The Last Question

The fifth question which CRA uses to assess the eligibility of a SRED claim is whether there was kept a record of the hypothesis and the test results while the work was being done. CRA wants the docs to have been created at the time the work was happening, and I know from experience that they have ways of determining the age of documents if they want to do a forensic test on them.  Basically, they want to see why the work claimed was necessary for the resolution of the technological uncertainties. There are many docs routinely created in a business, and if you have done SRED, you probably have a lot more evidence of your work than you realize.

One reason for the documentation, and the one I hear CRA reviewers most often tendering, is so that they have proof that the work was done. I don’t accept that and usually ask how did this product come into existence if the work wasn’t done?  A more reasonable reason for this requirement is to ensure that the knowledge is preserved and that what has been accomplished can be replicated.