R&D: Why it pays to work with Swoop

Getting to grips with your R&D tax credits can unlock funding solutions for the whole of your business

R&D tax credits seem like a niche concern, but for businesses that are seeking to make a claim based on the work they have done, Swoop’s R&D team could mean more than just a quickly-completed application. It’s also a great place to access the expertise of the whole company to help improve your cash flow.

Why does Swoop have an R&D team?

In the early days, Swoop referred customers to accountants and to R&D claims specialists. But we began to realise that accountants were growing less keen to handle R&D, while the specialists weren’t able to grasp the benefits of looking at a customer’s wider funding needs. Customers also voiced their frustration at the time that it took to get claims to the submission stage; as a tech business, we knew we could improve turnaround times and make the whole process less painful.

Swoop’s in-house team was born. By offering an R&D tax credit service as part of our integrated offering across business funding, grants, and equity finance, we knew we could work more closely with a customer as we would have a much broader view of their overall needs in mind …and customers could find solutions in one place. As for the speed of claims, we aim to have your application submitted within two weeks of receiving the documentation we need.

How does Swoop handle your claim?

Step one: Swoop will get a full understanding of your business activities with the aim of maximising your claim. We’ll take into account the latest guidelines and HMRC’s enhanced due diligence

Step two: Swoop will connect you to other sources of funding that your business may require: we have over 500 grants on our database at any given time, plus the full market of finance products and a network of VCs and investors looking for opportunities.

Step three: Your business finances are boosted with the capital it needs to grow and you have an unrivalled range of financial products and services at your fingertips to take you into the future.

Case study #1: Swoop speeds through a claim worth £30,000

A food and beverage business approached Swoop on 30th of January 2024. Swoop’s experts explained that they could still claim tax credits for the year 2020-2021 due to the two year limitation period.

If the deadline had been passed, the client would not have been able to claim back £30,000 from HMRC.

Swoop compiled the calculation and technical report within 8 hours, and submitted the claim hours before January 31 deadline. On 26th of February, the customer received confirmation that the claim had been processed and that the money would be credited to their account.

Swoop is now preparing documents for the customer’s 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 claims.

Case study #2: Attention to detail boosts the customer’s claim

Another food and beverage client, with a history of successful R&D claims, asked Swoop to review their calculations. The team found almost £80,000 of additional claimable costs.

While the customer’s 2021 claim was still under review by HMRC, the 2022 claim was passed thanks to Swoop’s more robust, transparent and compliant application.

Swoop’s additional service came into play when the customer needed extra funding support. An R&D advance gave the customer a cash injection in advance of the HMRC payout.

At Swoop, we don’t just provide an efficient R&D service; we’re also here to support businesses across all of their needs.

By going through Swoop, you get:

• A claims service integrated into a wider funding offering
• Full access to grants based on your sector and location
• The full suite of Swoop solutions to your business’s needs
• A likely improvement in your credit score, giving you more choice over your funding options
• Access to R&D advances from our approved lenders who can lend up to 80% of the payout against current or future claims
• Assistance in structuring your financials to maximise your claim
• Quick turnaround time – just two weeks from Swoop receiving the documents, we will submit the claim to HMRC.

If you have ambitions for your business to deliver maximum profitability, become more financially efficient or need to boost your cash flow, Swoop can help you make it happen. Speak to an R&D expert today.