Best-in-Class R&D Tax Relief Training

The course has been incredibly useful to help us quickly decipher some of the more nuanced changes in the Merged Scheme, particularly in relation to subcontracted costs (both domestically and overseas), as well as how grants and subsidies interact with the new scheme.

— Going to relook at the screening process we have, whereas it does cover most of what was suggested, it needs to be updated for the new schemes

— The construction sector was concisely broken down in this material to provide a great explanation of the different branches and sub-branches, with a visual aid showing the likelihood of R&D in each.

— Great course, would recommend

— The full experience of the programme was great, my knowledge has vastly improved. The team’s resources have been top-drawer.

— It’s always great to see the back end of the calculations required for R&D, especially to help prove competency

— Helped me to consider the marketing side of R&D tax relief that I hadn’t looked in to before and provided me with a good basis for how to interact ethically with clients going forward.

— The course is clear and concise and well worth carrying out.

— Clear and concise, good as allows you to pause, and gives visuals.

I would say this course is one of the best in covering the broader aspects of R&D, and aspects could be used to train new staff (in less technical roles) or even be client-facing, for those who want to learn more/want to upskill clients.

In the past, pushing back on eligibility has been challenging. After taking the course, we built our own Eligibility Review process to go through with clients. Now if they get to the end, and we feel it’s not an eligible project, we can agree that with the client, charge a small fee and move on to other work. It’s worked really well so far!

— Good to review our own company values and internal procedures

— This module was helpful in identifying whether a project would be a technological advance rather than commercial, and the importance of competent professionals.

— The course had a positive impact.

— Reinforced existing knowledge, some good pointers and structure on how best to explain eligibility to prospects/clients.

— Great insight into R&D in the construction industry. It’s not currently an industry we have R&D clients in, but I now know what to look out for

— Excellent, very elucidating and worth it.

— I believe there are a few badly worded questions that is subjective in this material, especially around the key information we want to gain from the first technical meetings.

— I was never fully sure on how the Total Relevant R&D and Total Expenditure were calculated but this course has helped me understand this more

— It’s reinforced my understanding that R&D advice needs to be ethically rather than purely commercially driven.

— The interlink of marketing and being ethical and what sort of factors will attract new work. Previously with us and competitors it always came down to fees, so now it’s good to see the a deeper insight

— This course has allowed me to be more structured when talking to clients. I thought this part of the course was well set out and easy to follow and understand

— This course just confirms that R&D tax advice is a complex area now that there are five possible schemes all in action at present. I think the very useful thing I learned was to make sure that prospects are given CIRD 81900 and GfC 2 and 3 as an absolute minimum to help them understand where HMRC are coming from in terms of R&D claims.

— Although I’m not responsible for the company’s website, it definitely provides an opportunity to feedback in order to make improvements (specifically around reviews).

— It is what it is i guess. We do as an accountancy practice aim to hit the highest levels of ethical standards in all aspects of work, this material would affirm that in how we do things, more specifically obviously in relation to R&D. There are some good takeaways in how we could maybe market our services better and we will be following up on them with the community.

— Given me some good ideas on structuring the report for the claim

— Reinforced existing knowledge.

— I have a greater knowledge of qualifying costs & apportionments

— Given some useful information on how to update our website and what we should be including and what not to include.

— Recognising the importance of being more thorough at the start of the process to avoid surprises later down the line.

— Very well structured, professional and extremely useful in reinforcing existing knowledge. After 8 years supporting R&D tax claims, certainly learnt more than expected, particularly through the additional reading (introducing new materials) and definitely the live webinars, so many thanks Richard, Karen, Kevin and the wider team.

— I will review our portfolio of R&D clients to assess the risk factors with the changing schemes in mind. Not being able to claim for foreign subcontractors could be particularly impactful to some of our clients so I’ll be sure to communicate this change to them.

— Having taken this course, we’ll review our marketing messages, and our third party consultants need more training and a clear approach to how they market our product as part of their range. Some very similarly worded questions are hard to differentiate as dyslexic, clearer wording would be better in some multiple response questions as it feels more about english skills than R&D skills

— I had no idea about UK taxation, now i have an ethical understanding about it.

— Particularly liked the explanations on capital assets and testing.

The R&D Community is very informative source for getting to know about R&D Tax reliefs. It is easily understandable and definitely can learn a lot from this course!

— This course helped solidify my knowledge on the 5 R&D schemes and what does/does not qualify as R&D costs

— Having done the course previously I think we are on a good path, but need to update for Merged and ERIS schemes.

— It’s reinforced my knowledge

— It was really good and helpful

— The course gave me a better perspective of how utility costs can be apportioned to R&D

– Easy to digest and interpret
– Useful overview of market, competition and delivery models
– A good mix of experience and legislative based advice

— I like the structured approach and making sure the client has been given R&D definitions before meeting them to discuss the projects. I also like the template idea of how to get all the information needed on each project to build up a defendable claim.

— I feel better prepared for the new schemes and how to calculate any credits involved

— It has confirmed what we are already doing with our clients, but defined it and the templates are a great addition and we will be using these going forwards

— Great course, would recommend.

— It really highlights that we need to ensure we are ethical in marketing and what areas we can work on for the website, especially the positive of being an ethical R&D advisor

— It’s given me a better understanding of the ethical responsibility of advisors.

— Useful to know how to calculate the new merged scheme with the changes coming into effect.

— Good points on screening potential clients

— The program was an invaluable add on to the existing support network offered by the RandD Community.

— Affirmed that my approach has been, and is in alignment with yours.

— Looks of good ways to frame R&D knowledge and share it with others in bite sized and relatable ways.

— Well explained, leading to an even greater understanding of key principles.

— It is always good to emphasise which costs are eligible and when as there have been changes in the legislation and it’s always welcome to keep anyone preparing R&D claim staying in focus.

— This is a well structured platform. The approach to training is well thought out, it is very effective in giving one a broad perspective on what exactly HMRC is looking for. Having done this, and others of their courses I fell so much more confident, but also eager to apply what I’m learning.

The content in the free trial is well worth the time to go through and view all the modules. Look forward to more.

— Very good

— Understanding the impact of prepping clients before a technical call and how this can help you in the long run

— The material provides great examples of qualifying and non-qualifying activity and expenditure.

— It’s made me highly aware (as a non accountant) how convoluted the tax calculations can be, especially with the number of different schemes, rates and overlapping deadlines.

— helping to be more direct with the questions we ask

— confirmed that it is a complex relief to claim, and that saying no to clients is better than submitting a claim under pressure.

I found the merged scheme course extremely insightful, and it gave me the opportunity to test my understanding of the changes with short quizzes. The course simplifies the guidance released by HMRC and is easy to understand. I would recommend the course to all advisors/accountants.

— I believe additional training to sales staff will be needed to give them a better understanding of the changes and the way to approach clients

— I found the course enlightening, as always.

— Based on the recommendations and examples of bad marketing practice, the company has reviewed and updated all channels of marketing and communication with our clients.

— I think this course will be an essential differentiator for R&D advisors going forwards. At least we can use our certificates as proof of learning which other advisors do not have.

— The material succinctly outlines the difference in claimable items for SME’s and Large companies.

— Information presented in a way that is more digestible and easily understood.

— It has made me think about how I discuss and present the R&D scheme. It has been very insightful.

I would say the “Introduction to R&D tax relief” course is a good enough foundation for nearly all stakeholders in the sector. It provides an informative global view of the UK R&D incentives from both a technical and commercial perspective.

This is a much-welcomed learning tool promoting best practice – the first of its kind, I believe, focussed on UK R&D tax reliefs.

— I think that it is really important and key that, as a tax adviser, it is important to be able to clearly explain the different types of R&D schemes clearly to potential clients and highlight how the R&D tax relief is calculated.

The subcontracting module is extremely useful given the amount of nuances within it. I do enjoy the learning so this has definitely helped to firm up my knowledge on this front.

The R&D Community is a great tool for the learning and best practice in relation to R&D. Courses are informative and concise to allow growth of knowledge.

— I have thoroughly enjoyed the programme. I do not come from an accountancy background and the welcome into the Cohort and support you get whilst completing the programme is fantastic. I feel my knowledge has increased and I am much more confident navigating the minefield that is the R&D scheme(s).
It’s been a brilliant few weeks and I really feel this has been valuable to my development.

— Although software is an area generally showing likelihood of R&D, it’s complex. The material gave great examples of the different types of software and the related competent professionals, to help distinguish between likely non-qualifying and likely qualifying examples of R&D.

— Great to see as a community we are focusing on ensuring clients have clarity and an understanding of the process.

— Given some good advice on how to screen clients in the future.

— The material gave some good examples of how a company’s tax position affects an R&D claim.

— The course was reassuring and had great summaries of all relevant areas explained in a very succinct and clear way

— It has highlighted significant areas of weakness. It has redoubled my belief that accreditation to work in the field of R&D is a must!

— This course is crucial if you want to fully understand the complexities of this process in a clear and concise way

— The material explains the purpose of the additional information form and offers best practice for it’s completion.

— It’s helped me to understand when R&D activity starts and stops, for the purpose of an R&D claim

— Although our R&D consultants have most of this material in place it was still very educational

— It has reaffirmed current knowledge in being from an accountancy background

— I was happy to find that many of the suggestions around ethics and marketing in the R&D space conformed to views I hold privately already. Enjoyed some of the practical tips and jotted them down.

— Presented in a way that is easy to digest, pick up and start very easily which gives you the comfort of not being left out of date in an area of tax that is a bit of a moving target.

— We already have a strong screening process for prospects and client renewals but excellent summaries of the 5 different schemes and ballparking claim sizes.

— The differences between the schemes has become more clear. Would potentially be good to have more “real life” examples and related questions

— Software claims can be very complex! So we need to be mindful of who can claim and when. It’s useful to keep in mind that the baseline technology in software will be changing fast

— it reaffirms a good process to follow

— there were some areas that I was not 100% on before the course that were covered and has been a help. It is also nice to have my knowledge of preparing the CT confirmed by watching this

— It’s reinforced our current knowledge and understanding.

— I will now be mindful of how we market R&D services, both on our website and on various social media platforms

— Great run through of the AIF, especially useful to me is the splitting out of RDEC parts of a claim

I had no knowledge regarding the ERIS Scheme, so it was super useful to learn this. Existing topics that I had some knowledge on before, I was able to develop further.

— How to structure a client meeting in an efficient manner and how to gather the relevant information

— It’s useful for learning aspects of R&D Tax in a modular, segmented fashion without requiring an excessive time commitment per studying session.

— Reinforced the need for consistent and ethical messaging.

— Great learning!

— It has strengthened my approach to R&D

— The subsections has been covered in more detail and was helpful to cover example questions in this situation.

— It`s given clarification on a number of issues and also very informative on others.

— It was an interesting course, it does align closely with the problems and issues we see with clients and their expectations and how we would manage them. Would be useful to have a PDF to refer to.

— I would say this course is one of the best in covering the broader aspects of R&D, and aspects could be used to train new staff (in less technical roles) or even be client-facing, for those who want to learn more/want to upskill clients.

— A useful reminder of some points. I would appreciate text only versions without videos as an option. I find going through the videos time consuming

— Easy to understand videos and breakdown of costs makes it easy to get to grip with the costs that can be claimed and not claimed.

— Now I’ve taken this course we’re going to prepare our own ‘eligibility’ review pack

The course was enjoyable, informative and highly relevant to changes coming into the scheme from 1st April. I particularly liked how any past scheme rules were explained first, so any new changes could be appreciated more. A well worthwhile investment (of an hour and a half) of my time to keep up to date, and my own CPD plan.

— The importance of contract contents are something I’d not considered before. I will now be sure to check that subcontractors of my client are contracted for specific tasks & activities

This is a well structured platform. The approach to training is well thought out, it is very effective in giving one a broad perspective on what exactly HMRC is looking for. Having done this, and others of their courses I felt so much more confident, but also eager to apply what I’m learning.

— The material provided a clear breakdown of the qualifying expenditure inclusions and exclusions based on which scheme is applicable, and which period it relates to.

— It is useful if you are looking to see each aspect of the AIF broken down systematically.

— Firmed up my beliefs that i had and I will now review our website.

— i am new but i have learnt a lot

— Good for the differences on new schemes

— It’s always great to have a refresher on the basics on R&D tax relief, and this is the course that I always use (adapted for in-person) for new starters to determine their knowledge around the incentive. I think this is probably one of the strongest courses you have – it flows really nicely and hits some great points.

— It helps me to retain focus in the right areas and ask better questions of my clients.

There was a nice balance between the complex, technical information and easy to understand graphics that I felt would be well received by people with all levels of R&D experience.

— It’s a great way to discuss with staff who are completing technical meetings the importance of structure and what is required to do right by their clients.

— This course is useful to know the quality of information rather than quantity expected by HMRC.

— a good impact – covered alot of information

— As a result of this course, we will add ‘our mission and goals’ to our eligibility review process so our clients can see them.

I particularly liked seeing examples of accounting calculations and having to do them to get more familiar with theoretical aspects of work.

— more clear with a better structure