App Development

BC&A Innovation

R&D Spotlight

App development is one of the fastest-growing areas of digital innovation. Whether you’re building customer-facing apps, internal business tools, or custom integrations for clients, there’s a good chance you’re engaging in research and development (R&D) without even realising it.

To qualify for R&D tax relief, your work needs to go beyond routine coding or reskinning existing solutions. You must be attempting to make a scientific or technological advancement that wasn’t already available or easily achievable. This means tackling technical challenges that involve a level of technical uncertainty, such as solving problems where the outcome wasn’t guaranteed or where existing methods were not easily applicable.

In the app development world, this could include making technical breakthroughs in user experience, system performance, cross-platform compatibility, or integrating with new and emerging technologies.

Here are some examples of how app development businesses might qualify for R&D tax relief:

Adapting to New Platforms and Devices

Developing apps that work seamlessly across emerging platforms like smartwatches, voice assistants, or AR/VR headsets often involves overcoming unique technical challenges. If your team has had to experiment with platform limitations or new interaction methods, this could qualify as R&D.

Developing Complex Algorithms or Data Structures

If your app uses complex algorithms to process data, deliver recommendations, or handle real-time updates (such as in fintech, health tech, or social apps), you may be carrying out qualifying R&D. Examples include machine learning models, predictive analytics engines, or advanced data visualisation.

Enhancing User Experience Through New Features

Building new interactive features like voice recognition, augmented reality, real-time chat, or advanced navigation systems often requires solving technical problems that have not been solved before, particularly if you are pushing the boundaries of existing frameworks.

Improving App Performance Across Devices

Optimising performance to reduce loading times, improve battery efficiency, or handle high volumes of concurrent users across multiple devices can involve significant technical work, particularly where standard approaches fall short.

Experimenting with Emerging Technologies

Integrating cutting-edge technologies like blockchain, AI, machine learning, or advanced security protocols to create new functionality or improve existing features can qualify as R&D if technical uncertainties are overcome.

Enhancing Security Measures

Developing or improving secure login systems, encryption methods, or data privacy features that go beyond standard implementations to meet higher security or compliance standards could also qualify.

Solving Compatibility or Integration Challenges

If you’ve had to overcome technical barriers to make your app work across various operating systems (such as iOS, Android, and web) or to integrate with third-party APIs and legacy systems, this could be considered R&D.

App development often involves pushing the limits of what’s possible with current technology. If you’re building new features, solving difficult problems, or making technical breakthroughs, you may be eligible for valuable R&D tax relief.

Our Process

What to expect when working with
BC&A Innovation

1. Discovery Call

Book your FREE 15 minute discovery call today to discuss your R&D activity and we'll guide you on best next steps and estimated claim value.

2. Information gathering

Our technical experts and industry specialists will work with you to uncover all areas of work activity eligible under the R&D scheme, ensuring we have everything we need to support a robust, defensible and maximised claim.

3. Create R&D Tax Claim

Our technical experts will write your claim and supporting documents with a clear assessment of your eligible activity and costs, ensuring compliance with the scheme's governance throughout.

4. Approval & Submission

We'll share, for your approval, the claim draft and supporting documentation. We'll explain in detail how we have arrived at our assessment of your claimable activity, costs and claim value. When you're happy, your claim can be submitted as part of your standard end-of-year processes.

5. Liaising with HMRC

Should HMRC require any further information or have queries regarding your claim, we'll liaise with them to ensure speedy payment without any reduction in claim value.

6. Payment

Once your payment is received, we'll send it across the same working day and advise you on processes that can be put in place to make future claims even more hassle-free. Don't worry about claims going forward, we'll be in regular contact to remind you what is needed and when.

About BC&A Innovation

We've helped hundreds of businesses like yours secure millions in Research & Development tax relief

Our team recognises the importance of R&D in advancing UK businesses, big and small, and we understand the time burden, resources and complexities of claiming tax relief for that R&D. These constraints often leave companies failing to get the tax relief they’re entitled to or underclaiming significantly due to unclear, often confusing guidelines about what constitutes R&D. As experts in R&D tax relief, we’re here to unblur the lines and create robust, defensible and maximised claims on your behalf.

We’re experienced tax professionals, accountants and technical experts with a deep understanding of the R&D tax relief regulations. We’ve worked in many of the industries we now serve and are ideally placed to understand your business’ R&D Activities. As part of HMRC’s panel on R&D, we stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the guidance, to provide our clients with the most accurate and up-to-date advice.

At BC&A Innovation we take the burden of claim generation away from the business so you can do what you do best, while we do what we do best. We pride ourselves on our integrity, professionalism and commitment to our clients.

Not sure if you qualify for R&D tax relief? Book a FREE discovery call today.

Many of the businesses we work with were unsure if they qualified for R&D tax relief at first. A few had even been told by other agencies that they could not claim. Yet, with our help they were able to correctly identify eligible R&D projects and claim back vital funds.

As experts in HMRC’s definitions of Research & Development, we’ll be able to tell you if you should make a claim or not. We’re success fee based, which means it isn’t in our interest or yours to take forward claims that won’t pass HMRC’s stringent checks. If we say it’s worth doing, you can take that to the bank.

Ready for a discovery call? Think of it as a no-obligation chat where we can discuss the work you’ve undertaken and identify tax-saving opportunities. Our expert consultants are keen to speak with you.