Preparing for adviser meetings

A first meeting with an adviser decides more than it seems to. It is where the adviser forms a view of your claim, and where you form a view of the adviser. Both views are better for preparation. This guide covers what the meeting is for, what to bring, who should be there, what to ask, how to run it, and what to do afterwards so that what was said becomes something you can rely on.

Step 1: decide what the meeting is for

Meetings with advisers come at different stages, and each needs different preparation. A first conversation is to find out whether the adviser understands your kind of work and how they charge. A scoping meeting, once you are interested, is where the adviser looks at your projects and records and tells you what they think the claim might be. A kick-off meeting, once you have signed, is where the work is planned. And a review meeting before filing is where you read the claim.

Be clear which one you are in, and say so at the start. A first conversation that turns into a scoping meeting without your records in the room produces a guess dressed as an estimate, and you will be comparing that guess with other advisers' real figures.

• Which meeting this is: first conversation, scoping, kick-off or review
• What you want to leave with, in one sentence
• How long you have

Step 2: bring the records

For a scoping meeting, bring enough for the adviser to give you a real view: a one page description of each project you think might qualify, in plain words, saying what you were trying to do and what was hard about it; the people who worked on each and roughly how much of their time; the costs you can already see, such as subcontractors and materials; last year's claim, if there was one, and anything the tax authority said about it; and your accounting period and filing deadline.

Do not hand over everything. The adviser does not need your full payroll or your full ledger to scope the work, and you have not yet agreed confidentiality terms. Bring summaries; keep the detail for after you have signed.

• One page per project: what you tried, what was hard
• Who worked on each, and roughly how much time
• Costs you can already see
• Last year's claim and any correspondence about it
• Accounting period and deadline

Step 3: decide who should be there

Three people, or three roles, make a scoping meeting work. Someone who can speak for the technical work: a lead engineer, a scientist, a developer, whoever did it. Someone who can speak for the numbers: the finance lead or the person who keeps the project records. And someone who will make the decision and sign the letter. One person may hold two of these roles in a small business. In a larger one, the mistake is to send finance alone.

Watch who the adviser brings. If the person who will write your technical case is not in the room, ask when you will meet them. The who will do the technical work question is one to ask in person.

• Technical lead, finance lead and decision-maker present
• The adviser's technical person present, or a date to meet them

Step 4: decide what to ask

The twenty questions are the agenda. You will not get through all of them in one meeting and you do not need to, because you will send them in writing afterwards. In the room, ask the ones that are better answered face to face: how the adviser decides what qualifies, and whether they can give an example of work they would leave out; who will do the technical work and how much of your people's time it will take; what happens if the claim is reduced; and what they have seen go wrong in claims like yours.

Listen for the shape of the answers as well as the content. An adviser who says "it depends" and then says what it depends on is answering. One who moves to the size of the claim before they have looked at the work has given you a figure to ask about, not an estimate. Neither is a verdict, but both are worth writing down.

• Four or five questions chosen for the room
• The rest to be sent in writing afterwards
• The adviser health check questions marked, so you can compare answers later

Step 5: run the meeting

Open by saying what the meeting is for and what you want to leave with. Let the adviser describe their process before you describe your projects; it is easier to judge a process you have heard cold. Then walk through the projects with your technical lead speaking, not the finance lead. Take notes, or ask someone to. When a figure is mentioned, ask what it is based on and write the assumption next to it.

Do not sign anything in the meeting, and do not agree a fee basis verbally. If the adviser offers a figure for the claim, ask for it in writing with its assumptions. If the adviser asks for a decision by a date, ask where the date comes from. Close by agreeing what each side will send and by when.

• Purpose stated at the start
• The adviser's process heard before your projects are described
• Notes taken, with assumptions next to figures
• Nothing signed, nothing agreed verbally
• Next steps agreed, with dates

Step 6: afterwards

The same day, write up what was said: the adviser's answers, the figures and their assumptions, and your own impressions, including who did the talking on the adviser's side. Send the twenty questions in writing, using the scripts, with your expected claim figure and half of it, and ask for the fee worked on both. Ask for the engagement letter, including any standard terms, before anyone discusses a fee further. Then put the written answers beside those from other advisers, using the how to compare proposals guide.

If you decide to go ahead, the kick-off meeting is where the interviews with your technical people and the timetable to see the full claim before filing are agreed. Put both in writing too.

• Meeting written up the same day
• The twenty questions sent in writing, with the claim figures
• The engagement letter and standard terms requested
• Answers compared with other advisers' on the same basis

Step 7: the meetings that come later

Two meetings after signing deserve the same preparation as the first. The kick-off meeting is where the year's work is planned: which projects are in, who will be interviewed and when, what records will be needed and in what form, and the date by which you will see the full claim. Bring the engagement letter and the written answers to the twenty questions, and check that the plan matches them. Leave with a timetable in writing.

The review meeting before filing is where you read the claim. Ask for the full claim, the calculations and the technical descriptions at least a week before the meeting, so that your technical people can read their sections first and come with corrections. In the meeting, go through the technical descriptions with the people who did the work, go through the figures with finance, and ask about anything that was included that you expected to be left out, or left out that you expected to be included. Approve the final version in writing afterwards, not in the room, and keep a copy of what is filed. The managing an adviser year to year guide puts these meetings in the yearly cycle.

• Kick-off: projects, interviews, records and the review date agreed in writing
• Review meeting: full claim received a week before; technical people have read their sections
• Final version approved in writing afterwards; copy kept

Read next

• Questions to ask and the reference check guide
• How to choose an R&D tax adviser and how to run a request for proposals
• Green flag: they talk to the people who did the work