Background research
Record the state of existing knowledge and why a competent professional could not determine the technical outcome in advance.
R&D record keeping Australia
Do not reconstruct the experiment at claim time.
Official R&DTI guidance says records should be created as the R&D activities and expenditure occur. The strongest system captures technical uncertainty, experiments, observations, people, dates, resources and cost links contemporaneously.
Evidence architecture
A reviewable record should explain the technical story and the cost story.
Experiment plan
Capture the hypothesis, variables, method, expected observations and the technical question being tested.
Trial results
Record successful and failed attempts, measurements, screenshots, test reports and technical observations rather than only the final solution.
Decision trail
Keep technical meeting notes, issue logs, emails, project records and rationale for changing direction.
Activity-to-cost link
Show which staff, contractors, materials, facilities and tools relate to each R&D activity and how any apportionment was calculated.
Management control
Maintain an experiment register and periodic review so missing records are identified while memories and evidence still exist.
AI evidence layer
Use the systems people already work in.
Issue trackers, digital boards, code repositories, project systems, test reports, emails and document stores already contain useful evidence. The opportunity is to connect them to an R&D activity register with consistent timestamps, labels and management review.
For software R&D, government guidance specifically notes evidence such as technical hurdles, unsuccessful attempts, limitations of existing technologies, alternatives considered and the rationale for a proposed approach.
Official record-keeping guidance
The Department recommends setting up the record system before R&D starts, keeping records as activities occur, linking activities to expenditure and retaining R&D records for five years after claiming.
Official R&DTI record-keeping guide →Operating principle
Build the record as if it could be reviewed. Good systems do not manufacture eligibility; they preserve the facts needed for the company and its advisers to self-assess the work accurately.
R&D evidence-system review
Make record keeping part of the engineering workflow.
Tell me how your technical team currently records experiments, tests and decisions. I can help design a practical evidence layer around the tools already in use.