&D tax relief – even if clients don’t have eligible work, the nature of your conversations will enhance and deepen your understanding of their business and making relationships more sticky.

We know that this all sounds great, but how can it be delivered?

If you don’t have the expertise or workforce to manage multiple claims in a year this can restrict your ability to offer this service and, in many cases, firms choose to outsource this work to specialist consultants.

However, this ultimately means that you lost control of the client relationship and often are working on a minimum “success fee” from the provider, whilst still being asked to prepare elements of the claim, by providing costs or submitting the Additional Information Form and CT600.

There is a simpler solution – build your own service line using technology combined with a dedicated support service, backed by experts.

At WhisperClaims, that is exactly what we offer to hundreds of accountants across the UK, who use our software and support to prepare claims with confidence, under their own brand.

Ready to add R&D tax services to your firm? Find out how we can help by visiting our website or getting with one of our experts.