Aetha Design Studio

We have already referred a number of our clients to Kene so they can benefit from their expertise and help more businesses benefit from this generous government incentive.

Who was the client?

Aetha Design Studio are a leading product design agency based in Poole, Dorset. They work with global brands, entrepreneurs and start-ups, blending function with style to create beautifully designed products. Their skilled team of six offer a range of services, including industrial design, prototyping and 3D modelling.

Their design studio contains a range of interesting tools that allow them to take on varied and exciting projects that challenge current norms of product design. From discovery to development and production, they are masters at bringing ideas to life. They believe sustainability is essential.

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

What was the challenge?

The R&D at Aetha Design Studio is dictated depending on the specifications of their clients and the development stage they are in. The team exclusively work on early-stage design, prototyping and engineering for manufacture, each of which comes with its own set of challenges. They also have to overcome complex project briefs and restrictive regulations, whilst still creating cost-effective and reliable products for mass manufacture.

Introduced to Kene through a client they were working with at the time, Aetha Design Studio was previously told they would not qualify for R&D tax credits. This is a common theme amongst many of our clients. In fact, over 70% do not know they are eligible before speaking to us.

We take time to get to know a business and coupled with our expert knowledge of R&D tax legislation, we are often able to correctly identify opportunities to claim. Putting your faith in the right team of technically competent R&D professionals is essential to ensure you get the maximum amount of benefit owed.

We regret not coming to Kene sooner and trusting non-specialists on such a complex part of the tax legislation. We’re pleased to know that our future projects will indeed be eligible and help provide a vital cash boost for our business.

Identifying the R&D

Our consultants travelled to Aetha Design Studio to conduct a workshop and spend some time with the team. This meant we were able to get a hands-on look at the prototypes and specific work that had been taking place. This session was essential to help get a better understanding of key projects which align with the definition of R&D for tax purposes.

We identified key R&D activity, including the development and manufacturing of a camera accessory and the production of a mechanical case for smartphones; both perfect projects to showcase in their Technical Report.

A Technical Report is submitted alongside every claim we produce and is a key asset to help give HMRC deeper insight into the R&D undertaken by Aetha Design Studio. Our in-house technical writers have extensive knowledge and experience writing the documentation desired by HMRC, ensuring claims are submitted with enough robust and informative detail to minimize any delays in the benefit being received.

The financial calculations were slightly more complex than standard R&D claims, due to Aetha Design Studio receiving grant funding. Our team are experienced at navigating this, spliting the cost calculations over two different R&D schemes to ensure they still got the full benefit amount they were entitled to.

The result

We were pleased to be able to submit a robust claim for Aetha Design Studio and give them a sizable cash boost to help re-invest in growing their business. As a testament to our work, the team have already recommended us to several of their clients. We look forward to working with Aetha Design Studio on future claims and we’re excited to see where they go next.

This was a really quick and painless exercise for us and we will be using Kene again for future claims. We have already referred a number of our clients to Kene so they can benefit from their expertise and help more businesses benefit from this generous government incentive.