Streamlining R&D Tax Credit Reporting for Harrison.ai

The Opportunity

Harrison.ai is a global healthtech company that builds market-leading, AI-powered medical diagnostic and workflow solutions. It faced significant challenges in the complex and labour-intensive process of applying for R&D tax credits. The company needed a more efficient way to track time and resources spent on research and development projects to qualify for these credits.

A Taxing Challenge

The primary issue was the inefficient and cumbersome process of applying for R&D tax credits. Harrison used multiple Jira instances across its subsidiaries and GitLab for its software engineering team, which introduced unnecessary overheads and complexities. Accurate tracking of time and resources was essential, but the existing system was simply not up to the task.

“We’ve increased efficiency and enhanced our compliance, continuous improvement and scalability. This has collectively improved the overall financial health and operational effectiveness of the business.” Shaun Roos, Program Manager

The Solution

A Streamlined, Tailored Solution

Elegance Group was engaged to provide a streamlined, tailored solution leveraging Atlassian products, specifically Jira and Tempo. Leveraging expertise in software development and resource planning, the RG team crafted a tailored system for Harrison that efficiently captured work logs and facilitated real-time reporting.

Elegance Group proposed a solution that focused on:

• Time Logging and Recording: Integrating Tempo with Jira for efficient time tracking and real-time reporting.
• Work Management: Capturing work logs in both GitLab and Jira, with automation rules for metadata application to simplify user input.
• Metadata Annotation: Automatically applying metadata to work logs for improved categorization and reporting.

Implementation and Integration

Key areas of work during the implementation were:

• Time Tracking Integration: Integrated Tempo with Jira for seamless time logging. Developing automation rules to filter down metadata to child issues within projects, reducing redundant data entry.
• Overcoming GitLab Integration Challenges: Leveraged APIs from both GitLab and Jira to ensure seamless time tracking across both platforms.
• Inter-Company Billing: Introduced real-time inter-company billing, a value-add that addressed a previously unrecognised challenge for Harrison.

The Impact

The solution resulted in:

• Streamlined Process: eradicated the need for a reconciliation process, allowing Harrison to generate real-time reports on R&D activities. This streamlined approach enhanced overall efficiency.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Optimized Jira license subscriptions, laying the foundation for significant cost savings.
• Future Optimization: further optimizing operations, particularly regarding license subscriptions and data segregation, promising additional efficiency gains and cost savings.

Shaun concludes, “There was great communication throughout the process and we appreciated the extra guidance the team delivered which was a good value add”.

Conclusion

Elegance Group successfully transformed Harrison’s R&D tax credit application process into an efficient and automated system. This collaboration not only met the initial objectives but also delivered many benefits, demonstrating the power of strategic partnerships in overcoming complex business challenges.