And while an investment in claim software CAN trigger all these changes and improvements in your business, we don’t think that gives the full picture. There are more pieces in the puzzle of R&D success than simply choosing the right software.
What they don’t tell you about R&D claim software
We’ve seen over the years that when people are disappointed with their claims software, they don’t immediately realise why. They feel like the software is letting them down in some way, and might end up switching between packages, or leaving it to gather dust in a corner of their computer. The monthly subscription fees are wasted as staff avoid using it at all.
On the other hand, some people don’t even notice there’s an issue with how they’re using their claim software. There’s a risk that if you give your team an ‘all-singing-all-dancing’ claims automation software, they’ll assume it can do no wrong. They could end up taking inappropriate clients through the process and not realise that they’re generating reports that look good but wouldn’t stand up to enquiry.
Here’s the issue: software can only be as good as the person using it. Giving a great tool to someone who doesn’t have the confidence or training to use it is a recipe for disaster.
R&D software is great for:
- Capturing and structuring information about a client’s claim
- Guiding you through the process and making sure you don’t miss anything
- Helping you create a systemised process in your team for preparing all your claims
- Generating reports directly from the client’s data
On the other hand, there are some things it can’t do for you! It’s not great for:
- Being proactive and finding potential R&D claimants within your existing client portfolio.
- Assessing in detail whether a particular project is eligible for relief
- Making subjective judgements about the parts of the project and costs which qualify
- Teaching you things you didn’t already know about R&D tax relief
It’s an excellent tool, but it’s not a magic wand! You need people with the right skills and training to be able to speak to your clients, understand the projects, and gather all the right information for the claim.
Good R&D training can unlock the value of your R&D software and get you the results you need
In The R&D Community, we work with a lot of accountants who already use R&D software. We’ve given them the additional tools, skills and confidence they need to help their clients to make accurate and defensible claims for R&D Tax Relief.
The R&D Community provides an excellent way to train the team in a consistent manner and to a high standard. I have been searching for a long time for a training course like this and I am so happy to finally have found something so good.
– Valerie
With training our members are now able to:
- Re-educate clients who have been led astray by R&D telesales
- Screen their existing portfolio for clients who may be eligible to claims
- Have nuanced and productive conversations about eligibility with clients
- Identify and apportion costs correctly, which they can then input into the software
Just investing in software on its own wasn’t enough to transform the R&D service in their accountancy practice. They also needed to provide their team with the right support and training, so their staff could grow into genuine experts in R&D.
To help you work out what training and support is right for your business, you can download our Guide to Support and Training for R&D tax relief advisors.
You can also get details of the training we offer in The R&D Community.
