Nichols & Co Accountants Partner with Us

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your experience as an accountant?

I started my career at a Big 4 firm. There, I earned my stripes as a chartered accountant and tax consultant. In 1999, I founded Nichols & Co in a spare bedroom. Since then, it’s been an incredible journey watching it transform into the successful enterprise it is today. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of being a trusted advisor to numerous businesses, helping them grow alongside us. I’m dedicated to giving our clients an excellent experience, ensuring they can focus on their core activities. While we handle the intricate accounting and tax matters, this outlook is central to Nichols & Co’s culture.

What is your understanding of capital allowances, and why do you feel they are important for businesses?

I have a good understanding of capital allowances. I’m aware that it’s a tax relief against expenditures incurred by businesses.  However, I must admit its importance and its true potential was made evident after a conversation with Chris Roberts. I started to understand that if the right disciplines were not applied, substantial tax relief could be missed. This isn’t something we would want to risk for our clients.

What made you consider seeking external support for capital allowance claims?

Claiming qualifying expenditures that are identified in invoices from our clients is an accounting routine that we complete whenever the opportunity arises. However, we are aware accountants are limited when it comes to capital allowances. Sometimes they are unable to achieve maximum results. Actually, the required approach to putting together these claims was something my team was not able to facilitate. We knew as a business we needed an outside source that we knew we could trust. But, it was very important that it was a business that would have the same dedication and principles as our company. I had recognised that expert support was needed. However, I hadn’t realised at this point the extent of the tax relief we could achieve by doing this.

What convinced you to partner with us?

Transparency and knowledge were the main selling points for me. CARS are approachable and if there’s anything I’m not sure about, you are happy to take the time to explain it. I knew that this partnership would fit in line with our business.

What were some of the key benefits you experienced from working with us on capital allowance claims?

It’s like having an extra department in our team without the extra costs. Your team’s expertise greatly benefits us and has most definitely enhanced the service we can provide to our clients. The CARS team are always on hand to answer any queries we have and support us wherever you can. I know I always have you there to lean on. We’ve completed numerous claims together, achieving some great results for our clients that have only come as a result of our partnership.

In what ways did our assistance simplify the claims process for you and your clients?

It not only took the pressure off us knowing that everything was being taken care of, but it also gave us the peace of mind that everything was being done in accordance with legislation. Maintaining a good reputation is important; working alongside your team helped us achieve this. Providing our client with a claim that we had full trust could be backed up if any queries ever came through from HMRC was invaluable. Each stage has been meticulously thought out and required little involvement from the client which allowed them to get on with their busy lives.

Were there any specific challenges or unique situations in your clients’ businesses that we helped address through our services?

There’s one scenario that comes to mind where one of our clients had a portfolio of a few different properties. The complexity of making a claim against these properties became clear when your team took on the challenge of identifying any unclaimed capital allowances from previous vendors. With some purchase contracts not available for review this required asking the correct questions. This was done to identify what had already been claimed if anything, so that we weren’t double-claiming. The team would then do a site survey of the properties. In order to further identify expenditures that we, as their accountants, weren’t aware of. For example, work that was invoiced through Stage Payments. Without these essential steps, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve the level of tax relief that we did for this client. The ease of completing this was made possible by having your team on board.

What would you say to accountants who might be hesitant to seek external assistance for capital allowance claims?

I know from experience that once I had sought outside support for these claims it became clear just how important it is. I can say with certainty that your team has provided an excellent service to me and my clients. This has been a great support system for claims of all sorts and complexities. I would highly recommend those who are on the edge of seeking support to have a chat with Chris Roberts. As he is able to answer any questions you have. It won’t be a decision you regret. It wasn’t for us anyway!