# R&D record keeping checklist

A checklist of records that show what was done, when and by whom, organised by when to create them. Keep records for at least five years, in a form you can produce if AusIndustry or the ATO asks.

## Before the work starts

- [ ] The problem written down, with the measurement that shows it.
- [ ] A record of what you checked first (papers, documentation, existing products, experts) and what each showed.
- [ ] A hypothesis that a result could disprove.
- [ ] An experiment plan: setup, variables, measurements and how results will be evaluated.
- [ ] The people who will do the work, and how their time will be recorded.
- [ ] For each supporting activity: the core activity it supports, how it directly supports it, and, where it produces goods or services or falls in an excluded category, why its dominant purpose is supporting that core activity.

## While the work happens

- [ ] Dated tickets, pull requests, lab notebook or design document entries for each experiment.
- [ ] Results recorded as they arrive, including failed attempts and dead ends.
- [ ] Changes of approach recorded with the reason, rather than overwriting earlier plans.
- [ ] Time recorded against the activity (timesheets, worklogs or another contemporaneous method).
- [ ] Contractor agreements and invoices that describe the work done.
- [ ] Records of materials, equipment and cloud resources used for the experiments.

## When an experiment finishes

- [ ] The result evaluated against the plan, and a conclusion written down.
- [ ] What was learned, and what happens next.

## After the income year ends

- [ ] Each activity's records gathered in one place and linked from your activity register.
- [ ] Time and expenditure reconciled to payroll and the accounts.
- [ ] Records of any overseas work, and of any finding applied for.
- [ ] The registration prepared from these records, and the records kept with it.

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This checklist helps you keep records. It does not decide whether an activity is eligible for the R&D Tax Incentive. Checklist from Rand Advisory (randadvisory.com.au), free to copy and adapt.