Preparing an R&D Claim Is One Thing. Defending It Is Another.

Most conversations about R&D claims focus on preparation. Is the project eligible, is the expenditure calculated correctly, is the narrative written well. All fair questions, and all worth asking. But they miss the one I think matters most: could this claim actually survive being questioned?

I don't think enough of the industry asks that early enough. Defending a claim tends to get treated as a separate problem, something you deal with if HMRC happens to write, rather than something you plan for from the moment the work starts. I think that's backwards.

What Changes When You Build for Scrutiny

A claim built to be submitted, and a claim built to be defended can look almost identical on the surface. The financial calculation might be the same. The narrative might read just as well. The difference only shows up later, once someone actually starts asking questions about it.

A claim built for scrutiny has evidence attached to specific decisions, not just described in general terms. It has a competent professional whose input is properly documented, not just referenced in passing. It has a technical narrative detailed enough that someone outside the business could follow the reasoning, not just accept the conclusion. None of that costs much more to do properly. It just has to happen at the start, rather than being reconstructed after the fact once the questions have already arrived.

Why This Matters More Now Than It Used To

HMRC's approach to R&D has changed a great deal, and an enquiry is no longer something reserved for the most aggressive claims. A well-intentioned, genuinely qualifying claim can still get selected for review, and when that happens, the strength of the process behind it matters more than how confident anyone felt on the day it was submitted.

That's really the whole argument. I don't prepare a claim assuming it will be challenged. I prepare it as though it might be, because the businesses we work with deserve a claim that holds up either way, not one that only works if nobody ever looks closely.

What This Means for You

When your client's claim is built this way, an enquiry stops being something to dread. It becomes a conversation your client, and you, can walk into with confidence, because the evidence and reasoning were already there long before HMRC ever asked for them.

That's the standard I hold every claim to, whether or not it's ever actually tested.