SR&ED documentation

Good records shorten the distance to the claim

The CRA's T661 guide tells claimants to use existing materials and documents generated during the work and to retain them for verification. A filing-time summary is more useful when it points back to those original records.

Useful evidence already lives in the project

• Planning records such as objectives, hypotheses, proposals and design documents.
• Test plans, measurements, results and notes explaining the next iteration.
• Source-control history, issue discussions and design tickets.
• Lab notebooks, prototype records, photographs and engineering drawings.
• Time records that connect people and hours to particular work.
• Emails and meeting notes that record a technical problem or decision.

Start with the records your team already creates. If you need a consistent way to capture project decisions and time, use the free project and time-log templates. The templates organize new entries; they do not replace test results, source history, payroll records or other original support.

How the records fit together

Imagine a team testing different control settings to keep a prototype's temperature stable. This example shows how each record contributes to the claim file; the team's actual work still needs an eligibility review.

• A design note states the technical question and the settings the team planned to test.
• Test logs and results show what was tried, what happened and why the next test changed.
• Issue or source-control history places design changes and decisions in time.
• Time entries identify the people and hours under review; payroll, contracts and invoices support the corresponding amounts.

Connect each source to the question it helps answer, and record the preparer's review decision. A technical result helps explain the investigation; payroll and invoices support the amounts. The CRA's T4088 Appendix 2 gives more examples and explains why the content of each record matters more than checking off a list.

Track labour close to the work

Labour can be a significant part of a claim, so the allocation method needs support. Hours recorded against specific projects and activities are easier to review. Where the record is incomplete, other source material can inform a reasonable allocation, but keep the method, assumptions and approval with the result. SREDlog time tracking prepares proposed allocations for review; only approved hours enter the calculation. The time-entry and import instructions explain the practical steps. Our guide to claiming SR&ED without timesheets examines how other records can support a review when formal timesheets are missing.

Keep the original record and the review together

An invoice may support an amount, a trial report may explain the work, and a time entry may identify who performed it. Keep the source, its project link and the review decision together so another preparer can follow the same path. Evidence management in SREDlog shows how those records connect to narrative drafts and reviewed figures.

How long to keep records

Businesses generally must keep required records and supporting documents for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. Different periods can apply in specific circumstances.

Gaps that create filing-time reconstruction

• Time that isn't recorded against specific SR&ED work.
• Narratives with no underlying evidence to support them.
• Evidence that was created at filing time rather than as the work happened.
• Costs that can't be reconciled to payroll, contracts or invoices.