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From contracts to cybersecurity and compliance to corporation tax, we answer tech founders’ FAQs
Published on 10 March, 2025
Author: Markel UK
5 - 7 minute read
Technology start-ups don’t have the same resources as large companies, but they have huge potential if their leadership can navigate the complexities of running a business. At Markel, they ask us lots of questions. Below, we’ve provided answers to those your clients are most likely to ask.
1. How can we ensure our contracts protect us?
Tech start-ups often begin life offering limited services and have very basic terms of business in place. They can grow extremely quickly, however, and the terms don’t always evolve at the same rate as the services, leaving them exposed to potential risks.
Markel offers a Contract Review Service whereby your clients can simply send us an email with the contract attached. We’ll raise any questions and provide a report within seven days of receiving the answers. We’ll look at things like limitations of liability, any insurance provisions required by a third-party contract and anything that is missing that could enhance the protection afforded by the contract.
2. How can we protect ourselves against cyber-attacks?
Cyber-attacks are the biggest concern among tech businesses. They are particularly anxious about ransomware and data breaches, and the associated costs and reputational damage.
The Markel Cyber Hub is a platform that gives your clients access to cyber expertise and training resources, which can be rolled out to their staff. We also provide a Cyber Risk Management Toolkit, which offers an online questionnaire and provides an assessment of their defences and actions they should take to protect themselves.
Sometimes, however, a cyber-attack cannot be avoided. Markel’s Cyber Incident Response Service offers 24/7 access to a team of experts including forensic investigators, PR consultants and legal advisers.
3. What can we do if a client doesn’t pay our invoice?
The only real legal reason to dispute an invoice is if services haven’t been provided or have not been up to standard. Since tech services are generally well documented, it’s more likely that the second of these scenarios will arise.
Your clients can call the dedicated Markel Debt Recovery Service for some initial advice. We will advise them on the realities of litigation to recover the fees as well as the possible drain on their business and the likelihood of a counterclaim for negligence. We won’t charge for our advice or preparing documentation and we’ll help them get insurers involved early in the process and can be instructed by the insurers to defend against any negligence claim.
4. How can we get legal and tax advice?
Markel provides support through our legal and tax advice lines. We’ve supported companies on everything from company formation, consideration of tax and VAT, hiring their first employee and managing staff to protecting intellectual property and data. We have even helped a company navigate restrictive covenants when they wanted to employ someone from a competitor.
We have 32 trained solicitors working on our legal advice line, which is available 24/7. In addition, there are eight tax specialists on our tax advice line, which operates during office hours.
R&D presents a major opportunity for tech businesses who may not realise that they are eligible.
5. How can we navigate the IR35 rules?
It can be a nervous time for your clients when they are trying to navigate the IR35 rules for their freelance workforce. Our tax consultants can help by reviewing, assessing and advising on the steps your tech clients need to take to remain compliant.
Our IR35 Tax Safe service is supported by our fee-payer protect insurance, which covers the defence costs and potential tax losses should HMRC be successful in defending IR35 status. We’ve defended and won more IR35 cases at tribunal than any other UK tax specialist.
6. Can I get R&D tax relief?
R&D presents a major opportunity for tech businesses, but some are nervous about the complex process for applying for R&D tax credits. Others may not realise that they are eligible when they invest in cutting-edge development work.
Our team can help your clients to identify R&D opportunities and associated tax relief, as well as reviewing existing claims and compiling technical reports and submissions. We helped one business that was creating a new AI model to unlock £350,000 in tax relief.
7. What other incentives and reliefs can we claim?
There is a lot of support available for tech companies. Markel Tax can also help your clients identify capital allowance claims for property and equipment and claim land remediation relief, if they have acquired derelict or contaminated land. In addition, our grant funding and proposal team can help them access the grants available from UK and European funding sources. And we can prepare calculations and reports for patent box relief (we can help secure a lower rate of 10% corporation tax on any product with a patent on it).
We have experience of the eight different creative industry tax reliefs, including video games tax relief, and we can also help them apply for the audio visual and video games expenditure credit.
Running a tech start-up is complex enough without having to deal with some of these associated issues. We can help your clients navigate the tax and legislative landscape so that they can concentrate on developing innovative technologies.
