A Cumbrian businesswoman, who could save clients thousands of pounds in tax, is receiving enquiries from locations UK-wide, as a wide range of entrepreneurs look at ways to get through the coronavirus epidemic.
Growthviser is an R&D tax reclaim specialist, helping clients to legitimately reclaim costs spent on ‘innovation’. The company is experienced in an area of taxation of which very few businesses are aware, despite this aspect of tax law having potentially significant benefits for their bottom-line profitability.
The business is run by Darina Ward, who left the corporate world to extend the benefits of R&D tax reclaims to smaller, dynamic businesses who, if they did know about this aspect of tax, were being charged exorbitant fees for claims assistance.
Nine-out-of-ten British businesses are estimated to be eligible for an R&D tax reclaim, but only a fraction of these apply.
“Businesses have typically not known such reclaims are possible,” says Darina. “If they have heard of the rebate, they have tended to assume that innovation revolves around test-tubes and new inventions. In reality, the definition of innovation is broad, encompassing areas including new products, process and quality improvements, project management and software development. Those doing things in new ways are often successful with their claim.
“Now, with all the focus that we have seen about business support during coronavirus, more businesses, of all shapes and sizes, are seeing what a financial benefit a tax reclaim could be and accountants are beginning to talk about it. That is leading a wide variety of businesses, from innovative farmers to manufacturers, to my door.”
Growthviser diligently analyses a business’s ‘innovation’, assesses what costs are eligible for a reclaim of tax and then prepares and submits a claim to HMRC. The claim is often complex, which is why Darina and her team’s experience is so valuable. Growthviser has already prepared successful claims for local innovators such as Lake District Farmers and Kendal Nutricare and is working with other similarly agile businesses.
Up to 33 pence in the pound can be reclaimed and a claim can go back two accounting periods – important for businesses who did not know about this tax reclaim scheme. The repayment is either a cash sum, or a reduction in the business’s Corporation Tax bill, and can be sizeable.
Unlike other specialists in this area of taxation, Growthviser does not charge sky-high fees, working on a fair and transparent basis with clients and earning a justifiable fee for its expertise and no more.
Darina has created a team of experts in specific fields, such as new product development, engineering, design and IT, to assist with technical reports, and is offering a truly bespoke service for select clientele.
Darina says: “R&D claims can be successful in many sectors – IT, engineering, manufacturing, recreation, education and construction, to name but a few. I believe Cumbria’s farming sector could generate many claims, as farmers are often great innovators. I am looking forward to visiting many farms, to assess how much money could be reclaimed from the expenditure behind field to fork processes.
“However, I also manage tax reclaims for a wide range of other businesses from very small digital agencies to bigger SMEs. This is the size of business I wish to concentrate on, as I am passionate about innovation and also helping businesses grow and flourish and this is why I left the corporate world behind.”
Dan Austin, managing director of Lake District Farmers says: “We had no idea about R&D tax reclaims, so meeting Growthviser was a real bonus for us. Darina worked diligently to prepare our claim in the language HMRC understands, bringing her in-depth experience to bear on it. We are sure there are many other Cumbrian businesses that could benefit from her skills in analysing a situation and preparing a claim, if they have introduced clear innovations, or new ways of doing things, to their market.”
More information about Growthviser can be found by calling 0844 549 9400.
