ForrestBrown Alternative: Why Thousands of UK SMEs Are Switching to Flat-Fee R&D Tax Advisors
ForrestBrown is genuinely excellent at what they do. This article isn’t about their quality — it’s about their pricing model, who they’re designed for, and why the maths doesn’t work for most SMEs.
Let’s start with something most comparison articles won’t say: ForrestBrown is very good at what they do.
They’re the largest specialist R&D tax credit consultancy in the UK. They have former HMRC inspectors on staff, chartered tax advisers, sector specialists, and lawyers. They’ve built a reputation over many years. Their technical work is considered among the best in the industry.
This isn’t a hit piece. It’s an honest assessment of whether ForrestBrown — or any percentage-fee R&D firm — is the right choice for a UK SME with a claim between £20,000 and £150,000.
The short answer: probably not. And here’s why.
The Percentage Fee Problem: How Much Are You Actually Paying?
ForrestBrown, like most established R&D tax firms, charges a contingency fee — a percentage of the tax relief or credit your company receives. Industry estimates put ForrestBrown’s fees in the region of 15–20% of the claim value, though they don’t publish their pricing publicly.
Let’s look at what that means in practice:
| Your R&D Refund | ForrestBrown Fee (est. 17%) | What You Keep | Flat Fee Alternative | What You Keep (Flat) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £4,250 | £20,750 | £2,500 | £22,500 |
| £50,000 | £8,500 | £41,500 | £2,500 | £47,500 |
| £75,000 | £12,750 | £62,250 | £2,500 | £72,500 |
| £100,000 | £17,000 | £83,000 | £2,500 | £97,500 |
| £150,000 | £25,500 | £124,500 | £2,500 | £147,500 |
On a £75,000 refund, the difference between a percentage fee and a flat fee is £10,250. That’s a significant sum for any SME.
The percentage model made sense when it was invented — in an era when R&D claims were genuinely complex, largely manual, and carried significant risk. Advisors were compensated for the uncertainty of whether a claim would succeed. But in 2025, with established processes, HMRC guidance that’s been refined over 25 years, and AI-assisted preparation, the work itself has a predictable cost. Charging a percentage is simply a legacy pricing model that benefits the firm.
Who ForrestBrown Is Actually Designed For
ForrestBrown’s pricing and positioning tells you something important about their target client: it’s not you, if you’re a 20–50 person SME with a £50–100k R&D claim.
ForrestBrown is designed for:
- Large companies with complex, multi-project R&D programmes spanning hundreds of thousands or millions in qualifying expenditure
- High-growth startups backed by investors who need a premium firm name on their claim for credibility
- Companies needing additional services like Patent Box, grant advisory, or capital allowances — ForrestBrown’s cross-sell model
If your annual R&D claim is under £200,000, you are not ForrestBrown’s primary customer. You’re filling capacity. And you’re paying the same percentage as their £1M claim clients — despite getting proportionally less attention and expertise on your case.
The Turnaround Time Question
ForrestBrown typically takes 8–12 weeks to produce a completed claim. For large, complex claims with multiple R&D projects spanning different business units, this timeline is understandable — the work is genuinely extensive.
For a software company with one or two qualifying projects and a clear cost profile, 8 weeks is unnecessary. The questionnaire, narrative, and cost schedule for a typical SME claim represents approximately 12–18 hours of skilled work. With a well-designed process, this takes 10 working days.
For SMEs needing to include the R&D claim in their CT600 before a cash flow deadline, waiting 12 weeks for a report is a real problem — not just an inconvenience.
Transparency: The Pricing Problem
Visit ForrestBrown’s website. Scroll the entire site. You will not find a price anywhere.
This is standard across the industry — percentage-fee firms don’t publish prices because the percentage applied to different claim sizes creates wildly different numbers that are hard to defend on paper.
A business approaching any percentage-fee firm should ask directly, before signing anything: “What percentage of my refund do you charge?” If the answer is evasive or framed as “we’ll discuss that once we’ve assessed your claim,” walk away.
What ForrestBrown Does Genuinely Well
In the interest of fairness, these are the areas where ForrestBrown’s model genuinely justifies premium fees:
Complex multi-jurisdiction claims: For companies operating across multiple countries, ForrestBrown’s cross-border expertise is valuable and not easily replicated.
Patent Box: Their patent box advisory is genuinely specialised and difficult to find elsewhere. If you have patents or patentable IP, their integrated service has real value.
HMRC enquiry support on large claims: For a £500,000+ claim facing a full HMRC enquiry, you want a firm with former HMRC inspectors on staff. The premium is earned at that level.
Grant advisory and location strategy: Beyond R&D tax, they offer a suite of innovation incentives services that’s genuinely comprehensive for large-scale R&D programmes.
The SME Alternative: What to Look For
If you’re a UK SME with an R&D claim between £20,000 and £200,000, here’s what you should be looking for in an R&D tax advisor in 2025:
1. Transparent flat-fee pricing
Any firm that won’t tell you the price upfront should be questioned. The work involved in a typical SME claim has a predictable cost. If a firm charges more when your claim is larger, ask them why the report on a £100k claim takes more effort than a £50k claim. (It often doesn’t.)
2. A published HMRC success rate
HMRC’s 2025 crackdown on non-compliant claims means your advisor’s track record matters more than ever. Ask: what percentage of claims submitted by this firm are fully accepted by HMRC without query? Any firm serious about quality should be able to answer this.
3. A realistic intake rejection rate
A legitimate, quality-focused firm should turn away 20–30% of enquiries that don’t genuinely qualify. If a firm has never rejected a client, that’s a red flag — they’re taking everyone and hoping for the best. HMRC’s own data shows that higher rejection rates at intake correlate with lower enquiry rates post-submission.
4. Clear turnaround commitments
10–14 working days for a standard SME claim is achievable. 8–16 weeks is not necessary for most SME claims. Get the turnaround time in writing.
5. Ongoing support post-delivery
Your claim pack is only useful if your accountant can action it and HMRC processes it without queries. A good firm remains available for accountant questions and any HMRC correspondence — not just for the delivery of the documents.
The Real Cost Comparison Over 5 Years
R&D tax credits are an annual benefit — if you qualify, you can claim every year. Over a five-year period, the cumulative difference between a percentage fee and a flat fee is substantial:
| Scenario | % Fee Firm (17%) | Flat Fee (£2,500/yr) | 5-Year Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| £50k annual refund, 5 years | £42,500 | £12,500 | £30,000 |
| £75k annual refund, 5 years | £63,750 | £12,500 | £51,250 |
| £100k annual refund, 5 years | £85,000 | £12,500 | £72,500 |
On a £75,000 annual claim over five years, the saving from switching to a flat-fee provider is £51,250. That’s a member of staff. That’s a marketing budget. That’s capital reinvested into the R&D activities that generated the claim in the first place.
A note on quality
Flat-fee pricing does not mean lower quality. It means the cost of the work is priced accurately rather than as a percentage of your refund. The key variable in claim quality is the expertise of the reviewer — not the fee structure. A qualified R&D tax specialist reviewing a well-prepared narrative produces the same quality outcome at a flat fee as at a contingency fee. The difference is who keeps the money.
Switching Providers: What to Know
If you’ve been working with ForrestBrown or any other percentage-fee firm, you can switch for your next claim. There’s no obligation to continue with the same advisor year to year — R&D tax claims are prepared annually, and you’re free to engage a different firm for each year’s claim.
When switching, ensure:
- Your previous provider hasn’t signed any agreements that grant them a percentage of future claims (unusual, but check any engagement letters you signed)
- You have access to your previous claims documentation — prior year reports are useful reference material for new advisors
- Your accountant is informed of the change in advance
Most clients who switch to flat-fee providers do so mid-cycle — after one year of paying a percentage fee and experiencing the sticker shock when the invoice arrives alongside their HMRC payment.
Questions to Ask Any R&D Tax Advisor Before Signing
Before engaging any R&D tax advisory firm, ask these questions directly and in writing:
- What is your fee structure? (If percentage-based: what percentage, and of what figure exactly?)
- What is your HMRC acceptance rate — i.e., what percentage of claims submitted by your firm are fully accepted without query?
- What percentage of enquiries do you decline because they don’t qualify? (Should be 20–30% for a quality firm)
- Who specifically will work on my claim — a named advisor with their qualifications?
- What is your guaranteed turnaround time from receiving my information?
- What happens if HMRC queries the claim — is support included, and at what cost?
- Can I see an example redacted technical narrative from a similar company in my sector?
A firm that can answer all seven questions directly and confidently is a firm worth engaging. A firm that hedges, deflects, or schedules a further meeting to “discuss your specific situation” before answering pricing questions is signalling something about their model.
Our Commitment: What We Do Differently
At RD Tax Advisors, we built our model specifically to address the failings of the percentage-fee structure:
- Flat fee of £2,500 — published on this website, stated on the first call, and confirmed in our engagement letter before you pay a penny
- 10 working day turnaround — guaranteed from receipt of your completed questionnaire and supporting documents
- Strict intake process — we decline approximately 25% of enquiries because the activities don’t qualify; this protects every client’s claim and our HMRC relationship
- Ongoing support — from the moment you engage us to the moment HMRC pays out, we answer questions from you and your accountant at no additional charge
- Published success metrics — our HMRC acceptance rate, rejection rate, and average delivery time are tracked and available
Find Out What You’re Owed — Free, 2 Minutes
Free eligibility check. No commitment. Response within 1 business hour. Flat fee confirmed upfront — no surprises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ForrestBrown better than cheaper alternatives?
For complex, high-value claims (£200k+), multi-project R&D programmes, or claims involving Patent Box and other innovation incentives, ForrestBrown’s depth of expertise is genuinely valuable. For standard SME claims under £150,000, the quality difference between a well-prepared flat-fee claim and a ForrestBrown claim is minimal — the primary difference is cost.
Will HMRC treat a flat-fee claim differently?
No. HMRC evaluates claims based on the technical content of the narrative and the accuracy of the cost schedule — not on who prepared it or what they charged. A well-prepared claim is a well-prepared claim regardless of the fee structure.
Is switching providers mid-way through a claim year complicated?
No. R&D claims are prepared after your financial year end, and you engage an advisor for each annual claim independently. There’s no mid-year switching involved — you simply choose a different firm for the next year’s claim.
What if my claim is complex — multiple projects, different teams?
Our flat fee covers standard complexity (up to 3 qualifying projects, straightforward cost allocation). For claims with 4+ projects or complex subcontractor arrangements, we discuss this upfront and may quote a slightly higher flat fee — still substantially less than a percentage of your refund.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a criticism of any specific firm. All fee estimates for third-party firms are based on publicly available information and industry research.