Track R&D Tax Credits in Jira, GitHub, Asana, etc (No New Tools)

Don’t stand up a new system just to claim R&D incentives. Layer simple fields and rituals onto the tools your teams already use (Jira, Linear, Asana, Trello, GitHub, Confluence/Notion etc). Capture uncertainty, hypothesis, experiments, results, people, and time as work happens.

In Canada, that evidence maps cleanly to SR&ED’s T661 and supports IRAP reporting.

To properly track R&D Tax Credits, keep it light. Make it repeatable. CRA prefers contemporaneous, dated records. 

Key takeaways

• Add a light R&D layer to Jira, Linear, Asana, Trello, GitHub, and your wiki.

• Capture uncertainty, hypothesis, experiment, result, next step, people and time.

• Fifteen minutes on Fridays for a weekly note beats year-end reconstruction every time.

• Tie time entries to ticket IDs and payroll codes so SR&ED/IRAP costs can be reconciled cleanly.

• That package maps to T661 for SR&ED and supports IRAP progress and cost claims.

Why Track R&D Tax Credits?

• SR&ED (tax credit, CRA): Work must tackle a scientific/technological uncertainty through a systematic investigation (experiments/analysis). Strong, contemporaneous evidence speeds reviews. 

• IRAP (grant, NRC): Funds eligible R&D projects at Canadian SMEs; claims are paid against eligible costs with proper project documentation and timely claims.

The six data points every R&D epic/project should hold

1. Uncertainty (what wasn’t known/didn’t work)

2. Hypothesis (what you tried and why)

3. Experiment (method, env/configs; attach results)

4. Result & interpretation (pass/fail, metrics, learning)

5. Next step (alternate path, iteration)

6. People & time (who did it; hours that tie to payroll/cost centre)

This mirrors SR&ED eligibility tests and the evidence table CRA points to in T4088. It also meets IRAP’s need for defensible technical and cost records.

Jira / Linear / Shortcut

Fields (on a “Spike/Experiment” type or via label R&D)

• R&D: Uncertainty · R&D: Hypothesis · R&D: Result · R&D: Next Step

• R&D: Hours (or link to time entry) · Cost Centre / Payroll Code

Guardrails: Block Done until Result is filled. Auto-link PRs/merges so the ticket shows diffs and review history (good SR&ED evidence).

Asana / Trello / monday.com

Tags/fields

• Tag: R&D

• Custom fields: Uncertainty, Hypothesis, Result, Next Step, Hours, Cost Centre

• Card checklist: Artifacts (benchmarks, logs, PRs, diagrams)

Rule: When Tag = R&D and Column = Done, prompt for Result + Next Step.

GitHub Issues

Labels/fields

• Labels: rd, experiment

• Store information about complex code, experiments and results in .md files together with your repo.

• Close-template:

  • Uncertainty:

  • Hypothesis:

    • Experiment (method/env/config):

    • Artifacts (links):

    • Result & interpretation:

SR&ED reviewers want to see a systematic investigation; this close-template forces the narrative.

Confluence / Notion (weeklies → monthlies)

Weekly R&D Note (per team)

• Week of: YYYY-MM-DD

• Uncertainty bullets (link tickets)

• Hypotheses & experiments (link PRs/benchmarks/dashboards)

• Results & learning

• Next step

• People & hours (payroll code)

Roll four weeklies into a Monthly R&D Log. For SR&ED it supports Part 2 of T661 and for IRAP it bundles technical progress with costs. 

Time tracking Finance can defend

• Require ticket IDs in time entries (e.g., ML-421, PR#1842).

• Use cost centres/payroll codes for R&D-tagged work.

• Weekly 10-minute reconciliation: tickets <-> time <-`> people.This makes T661 salary/wage schedules and IRAP claims tie back to the same working records.

What counts as good evidence (for CRA and useful for IRAP)

• Projects, epics and tickets showing uncertainty, tests, and outcomes

• PRs/commits with diffs and review comments

• Benchmark outputs, logs, dashboards, photos (for hardware)

• Design docs/diagrams, meeting notes, experiment plans

• Timesheets linked to work items CRA repeatedly points to dated, specific, contemporaneous records as best evidence.

Copy-paste blocks

Ticket description (Jira/Linear/Azure DevOps/GitHub):

R&D — Uncertainty:

R&D — Hypothesis:

Experiment (method/env/config):

Artifacts (links):

Result & interpretation:

Next step:

People & time (hours; payroll code):

Weekly R&D Reflection (Confluence/Notion):

Week of: YYYY-MM-DD

Project / code:

1) Uncertainties explored:

2) Hypotheses & experiments:

3) Results & learning:

4) Next step:

5) Artifacts (tickets/PRs/benchmarks):

6) People & hours (payroll code):

Governance (keep it lightweight)

• Owner: Tech Lead (rotate a “documentation steward” each sprint)

• Rituals:

  • Friday 15 minutes: update Weekly R&D Note

  • Monday 5 minutes: confirm last week’s note exists

  • Month-end: Ops/Finance export the roll-up + payroll mapping

This cadence aligns with CRA’s preference for contemporaneous records and reduces IRAP claim friction.

FAQs

Do we need a new system to be compliant? 

No. CRA cares about what you can show, not which software you used. Use current tools; ensure evidence is dated and specific to the work performed.

Is contemporaneous documentation legally required for SR&ED? 

Strictly, no—claims can rely on other evidence—but contemporaneous, dated records are called out by CRA as the best supporting evidence and make reviews smoother.

Record retention period? 

Keep R&D tax-credit records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to (standard CRA retention).

Next steps

1. Add the fields/templates above in your PM tools.

2. Start the Friday 15-minute R&D reflection.

3. Loop Finance in for month-end exports against payroll.

4. If you’re claiming in Canada, map the monthly package to SR&ED (T661) and reuse the same evidence for IRAP progress and cost claims.

Closing Thoughts

R&D tax credits reward real problem-solving. The easiest path to track R&D Tax Credits is to document where the work already lives and keep it consistent week after week.

Start with the six data points, add the Friday ritual, and export a monthly roll-up. If you want this done for you, connect your tools to SREDify and generate an audit-ready package from your existing workflow.

If you have any questions or comments, reach out any time.

Sources

1. SR&ED eligibility and definitions (uncertainty, systematic investigation). 

2. T4088 / T661 guidance and Appendix 2 (documentation & evidence). 

3. Claim Review Manual (how RTAs assess evidence). 

4. SR&ED review process (best evidence is dated and specific). 

5. IRAP overview and claims/service standards. 

6. Record retention (6 years).