The software underpinning RDRelief was sold to one of the big-4 professional service firms in 2018. Consequently, the brand is no longer in operation.

R&D Tax Advisors are invited to find out more about the Inspired.tax claim preparation software.
Otherwise, please feel free to continue to browse this website for useful information regarding claiming R&D Tax Credits in the UK. However, beware that none of the information has been updated since 2018.

R&D Tax Relief FAQ

How is it possible to prepare a high-quality R&D claim at a fraction of the cost of other professional advisors? ▽ △

The short answer is through automation and efficiency. The more precise answer is set out below.

Fees for mid-experience R&D advisors can equate to �950/hour (a big-4 senior manager). Most professional service firms and boutique R&D advisors, typically prefer contingent fee engagements, where they can achieve high recoveries without the need to explicitly reveal their hourly rates.

The time required to prepare R&D claims mostly involves transforming spreadsheets, reconciliation and costing of figures, repeating the BEIS guidelines to technical teams and report writing. Our pioneering RD Relief cloud software takes care of all these tasks. For example:

1. Following the upload of your cost spreadsheets, all R&D calculations are automatically processed within the technology

2. The BEIS guidelines are presented via videos, and the key R&D eligibility criteria are reemphasised at the crucial points as the data is entered

3. First drafts of supporting documentation are automatically generated, meaning that our R&D specialists just need to review and tweak, rather than writing afresh

Not only does this eliminate error-prone manual activities (from our prior experience within the big 4, we know that synchronising tables between spreadsheets and reports has been a source of many errors being submitted to HMRC), but it also means that our R&D specialists focus purely on value-add activities to ensure a robust, maximised R&D claim.
What do I need to submit to HMRC to make an R&D tax relief claim? ▽ △

HMRC only require the qualify expenditure figures to be submitted and for you to keep a detailed record of the claim on file for six years.

From our experience, we also recommended that a supporting documentation is proactively sent to HMRC in support of the claim.

Our core package includes the creation of all these deliverables.
What happens to the data on our servers after the claim has been submitted? ▽ △

Upon claim finalisation, you will be issued with two reports that collectively contain all the useful information we have acquired to support the claim.

At this point you will have the option as to whether you want to keep the data on our systems, or if it should be deleted. If you choose to keep the data on our systems, it can be useful for us to provide support going forward.
What data is required to prepare an R&D claim, and what format does this need to be in? ▽ △

If you have reliable timesheet data, or even just a listing of project costs then HMRC will typically expect these to be used.

Our software will allow the data to be imported from a spreadsheet. You will be guided through a tutorial to specify what aspects of the data are important, and we will be on hand to help you design the best view for your technical team/s to assess!

If you don't have any such data, our system will take you through a simple methodology that will lead to the establishment of assessments against project matrices.

It used to be the case that R&D claims could be prepared as percentages against individuals, however from 2018 HMRC are starting to push against this and require more support.

My previous R&D advisors told me that preparing an R&D claim is really complex, the costs have a mix of different accounting treatments, and some of the work has been funded by other companies!

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The technology will ask a few, straightforward questions and depending on your answers will present a tailored workflows.

Our specialist R&D advisors will also be with you at every stage of the process, to ensure that we are as efficient with your time as we are with our technology and processes.

How will we access the technology? ▽ △

Access to the technology is through the secure login portal.

The finance user will be issued a secure login after the company has registered.

After providing company background information (to customise the workflows) and importing the costs, the finance user will configure who the technical users are, and what types of costs they will be able to see.

The technical users will then receive a secure link (with a customised email if required) to create their credentials.
How does the restriction to specific IP addresses work? ▽ △

The IP restriction provides an additional level of security on top of a standard username/password login. At any point, you can add/update IP (v4) addresses that will be used to access and prepare the R&D claim. This will secure access to your portal so that only authorised users connecting from these IP addresses can access your data.

Note: You may need to verify with your IT team whether you operate static or dynamic IP addresses, as the latter regularly change. We are more than happy to support either, but the former will require you to inform us every time you are allocated a new IP address.
Will our technical teams be able to see the remuneration of all individuals? ▽ △

The types of costs each technical user (aka claim competent professional) can see are configured as the users are assigned. For example, it may be the case that one technical user should be able to see individual contractor costs, but not permanent staff costs, while another technical user may not be able to see any costs relating staff or contractors.
This is sensitive data, how can you ensure that it is secure? ▽ △

We take security extremely seriously. Our security policy details everything from application level endpoint security to the physical security of the servers. Please let us know if you want any further details and our security architect will be in touch.
Will my data ever leave the UK and Ireland? ▽ △

No. As detailed within the security page all data is stored and processed within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) UK and Ireland regions. The primary data centre (where all data is stored) is in London.
Can I prepare a claim on my mobile phone and/or which desktop browsers are supported? ▽ △

Unfortunately, mobile devices are not yet supported by the software, as although these will mostly work, there may be instances where the formatting of images and text may be incorrect - impeding your ability to complete the workflows. In this case, we would recommend that you revert to a browser running on a desktop computer.

For the best browsing experience, we recommend the latest versions of Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Firefox.
What types of R&D are supported? ▽ △

We support most types of R&D including - Software Development, Civil Engineering, Life Sciences and Manufacturing

Unfortunately, we don't yet support Oil Field or Upstream Oil and Gas claims. However we are working to support these R&D types in the future, and please feel free to get in touch if you require any further information in this area.
What happens if HMRC enquires into the claim? ▽ △

If HMRC has any questions, we are here to support, to whatever extent you require. Included in the core package price, are two one-hour calls to discuss the approach and response, and a one-hour discussion with HMRC. We will be more than happy to provide further support (e.g. us responding to HMRC letters directly) which will be charged on a time and materials basis.
What if the claim is rejected by HMRC? ▽ △

We have never had a claim rejected by HMRC. However, if this does happen, then as per our T&C's you will receive a full refund less expenses (e.g. train ticket costs for the workshop session).