Holding the role of financial director means being responsible for the financial health of the company (if you are a Financial Director reading this, I need not explain that). The financial health of a company can be interpreted in different ways. For example, evaluating the financial health of an innovative start-up which relies on non-traditional sources of finance may be more challenging than say a restaurant. Does this consideration pose the question, can an accounting/financial management solution, tailored towards innovative sources of finance, help Financial Directors better understand the financial health of innovative companies?

Innovative companies typically source the finances to continue innovating through means such as R&D Tax Credits, grants (like Innovate UK) and Patent Box. Whilst these sources of finance are highly useful and beneficial, issues arise regarding the capabilities of existing accounting/financial management software. For example, existing solutions do not give the above-mentioned innovative sources of finance the recognition required for proficient financial health evaluation.

Additionally, financial planning can be difficult when innovative sources are a/the primary source of finance for a company. Furthermore, there is a lack of solutions for R&D Tax Credit purposes, outside of consultants and specialists in the area.

What’s the solution?

Well, Inventya and our project partners Kapitalise and Telesto considered how we could create a meaningful solution. A solution that considers the innovative sources of finance often overlooked by traditional accounting/financial management solutions. The solution is a state-of-the-art accounting/financial management platform, bridging the gap between finance and innovation. At Inventya we have a bid writing team who are fully aware of all the challenges our clients face relating to aspects such as identifying suitable grant funding opportunities and reflecting money from grants into accounting/financial management software.

Also, Inventya and Kapitalise specialise in completing R&D Tax Credit claims. The years of experience from completing claims has helped both partners gain an understanding of the frustration’s clients face throughout the R&D Tax Credit process, including when attempting to complete by themselves, with accountants, or other companies who complete claims. Our solution will provide an invaluable tool to Financial Directors, Innovators, Accountants, and others who want to optimise their R&D Tax Credit’s whilst also reducing the time consumed calculating potential claim value or even identifying whether they are eligible.

The pains and frustrations our clients face have helped us focus on creating a meaningful solution for the variety of stakeholders who will value from our platform, including Financial Directors. We’ll soon be looking for our first users of the platform, and are eager to get some Financial Director’s on board to demonstrate the capabilities, benefits and value the platform offers.