About us

This site was created by Swanson Reed and is published by Swanson Reed. Swanson Reed is an R&D tax advisory firm, so it competes with the advisers this site helps you question. We say that on every page, and the conflicts of interest page explains what it means for what you read here.

The legal entity and its address are on the contact page.

An R&D tax claim is made in your business's name. If it is later reduced, your business usually repays the credit, however the adviser was paid. The question about a reduced claim sets out the sources. The fee and the engagement letter decide how much of that risk you carry, so read them as closely as the estimate of your claim.

This site sets out how fees work, in plain English, so that you can read a proposal, compare it with another on the same terms, and ask clear questions before you sign.

• A business choosing an adviser. Start with the questions to ask.
• A business reviewing a proposal or an engagement letter. Start with the fee types and the contracts section.
• A business that is unhappy with its adviser. Start with when things go wrong.
• Accountants and finance teams who are asked to look over a proposal for a client or an employer.

• How each fee model works, with the same worked example for every model.
• The questions to ask, and why each one matters.
• Red flags and green flags, each with when it is a problem and when it is not.
• What the clauses in an engagement letter mean.
• Email scripts, checklists and a calculator you can use without giving your email address.
• Pages for seven countries, each with its official sources and the date it was last reviewed.

• It does not recommend any adviser, including its publisher.
• It does not name, rate or rank any firm, person or product, other than naming Swanson Reed as its publisher.
• It does not give tax, legal or financial advice about your business. The disclaimer explains this.
• It does not ask for your email address before you can read a page, use a tool or download a file.

The editorial standards page explains how pages are written and checked against official sources. If you find an error, the corrections page explains how to tell us and lists the corrections we have made.

Swanson Reed also publishes a sister site. The related sites page explains how the two fit together.