Terms and Conditions

The ‘Company’ referred to in these terms is Bettertax business. The ‘Client’ is the organisation requesting service/s from the company.

R&D Tax relief claims

A successful Research and Development tax claim requires that the qualifying R&D cost is assessed and that the total of this is submitted to HMRC, together with a Technical Justification document and summary of qualifying costs.

Bettertax business has a 100% successful claim record and will only proceed with one when the costs are clearly shown to be of value to both parties and comply with HMRC guidelines.

Once contracts are agreed, Bettertax business will conduct a scoping meeting with you to assess your potential claim in terms of qualifying projects and costs. At the completion of that scoping meeting, all parties will know the approximate value of your claim and have the option to stop the project at this stage if it’s of too little value or indeed not viable.

Should both parties agree to continue, Bettertax business will utilise a detailed understanding of HMRC guidelines to accurately assess all qualifying costs and create the necessary Technical Justification document before providing your accountant with a full breakdown of required amends to the Corporation Tax computation related to R&D claims.

Your accountant should be instructed to check the computations we provide and we insist that all parties agree on all amended figures as well as the specifications and the wording of the Technical Justification document before signing off and submitting a claim as changes and errors may cause delays and/or retrieval of relief awarded to you by HMRC.

Please note, Bettertax business cannot and will not be liable for any computational errors, changes or deviations from the agreed figures, specifications and/or technical justifications previously signed upon. Bettertax business is not familiar with other aspects of the company’s tax affairs, and that any advice we provide should be taken on that basis.

Bettertax business will be available to advise your tax accountants, where required, on justification matters and at all times deal with Client information in complete confidence. HMRC will sometimes ask to meet the Client to discuss a claim and as part of the comprehensive support included in our total fee, Bettertax business will be pleased to attend meetings and assist the Client in responding to any questions HMRC may have.

The Client undertakes to provide, and will instruct their accountants to provide, Bettertax business with copies of full annual financial accounts, CT600 corporation tax returns and related tax computations.

The Client is required to keep all records (invoices, receipts, bank statements and/or any other relevant records) of R&D expenses detailed in the claim for a minimum of 6 years in order to provide proof of all expenses claimed at a later date if required by HMRC. Bettertax business will be absolved of responsibility or fees repayable for any expenses the Client may be asked to but are unable to substantiate in the future.

The Client agrees to pay a total fee of 25% of the successful claim value (with a minimum of £2,000 per claim period), payable on receipt of the claim value from HMRC or confirmation of the value to be offset against corporation tax. All fees are subject to VAT.

After the initial agreement, the Client may wish to engage Bettertax business for future successful claims and will be given a 20% loyalty discount on their total fee (Provided the fee exceeds the minimum per claim period as previously detailed).

For the purposes of these Terms of Engagement the total claim value is the sum of:

  • Any reduction in the amount of Corporation Tax payable (due to R&D tax relief) in any year of claim or in the immediate preceding year.
  • The amount of any R&D tax credit being claimed.
  • 5% of the value of any increase in tax losses carried forward (due to R&D tax relief).

This contract is binding for both parties and signed payment authority is irrevocable until full payment is received. All invoices carry 30 day payment terms & will be issued once the benefit has been calculated, agreed & signed off ready for submission to HMRC by your accountants.

Should the client wish to cancel at any stage, for any reason after contracts have been agreed and signed, the minimum fee of £2,000 + VAT per claim period will be payable as a cancellation fee.

Bettertax business will maintain a record of your R&D costs and the fees payable or paid, and you will instruct your accountant to keep us informed of the details of the submission and of its subsequent progress.

Bettertax business will never recommend that a claim is submitted unless it is expected to succeed. In the unlikely event that a claim is questioned, Bettertax business will support the Client in further discussions with HMRC.

Should a claim be rejected for any reason, all resultant fees paid by the Client to Bettertax business are guaranteed to be proportionately refunded immediately on receipt of written confirmation from HMRC so long as all figures, specifications and the wording of the Technical Justification document are as previously agreed and signed off by a Bettertax business representative.

Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLR 2007 / MLR registration number XBML00000143411)

We are required by law to verify the business and to identity all beneficial owners, therefore your company will be subject to these checks.  We cannot engage with companies which do not pass these checks.

The Client should understand that if they provide Bettertax with false identification or contact details, Bettertax will deem this as a misuse of their service. Should any suspicion arise of transactions connected to money laundering or criminal activity Bettertax are obliged to report this suspicious activity to the relevant authorities and as such, the Client may be subjected to criminal investigation.

Engineering Management

Work may include visiting client premises, discussion with client staff, discussion with third parties on behalf of the client, auditing of systems, providing advice or training, preparation of letters, reports and other documentation and any other activity requested by the client.

The work to be undertaken will be in accordance with the specification and time scale contained in the proposal.  The Company will not accept responsibility for any delay in starting or completing the work that was beyond the control of the Company.

The charges for the project are based upon the scope of work confirmed in the proposal.

The scope of work will not be modified by the Client during the project without prior consultation with the Company and by mutual agreement.

Day rates quoted are based 7.5 hours of work spent on clients’ work.  Routine travelling time up to one hour per day is not chargeable to the Client. Travelling time over one hour per day may be included within the eight hours by prior agreement with the Client. Fees include all routine travel, subsistence, material and ancillary expenses.

Where at the request of the Client the work has been suspended or delayed, the Company may request payment in full or part for the work completed on the date of suspension or notification of delay.

All charges are invoiced monthly in arrears or as specified in the proposal and are payable within 30 days of the invoice date.  At the discretion of the Company a charge of 3% per calendar month or part thereof may be made in respect of invoices outstanding beyond the aforesaid 30 days.  Where invoices are overdue the Company may, at its discretion, arrange for collection by third parties or assignment of the invoice.

The Company reserves the right to review consultancy and training rates in the light of operating costs on an annual basis.  Increases in consultancy fees will not be applied to current assignments in progress or projects approved by the Client where a start date has been agreed.  The Company reserves the right to review charges due to unforeseen and/or exceptional circumstances.  

Where the proposal contains charges based on usage of time and materials, one month’s notice will be given in writing of any change of rate, except in the case of unforeseen and/or exceptional changes.

Where the Client cancels any appointment giving less that forty-eight hours’ notice to the Company, the Company reserves the right to charge a maximum of 50% of the allocated time.  Such a charge will be applied at the discretion of the consultant and may be waived in circumstances where alternative fee earning work for other Clients can be substituted.  The decision will be based upon the information available to the Company at the time of cancellation and mutually agreed with the Client.

Should the client wish to cancel the any or all agreed processes at any stage, for any reason after contracts have been agreed and signed, a minimum of 75% of the quoted fees will be payable in full. If more than 75% of the agreed work has been completed at the time of cancellation, 100% of the quoted fees will be payable in full.

The Client, or any associated company or linked trading organisation, undertakes not to make any offer of direct or indirect employment to the consultant, or to offer any work independently or as an addition to the specified project to the consultant personally until twelve months after either completion of the project or termination of the contract with the Company.  If the Company becomes aware that such remuneration has been paid in beach of these terms and conditions, the Company will be entitled to reimbursement of all such payments in full.

The forecasts, proposals and recommendations in any report, letter or communication with the Client are made in good faith and based on the information before the Company at the time.  Their value will depend on the effective co-operation of the Client, the accuracy and relevance of information provided to the Company and actions taken by the Client on the advice of the Company.  Inconsequence no statement in any report, letter or verbal exchange is to be deemed in any circumstance a representation, undertaking warranty or contractual condition.  No responsibility can be accepted by the Company for consequential expenditure or loss resulting from any action or decision by the Client made either without reference to the Company or contrary to the advice and guidance provided.

The Client shall ensure that all requirements are complied with regarding the health and safety of the Company’s employees whilst on the Client’s premises.  Company employees are required to comply with Client’s instructions, procedures and controls always.

In the event of any dispute between the Client and the consultant assigned by the Company, the Client will in the first instance contact the Company to agree appropriate corrective action.  Where an acceptable resolution cannot be agreed, the contract will be terminated by mutual consent.

Any procedures, processes, formulae, method or documentation supplied by the Company, or purchased by the Company on behalf of the Client will remain the property of the Company until all invoices have been paid.

The copyright on documents prepared specifically for the Client in the course of the assignment will be the property of the Client.  The copyright of any other documentation, report or other written or electronically recorded material supplied to the Client to assist in the assignment will be retained by the Company or, where the Company is the licensed user of such material with the licensor.  It is the responsibility of the Client to indemnify the Company against any costs, claims or damaged suffered through the misuse of such copyright material. 

In the event of the Client’s instructions containing special conditions, the project will only be undertaken by the Company on the understanding that those conditions are not variance with the Company’s terms and conditions and any variance in such conditions will be waived by the Client.  In the event that any clause of these Terms of Business is superseded in agreement with the Company, the Company reserves the right to re-negotiate consultancy and training fees to recover any extra costs or protect from additional risks.

Get in touch

info@bettertaxbusiness.org
01280 821020

Opening hours

Monday–Thursday: 9am to 7pm 
Friday: 9am to 6.30pm 
Saturday–Sunday: Closed
Bettertax business is part of © 2009 The Bettertax Organisation Ltd • Registered in England and Wales company reg. no. 6949802 • The Bettertax Organisation Ltd complies with the data protection act no: Z2963436 • The Bettertax Organisation Ltd is registered for Money Laundering Regulations no: XBML00000143411 • VAT 106 1029 66 - fees subject to vat at 20%
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