The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 43: June/July 2019 | Page 30

INNOVATIVE TECH BUSINESSES ARE PERFECTLY PLACED TO CONSIDER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TAX RELIEF Martin Gurney “Many business owners still don’t realise that the work they carry out might qualify” The team at Haines Watts Swindon would like to congratulate all the winners and finalists in The Techie Awards Swindon & Wiltshire 2019. Many of us are now aware that Research & Development tax credits are central to the UK government’s commitment to support innovation in the SME sector. However it’s still estimated only one in five companies are ‘innovation active’ because they’ve claimed the tax credit available for their work or a particular project. While the Government is committed to spending up to 2.4 per cent of GDP over the next decade many businesses are still not applying for it. Given that up to 65 per cent of all commerce, including online, is now through SMEs, making the most of this tax relief is very important. Many business owners still don’t realise that the work they carry out might qualify. To help with this it’s useful to consider four key things: • Are you creating systems to improve your services? • Are you developing technology to improve products? • Are you modifying systems to improve efficiency? • Are you developing tailored solutions to address specific problems? If the answer to any of these is yes – it’s worth seeking professional advice. Why? The system could change with stricter eligibility criteria from 2020. One thing the government is doing is consulting on the amount of money from this scheme going to companies deemed to be loss- making. The consultation exercise has just closed (May 24) and it’s expected an announcement will be made later this year about any change. This has brought claims from the biotech sector that it will unfairly affect them where R&D is very front loaded when it comes to costs. It remains to be seen if their lobbying will have an effect. Martin Gurney, tax partner at Haines Watts Swindon said,“It’s also important to seek professional help to ensure the available relief is maximised and only allowable expenditure is claimed.” It is also important not to fall foul of rules which state that receiving grant funding which qualifies as “notifiable state aid” will potentially result in the reduction in (as well For more info: www.haineswatts.com/accountants-swindon as the clawing back of previously received) R&D tax relief. By far the biggest issue though – is the fact many business owners simply don’t bother to claim. Some don’t consider R&D tax relief because they believe it’s only suitable for research based businesses – that’s not the case. The key is to consider any activity which “seeks to attain appreciable improvement to products, services or processes”. This applies to any sector. If you own or are working in a tech business and would like to find out if you might be eligible for this type of tax relief feel free to get in touch. [email protected] 01793 533838 People only need help when it’s all going pear shaped, don’t they? Why planning for success is SO important By Paul Holmes, PCH Business Support It’s a commonly held view of many business owners that only companies struggling or on the verge of bankruptcy need help. This is simply not true. Success has to be planned – failure is often the result of a lack of planning. Imagine your latest product/service is fantastic. You have just launched the advertising, you’re waiting for that first order. Then an exciting and unexpected order lands – it’s okay though as you can manage and fulfil the order. It’s going to be busy however you’ll get by – just. Then your product/service is noticed and shared by an influential blogger and interest is suddenly very high. This is everything you dreamed of….right? This happened to a small service business in Swindon recently, they came up with a novelty product using their standard services. However it seemed to capture people’s imagination. The enquiries started, orders flowed and 30 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 in one month they received orders for a whole year’s worth of product. They then had a problem. A big problem. Overnight they had problems with: • • • • Capacity Cashflow Resources. Systems Existing customers suffered. Could planning for this have helped? Almost certainly. In reality every business owner or management team should have someone to bounce ideas off, discuss options with and get valuable objective input from – a person who sits outside the day to day running of the business. This is important at any level from start- up to growth, to scale up or even when things are challenging. Business advice can be hard to afford for start-ups and smaller businesses. With that in mind, PCH Business Support has launched a manageable monthly support service which includes a FREE initial business review to help your business to get going, with calls and follow up sessions each month to encourage action and growth. Are you looking at what help your business needs? To find out more visit: www.pchbusinesssupport.co.uk Email: [email protected] Call: 07715008521 “We would strongly recommend Paul to any business looking to move forward. Paul gets to the core of the business and can quickly interpret ways to help and add value” WTKI