R&D tax credit claims, engaged and documented
Scope the registration and the claim, set fixed fees and clear limits, and prepare the activity descriptions and claim documents your client's team confirms and signs.
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QuoteCloud helps accountants and R&D advisers run R&D tax credit engagements: a proposal that scopes any registration the program requires and the claim in the tax return, fixed fees and what you can't promise, then documents describing core and supporting activities for the client's technical team to confirm. Any registration, and the claim itself, go through the program's own channels.
A fictional practice's activity map for Tessellate Labs' R&D tax credit engagement LA-RD-0207, 2025–26. Two core activities sit side by side: a low-power soil-moisture sensing model, and self-calibrating sensor firmware. A supporting activity, the field test rig and data logging, hangs under the first core activity it supports. Each activity lights in turn and gets a 'Confirmed by Omar Haddad, CTO' stamp, until three of three are confirmed. The footer says filing goes through the program's own channels, by the program's own deadline.
The R&D engagement, page by page
Tessellate Labs' engagement for its 2025–26 registration and claim: what Ledgerline will describe, the timetable, the fixed fees and the limits, signed by both founders.
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Ledgerline AdvisoryR&D tax credit engagement LA-RD-0207 Sample · fictional practice
R&D tax credit engagement
R&D tax credit claim, 2025–26
This engagement covers preparing Tessellate Labs' R&D tax credit claim for 2025–26, including any registration the program requires, and the R&D schedule in your company tax return. Your technical team describes the work; we turn it into the registration and the claim, and you review and sign off everything before it is filed.
Cover
The engagement, in the client's terms
Who it's for, what it covers and the financial year, in the practice's branded template.
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Ledgerline AdvisoryR&D tax credit engagement LA-RD-0207 Sample · fictional practice
Activities we'll describe with you
- CoreLow-power soil-moisture sensing modelWhether accuracy holds at under 5 mW
- CoreSelf-calibrating sensor firmwareWhether drift can be corrected without field visits
- SupportingField test rig and data loggingDirectly related to the first core activity
Your technical lead confirms every description. Any registration goes through the program's own channels, by the program's own deadline.
From year end to filing
StageM1M2M3M4M5M6M7M8Activity workshops Month 2 to 2Records and expenditure schedule Month 2 to 4Draft registration Month 4 to 5Your review and sign-off Month 5 to 6Registration filed in the portal Month 6Claim in the company tax return Month 7 to 8Scope and timetable
The activities, and when each step happens
Core and supporting activities listed separately, then the timetable from year end to registration and the claim, on a Gantt chart (Business plan).
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Ledgerline AdvisoryR&D tax credit engagement LA-RD-0207 Sample · fictional practice
Fees
Item Qty Rate Amount Registration and claim $9,400 Activity workshops with your technical leadTwo sessions of two hours2 sessions $800 $1,600.00 Registration application drafted for your reviewCore and supporting activities, from your records1 lot $4,200 $4,200.00 R&D expenditure schedule and claim in your tax returnFrom your ledger and payroll records1 lot $3,600 $3,600.00 Optional Tick to add 1 lot $1,400 $1,400.00 - Subtotal
- $9,400.00
- Tax (10%)
- $940.00
- Total
- $10,340.00
- Plus, monthly
- $0.00/mo
- Engagement payment on signing (25%)
- $2,585.00
Fees
Fixed fees, and an option for next year
Workshops, the registration draft and the expenditure schedule as fixed fees, with record-keeping set-up for next year as an optional row. 25% is paid on signing.
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Ledgerline AdvisoryR&D tax credit engagement LA-RD-0207 Sample · fictional practice
What we can't do
- We don't decide whether activities are eligible: the program does. We prepare the application from what your team tells us and your records.
- Your directors sign the declarations in the registration and the tax return.
- We can't promise the amount of any tax credit.
Accept, sign and pay
2 of 2 signed
- Leah BrooksCEO and director Signed20 Aug, 10:02 am
- Omar HaddadCTO and director Signed20 Aug, 6:40 pm
Engagement payment on signing (25%)
$2,585.00
Paid via StripePay with card or PayPal
Certificate of authenticity and audit trail attached
Limits and signatures
What you can't promise, then both founders sign
The program decides eligibility and no credit amount is promised. Each founder signs in their own browser, and the payment on signing goes through Stripe.
The technical lead confirms every activity
After the workshop, you draft each activity and send it to the person who did the work. A Forms block asks your questions in plain words: what the work set out to answer, what the team did and found, when, and which records exist.
The technical lead corrects your draft in the form, asks about anything in a comment, then confirms and signs. That signed document is the record of who confirmed what, ready for the registration and for next year.
- One document per activity, core and supporting kept separate
- Comments resolved before the technical lead signs
- Certificate of authenticity and audit trail on every sign-off
Forms block: Business plan
Forms inside documentsCore activity 1, in your team's words
Forms block · Business plan- The question the work set out to answerLong textCould a soil-moisture model keep its field accuracy while the sensor draws under 5 mW?
- What the team didLong textBuilt three model versions and ran each on the test rig for 14 weeks against lab samples.
- What the team foundLong textVersion 3 held accuracy at 4.2 mW; versions 1 and 2 drifted in clay soils.
- Period of the activityTextJuly 2025 – March 2026
- Records keptChoiceLab notebook, test logs, code history
- Staff involvedNumber4
Before you confirm
- Describe what happened, in plain words; we keep the core and supporting activities separate.
- Your directors declare in the registration that records were kept, so list the records you actually have.
- Whether an activity is eligible is decided by the program, not by us or by this document.
Omar HaddadThe rig ran for 14 weeks, not 12.
Raj MehtaThanks, corrected in the answer above.
Technical lead confirms
Omar Haddad · CTO and director
Signed online · 24 Sep, 4:10 pm
Activity
- Kind
- Core activity
- Supported by
- Field test rig and data logging
- Confirmed by
- Omar Haddad, CTO
Certificate of authenticity and audit trail attached
Activity
- OpenedOmar Haddad
- Comment resolvedTest period corrected to 14 weeks
- Form submitted and signedOmar Haddad, CTO
From year end to the registration deadline
A practice's own plan for a company with a 30 June year end and a sample program deadline of 30 April. Your program sets its own deadline; here is how the documents fit before it.
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July–August
Engage the client
The engagement proposal is signed by both directors and the payment on signing is made.
eSignatures and payment -
September
Workshop and confirm
Activity descriptions drafted from the workshops and confirmed by the technical lead.
Forms block Business plan -
October–December
Expenditure and drafts
The expenditure schedule from the ledger and payroll, and the registration drafted for review.
Comments -
January–February
Directors sign off
The directors review the final descriptions and sign off before anything is filed.
Several signers -
By 30 April
Registration filed
The company, or its authorised adviser, files through the program's own portal by the sample deadline.
Outside QuoteCloud
Your practice's plan, drawn by us. Each program sets its own deadline. QuoteCloud doesn't connect to any program's portal, register activities or send reminders.
Run this year's R&D engagements from QuoteCloud
Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Send us your R&D engagement letter and we'll convert it into a template during the trial.
R&D tax credits
The team knows the work. You know how to document it.
Keep the engagement, every activity description and every sign-off in signed documents, so next year's claim starts from what was confirmed this year.
Who does what in an R&D claim
The engagement is clearest when every party's part is written down.
The program
Receives the registration or claim through its own channels and decides whether activities are eligible.
Your firm
Scopes the engagement, runs the workshops, drafts the descriptions and the expenditure schedule, and can be authorised as the company's adviser.
The company's team
Describes the work in its own words, confirms each activity and keeps the records the directors declare were kept.
QuoteCloud
Holds the engagement, the activity descriptions and the sign-offs, takes the payment on signing and exports PDFs. It doesn't file, register or estimate a credit.
R&D tax credit engagement questions, answered
Does QuoteCloud file R&D tax credit registrations?
No. Any registration goes through the program's own portal, by the company or an authorised adviser, and the claim usually through the company tax return. QuoteCloud holds your engagement, the activity descriptions the client's team confirms and the signed sign-off documents.
When is an R&D tax credit claim due?
Each program and country sets its own deadline, usually counted from the end of the company's financial year. Plan your engagement timetable back from that date. QuoteCloud doesn't track the deadline or send reminders.
How do we get the technical team to confirm activity descriptions?
Send each activity as a short QuoteCloud document with a Forms block (Business plan) holding your draft answers. The technical lead corrects them in the form, comments where needed, then confirms and signs. Keep core and supporting activities as separate descriptions.
Can we charge fixed fees for R&D engagements?
Yes. Set out workshops, the registration draft and the expenditure schedule as fixed-fee lines in a price table, add optional work such as record-keeping set-up, and take a payment on signing through Stripe or PayPal, as a percentage or a fixed amount. Never promise a credit amount: the program decides eligibility.
Can we reuse last year's R&D engagement?
Yes. Save the engagement as a template, with your standard limits as a content library block, and give each engagement an expiry date. The Expiring Soon filter shows which clients to re-engage, and bulk send (Essentials and up) sends next year's letters.
R&D, grants and the rest of the practice
Other engagements that need careful documents.
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Government grant engagementsScope and price grant application work: fixed or success-fee options, a timetable and a signed engagement.Explore
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Grant application documentsInformation requests, budget schedules, milestones, risk and signed declarations, exported as a PDF for the funder's portal.Explore
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Annual re-engagementExpiry dates, the Expiring Soon filter and next year's letters sent in bulk and tracked until signed.Explore
- Engagement letters & terms of engagementScope, responsibilities, fees, limitation and privacy, from your template, signed by every director or trustee.
- Fixed-fee packages & pricingGood, better, best packages, add-ons the client ticks and monthly fees set out in the agreement.
- Client onboarding & information requestsInformation requests with a Forms block and checklist, every director signing and an onboarding fee on signing.
- Tax, bookkeeping & payrollTax returns, sales tax and VAT, financial statements, bookkeeping and payroll, quoted as clear fixed fees.
- Advisory & virtual CFOForecasts, budgets, business plans and a monthly CFO retainer, with discounts approved by a partner first.
- Structures, sales & successionCompany, trust and partnership set-ups, restructures, valuations, business sales and succession plans.
- Fund and compliance auditsAnnual fund engagements every trustee signs, and audit proposals with clear scope and independence.
- Xero, QuickBooks & practice integrationsSigned engagements to Xero or QuickBooks Online through Zapier, and practice tools through Zapier, Make or the API.
- Accounting templatesReal QuoteCloud templates for engagement letters, accounting proposals, bookkeeping, audit, grants and budgets.
- QuoteCloud implementation for practicesYour services price book, locked engagement terms, a template per service line, approvals and training.
- FAQAnswers to the questions accounting firms, bookkeepers and grant consultants ask most.
Every activity confirmed, every engagement signed
Free for 14 days. No credit card required.