In business, as in life, it’s important to choose your partnerships wisely. The choices you make when dealing with third parties reflect you as a practice, your priorities, and your dedication to your clients’ prosperity. With the success or failure of many businesses sitting on a knife edge, a good partnership can make the all difference – maximising potential, mitigating risk, and identifying opportunity.
Let’s explore what makes Source Advisors such a great choice of R&D partner for accountants, and what you can expect from this collaboration, starting with our five pillars of value – resource, rigour, relationship, reputation, and room to grow.
Resource – treat us as an extension of your Practice
As a partner of Source Advisors, you gain access to a wealth of specialist expertise and manpower, dedicated to innovation in the UK. We understand the challenges in navigating the complexities of the UK R&D tax relief schemes and keeping up to date with changes in legislation, HMRC approach, and client expectations. Our accountant partners regularly contact me with specific questions about recent legislative changes, from the intricacies of subcontractor relationships to the admin burden of the new Additional Information Form. I encourage them to treat us as an extension of their practice and allow us to extend their service offering for the benefit of their clients.
Rigour – peace of mind to trust us with your clients
The biggest worry I see accountants have in respect of R&D is non-compliance. It’s scary how far reaching the permutations of a shaky R&D claim can extend, from increasing and more prevalent HMRC penalties to reputational damage and amplified risk to an entire client base. That’s why our commitment to compliance has been a core part of our long-standing attraction to accountants.
With Source Advisors we give you the peace of mind to trust us with your clients and mitigate the increasing risks associated with submitting an incorrect R&D claim. Whether we’re completing a ground up R&D submission, assisting with an HMRC enquiry, or undertaking a compliance assessment, you know you’re in safe hands – and we’re not afraid to have the tough conversations on your behalf.
Relationship – ensure all parties are on the same page
The key to any relationship is communication. At Source Advisors we pride ourselves on fostering strong, long-term relationships with our accountant partners, and supporting them in achieving their practice goals. Our accountants can expect the benefit of an assigned Relationship Manager, as part of our wider dedicated Accountant Channel, working closely with you, your team, and your clients. Often what our accountant partners find most useful are our complimentary CPD and portfolio review services, enabling them to identify which clients the R&D conversation is most relevant to, and feel confident in discussing it. We’re there as an extension to your practice to oversee our work with your clients, provide guidance, and ensure all parties are on the same page.
Reputation – safeguarding you and your clients
Partnering with Source Advisors is partnering with a trusted advisor in the R&D and innovation space. As a compliance-led business, we’ve always been strong on ensuring that our work is meticulous, and that we support the high bar of proof required to uphold the integrity of the UK R&D tax relief schemes. With recent increased compliance pressures from HMRC, we remain at the reputational forefront of the UK R&D industry, safeguarding you and your clients, representing your interests in policy discussions, and enhancing your credibility when guiding your clients.
The main thing our accounting partners tell me when working with us is that they’re happy they don’t need to worry – they can talk confidently about having a robust R&D solution and partner, and from there they know their clients will be looked after. That’s one less thing on their mind.
Room to grow – handling all areas relating to R&D and IP
When recommending a partner to your clients, it always helps to know that they can handle whatever you throw at them. With Source Advisors, you’ll find we can assist in all areas relating to R&D and Intellectual Property (IP). From SMEs to enterprise level clients, ground up R&D claims to enquiry support, identifying IP to filing Patent Box claims – we handle it all. The more complex the client, the greater the range of services we can offer, and the wider your service offering is by association.
Recently, following an accountant referral, we undertook an R&D claim for a large, complex, manufacturing business, and our deep dive into their R&D allowed us to ask the accountant what he knew of their IP strategy. There wasn’t one. Fast forward and thanks to the intervention of their accountant and his referral to Source Advisors, the client has now achieved a very significant tax saving via the Patent Box scheme, and a greatly increased business valuation by virtue of our commercially focussed IP services.
What sets us apart?
As a Relationship Manager for Source Advisors, I understand how hard it can be to hand over your trusted client relationships to a third party, and that’s why we work tirelessly to ensure our seamless integration with your practice, presenting a united front and consistent messaging on your behalf.
One partner recently communicated his concerns around how to exit from R&D after years of providing, by his own admission, a less than diligent, but cheap, offering. We were able to assist him with the messaging to his clients, ensuring he provided correct information and solid guidance to his clients, and that we could echo his own sentiments back to them when he referred clients to us. By speaking with one, joined up message, the process couldn’t have run more smoothly.
Our unending focus is on supporting you, whether by upskilling staff through CPD and technical updates, providing updates on referrals via our self-serve portal, or helping review your client base to identify new client opportunities.
As a Source Advisors partner, you gain more than just a service provider; you gain a trusted ally. Our collaborative approach, coupled with our specialist expertise, enables you to elevate your accountancy practice and take your firm to the next level.
