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How it works

Ask a question. Get an evidenced answer. Put it straight into your work.

Works in Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Perplexity, and through the API.

Questions our clients ask

  1. Question 1

    “Is this industrial unit in Wolverhampton over-rated? Show me the evidence.”

    Looked up the property, its comparables, our verdict and its rating history, then a breakdown of the area.

  2. Question 2

    “Find tribunal decisions where a workshop won an allowance, and any on industrial units in Portsmouth.”

    Ran our verdict and comparables on the client's unit and its neighbours, then searched the tribunal decisions by ground and by area.

  3. Question 3

    “Small offices in York under £8,000 rateable value, cheapest per m² first.”

    Ranked the area by £ per m² to find comparables for a small office, then screened warehouses and shops in Bradford for prospects.

  4. Question 4

    “Industrial units in Warwick under £40,000 rateable value.”

    Screened the area, then checked about 15 units one by one for another comparables schedule.

  5. Question 5

    “Find the small hydro-electric scheme on the river near Shrewsbury, and its tribunal history. Then show me every unit on the trading estate in Barnsley.”

    Tracked down an unusual property and the tribunal decisions on similar schemes, then looked up about 17 units one by one to build a comparables schedule.

  6. Question 6

    “Which gyms and fitness studios in central Birmingham are the most expensive per m²?”

    Ranked leisure properties across four postcode districts by £ per m² for a leisure client, then looked at large stores in Trowbridge.

Example questions by client type

Free shows the verdict · Professional shows the findings
YouIs the rateable value on my client's shop at Unit 4, Longfield Avenue, Ealing W5 fair? It's their only business property.
Your AI assistant

Strong case. The shop is valued at £390 per m². The median for 13 comparable shops within 5 km, in the same Valuation Office scheme, is £280 per m². It is about 39% above that, and above the range the scheme applies to 43 similar-sized shops (£202 to £365, median £284).

Rateable value now£69,500bill about £29,885
Suggested rateable value£50,100bill about £19,138
Indicative saving£10,747a year, before reliefs
Backdated to 1 Apr 2026£6,360so far this year

Checks. Floor area consistent with the energy certificate. No allowance gap against the 13 comparables. No small business rate relief at this value.

Route. Start a Check through the Valuation Office business rates account (assessment 29187286000) with the 13 comparables. If it is not agreed, Challenge within four months. Keep paying meanwhile: any reduction is backdated and refunded.

What-ifs. Agreed in full: about £10,747 a year. Halfway: about £4,171. A further 5% allowance: another £955. What-ifs, not findings.

This is an indication from comparable evidence, not a valuation. A Check or Challenge is a separate step you choose, and the Valuation Office may reach a different view; it can also correct facts that increase the rateable value.

Then “Write that up as a one-page note I can send to the client.” The assistant drafts the note from the same figures (see In your documents, below).

find_properties → get_overpayment_verdict · 6 credits

Answers from the live service on 3 November 2026; data as of 28 October 2026.

In your documents

What it looks like once your assistant has built the file

You don't download anything from us. Ask your assistant for a spreadsheet or a note and it builds the file from the results it has just fetched.

Ealing_targets.xlsx · Sheet1
ABCDEF
1AddressUseRateable value£/m²VerdictIndicative saving
2Quill Street, W5 1DNRetail warehouse£930,000258Strong case£104,673
390–94 Uxbridge Road, W7 3SUShop£565,000268Worth checking£81,508
4Alexandria Road, W13 0NLSuperstore£1,440,000315Worth checking£81,280
5King Street, W3 9LASuperstore£1,350,000298Worth checking£70,739
623 Old Oak Common Lane, W3 7BAShop£560,000268Strong case£65,744
7Units 10–13 Longfield Avenue, W5 2TDShop£290,000396Worth checking£36,228
8Unit 4A The Oaks, High Street, W3 6REShop£382,500270Strong case£34,032
9Units 6A–C, 2 High Street, W5 5DBShop£136,000566Strong case£14,341

A target list from the Ealing screen. Savings are indicative and before reliefs; properties are flagged by our checks, not proven overpayments.

Client note3 November 2026

Unit 4, Longfield Avenue, London W5 2TD: business rates

The shop is valued at £390 per m², about 39% above the median of 13 comparable shops in the same Valuation Office scheme (£280 per m²). On that evidence the rateable value of £69,500 could be about £50,100, an indicative saving of £10,747 a year (£6,360 backdated to 1 April 2026 so far).

  1. Start a Check through the Valuation Office business rates account (assessment 29187286000).
  2. If it is not agreed, Challenge within four months of the decision.
  3. Keep paying meanwhile; any reduction is backdated and refunded.

This is an indication from comparable evidence, not a valuation. A Check or Challenge is a separate step you choose, and the Valuation Office may reach a different view; it can also correct facts that increase the rateable value.

A one-page client note, drafted by the assistant from the verdict above.

Three steps to the first answer

  1. 1

    Add the connector

    In Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot, add BusinessRateChecker from the connector directory. Gemini, Perplexity and your own code take the connector URL.

  2. 2

    Sign in with your work email

    If your company already has a plan, you are on it the moment you sign in: no invitation, nobody to ask. Otherwise you start on Free.

  3. 3

    Ask in plain English

    Name a property, a postcode, a council or a question. Ask what you have left at any time; you are told when you reach 80% of the month's credits.

Tribunal decisions: Valuation Tribunal for England and Valuation Tribunal for Wales published decisions, Open Government Licence v3.0 (© Valuation Tribunal Service / Valuation Tribunal for Wales).

Independent service — not endorsed by the VOA/HMRC. BusinessRateChecker is an independent service. We use published rating-list data under licence, but the Valuation Office Agency (now part of HMRC) does not endorse, back, verify or take any responsibility for this site, our comparisons or our estimates. Official rateable values and any formal decisions come only from the VOA/HMRC.