By company type
Nine kinds of business, each with its own fee priorities: what matters most about fees, the questions to ask first, the red flags to watch for and the fee models to compare, with a related guide and case study.
The same fee model can be a good fit for one business and a poor one for another. A startup whose payroll may double cares about caps; a manufacturer with the same projects every year cares about predictability; a business in the middle of a review cares about what help costs. These pages take nine kinds of business in turn and say what matters most about fees for each, which questions to ask first, which red flags to watch for and which fee models to compare.
None of the pages recommends a model, and none makes claims about what businesses of that kind usually do. They describe what to look for, with a related guide and an illustrative case study for each.
- First-time claimantsMaking a first claim: why the fee basis matters more than the rate, the questions to ask before anyone estimates the claim, and the fee models to compare when you do not yet know how big the claim will be.
- StartupsA startup's claim can grow fast as the team grows, and a percentage fee grows with it. Caps, cash flow and what happens if the claim is reduced are the things to settle before signing.
- Scale-upsA scale-up has claimed before and is claiming more: the fee basis agreed as a startup may no longer fit, and the terms that matter are the cap, the renewal date and the records.
- Small businessesFor a small business the fee can be a large share of a small claim, and the owner's time is the scarcest resource. The first decision is whether to claim at all, and if so how much help to buy.
- Large companiesA large company's claim is large, its review risk is real, and its selection process should be a fair one. The terms that matter are the cap or fixed fee, review support, liability and the records.
- ManufacturersA manufacturer's claim can repeat: the same lines, the same engineers, the same kinds of project. That makes the fee predictable, and makes a fee that rises with the claim worth questioning at renewal.
- Software companiesA software company's claim rests on a technical case that is easy to write badly: what was uncertain, what was tried, why it was hard. The developers who did the work need to read it, and the fee should pay for that.
- Life sciencesA life sciences claim can be large, long and technical, with subcontracted trials, grant funding and projects that run for years. The adviser's technical depth and the treatment of subcontracted costs matter as much as the rate.
- Companies under reviewA business whose claim is being reviewed by the tax authority has different fee questions: what the existing letter provides, what help costs now, and whether to bring in someone new. Take advice first.
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