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Costs: How to Use the Costs Template to Upload Your R&D Costs

A quick guide outlining how to use the costs template to upload your R&D costs directly to the EmpowerRD platform.

If you do not have Xero or not all of your costs are in Xero, you can download a costs template that allows you to enter your R&D costs and import them to the platform, enabling you to directly import your costs to your claim without adding them manually.

How do I get started?

To get started on your costs, go to the 'Costs' section and click on 'Import/Export' at the top right:


You should then be taken to a new page, where you can download the template:



This should open as an Excel spreadsheet, with the columns already containing the applicable headers and drop-downs. Once downloaded, you can make a start on entering your costs and R&D time percentages.

⚠️ When completing the template, please ensure that the spreadsheet format remains the same as the original. For example, please do not add any additional sheets, external links, special characters or text outside of the tables.



To upload, return to the page you downloaded the template from and select "Choose file". Once you have chosen the correct file, click 'Upload and Import Costs':





The upload should then populate the costs and R&D time percentages tables with the information from the template. To check this, head to the 'Costs' and 'Time Spent on R&D' sections.


Why is nothing happening when I upload the template?

This can occur if the template format has been modified. The template should always remain in its original formatting, as this can cause upload issues.

Please ensure that the template does not contain any of the following:

  • Any additional sheets.
  • Renamed column titles.
  • Dropdown options in the wrong columns.
  • Text outside of the tables.
  • Special characters.
  • External links.


If the template contains any of the above, please remove or re-format to the original formatting, save the file and re-upload it. If there has been extensive reformatting, it may be worth re-downloading the template and copying the data over to a new spreadsheet.

💡If you are copying data from another spreadsheet, please use the 'Paste Special' option (CTRL + CMD + V) and select 'Values'. This ensures that no conditional formatting from another spreadsheet impacts your costs template upload.



If your template does not contain any of the above and you are still experiencing issues with the upload, this may be caused by a bug. Please contact us via live chat or email for assistance.


Why is it saying the gross pay is too high for the National Insurance contributions?

This can happen if the gross pay or National Insurance contributions haven't been entered correctly. Please double-check your payslips for the figures and enter the exact amounts into the costs template.

For gross pay, this will be the total pay before any tax deductions, employee contributions or benefits are applied. If you received a National Insurance allowance, you will need to factor this into the amount by viewing individual employees' National Insurance contributions on their payslips. If this is not available on their payslips, you will need to calculate the total allowance amount and divide the total figure amongst those subject to paying National Insurance.


Why is it saying the R&D time percentage is too high?

The platform will flag items where the R&D time percentage appears to be too high. HMRC would not expect any staff, contractors, externally paid workers or other items to be used for R&D purposes 100% of the time, therefore any containing 100% will be flagged for a reduction.

Some roles, such as product, marketing, finance or HR positions, may also be flagged if the R&D time percentage appears to be too high (>50%). This is because HMRC wouldn't expect these roles to be working on R&D (directly or indirectly), the majority of the time. When considering the R&D time percentage, you should always provide an accurate depiction of the actual amount of time individuals spend on R&D only.

🤔 When calculating the R&D time percentages, consider the actual amount of time spent on R&D activities only. Any non-qualifying activities should be removed from the total percentage. For example, you shouldn't include time for:
  • 'BAU' activities, such as data analysis, strategy and decision making.
  • UX / UI testing.
  • Customer feedback.
  • Product design for 'aesthetic' purposes.


My costs and/or R&D time percentages aren't uploading correctly.

If costs and/or R&D time percentages are uploading different figures to your claim than the figures you entered into the spreadsheet, there could be an issue with the spreadsheet formatting.

To ensure the format is correct, check your template for any special characters or amended formatting. To check this, it's worth looking out for:

  • Are the R&D time percentage numbers entered as whole numbers or with decimals? For example, 40% or 40.5%. You should always round your figures up.
  • Do any of the numbers contain special characters or re-formatting? The format should be in numbers only and the formatting of the data should not be changed.

If you have checked the above and are still experiencing issues with the upload, there is also the option to manually edit the items on the platform. However, if there are a significant number of incorrect items, please contact us via live chat or email.


Question not answered?

Please contact us via live chat or email and we will help you.