Scaling Services: The Right Incentives at the Right Time

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) offer your investors up to 50% and 30% income tax relief respectively. For angel investors and early-stage funds, that makes investing in your company significantly more attractive – and significantly less risky.

But here’s what many founders don’t realise: you need advance assurance from HMRC before you start fundraising, not after. Without it, you can’t guarantee your investors will get their tax relief. That uncertainty costs you deals.

We handle the entire process. Eligibility assessment, advance assurance application, compliance certificates after investment, and ongoing monitoring to make sure you maintain scheme eligibility as you grow. Your investors get their tax relief. You get funded faster.

• SEIS/EIS eligibility assessment
• HMRC advance assurance application – before you fundraise
• Compliance certificates for investors after investment
• Ongoing monitoring to maintain scheme eligibility
• Integration with cap table management and financial modelling

Your cap table tracks who owns what percentage of your company – founders, investors, option holders. It sounds simple until you’ve done two funding rounds, granted EMI options, and have convertible notes outstanding. Then it becomes the document that determines whether your next fundraise runs smoothly or stalls in due diligence.

Messy cap tables are a red flag for investors. If your Companies House records don’t match your cap table, that’s a problem before negotiations even begin. We maintain your cap table alongside your Companies House filings and confirmation statements, so your share structure is always accurate, always aligned, and always investor-ready.

• Cap table creation and ongoing maintenance
• Dilution modelling for funding rounds – see what your next raise looks like before you commit
• Alignment with Companies House share allotment filings
• Scenario modelling for different investment structures
• Integration with SEIS/EIS compliance and EMI schemes

Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share options require an HMRC-agreed valuation of your company before options are granted. This isn’t optional. Grant options without an agreed valuation and your team could face unexpected income tax bills instead of the favourable 10% Capital Gains Tax rate that makes EMI schemes so powerful.

We prepare EMI valuations using HMRC-accepted methodologies and submit them for agreement. The valuation is grounded in the financial data we already manage in Xero – not an abstract exercise disconnected from your actual numbers. As your business grows, we revalue so your option grants always reflect current reality.

• EMI valuation using HMRC-accepted methodologies
• HMRC valuation agreement submission
• Documentation for option grant purposes
• Regular revaluation as your business grows and new grants are made

You’re competing for talented people against companies with bigger budgets. EMI share option schemes level the playing field. Your key employees get a genuine stake in the business with significant tax advantages – they pay only 10% Capital Gains Tax on exercise, compared to up to 45% income tax on equivalent cash bonuses.

For you, it’s a way to attract and retain the people who matter most without the cash outlay of higher salaries. The value sits in future growth, not today’s bank balance.

We handle scheme design, HMRC notification within the 92-day deadline, option agreements, employee communications, ongoing administration, and the annual EMI return. Your team gets a stake they value. Your cash stays in the business where it drives growth.

• EMI scheme design and structuring tailored to your business
• HMRC notification within the mandatory 92-day window
• Option agreements and employee communications
• Ongoing scheme administration and annual EMI return
• Integration with cap table management and company secretarial

R&D tax credits can be worth 20-25% of qualifying expenditure – returned as cash or used to reduce your Corporation Tax bill. Most companies underestimate their eligibility. If you’re developing new products, processes, or services that advance capability in your field, you’re likely eligible.

The common misconception is that R&D credits are only for laboratories and tech companies. They’re not. Software development, engineering solutions, manufacturing process improvements, and even certain creative industry projects can qualify. The bar is advancing capability, not inventing something entirely new.

We identify R&D opportunities during quarterly Health Checks and facilitate claims with specialist R&D partners. The claim is built on the clean financial data we already maintain – every cost categorised, every project tracked in Xero. No scrambling. No reconstructing timesheets after the fact.

• R&D eligibility assessment during quarterly Health Checks
• Claim preparation facilitated with specialist R&D tax credit partners
• Technical narrative support – articulating why your work qualifies
• Integration with annual accounts and Corporation Tax return
• Ongoing identification of qualifying expenditure throughout the year