AFTER THE APPLICATION · COMPLIANCE
After receiving your R&D declaration (S&O-verklaring) you are obliged to keep WBSO records. These consist of project records and hours records and, if you have chosen actual costs and expenditures, also of cost and expenditure records. The records must connect per project and clearly provide insight into the nature, content, progress and scope of the R&D carried out. RVO can request these records in an audit.
BY PETER KLAREN · LAST CHECKED SEPTEMBER 2026 · SOURCE: WBSO GUIDE 2026
| Records | What do you record? | When to update? |
|---|---|---|
| Hours records | Hours per person, per project, per day | Within 10 working days |
| Project records | Technical activities, bottlenecks, progress and results | At the latest 2 months after each quarter |
| Cost/expenditure records | Realised and paid actual costs and expenditures per project | Up to date at the actuals report |
| Retention obligation | Complete R&D records | Keep for 7 years |
These deadlines follow from the WBSO Guide 2026. Below you read per record type what RVO exactly requires.
ON THIS PAGE
Record per employee, per project and per day how many R&D hours were made. Only hours of own employees for approved R&D activities may be included.
The registration must be within ten working days updated and must connect to the leave and sickness records. A timesheet reconstructed afterwards does not meet this requirement.
The project records must show which R&D activities were actually carried out, which technical bottlenecks occurred, which solution directions were investigated and how the project progressed technically.
For technical scientific research, it must be clear how the research was set up, carried out and what the results were.
RVO mentions as possible pieces of evidence, among others, reports, drawings, e-mails, photos of prototypes, test results, measurement reports and calculations. For software, version control and issue trackers such as Git and Jira can be part of the records.
If you have chosen actual costs and expenditures, you must be able to demonstrate per R&D project which costs and expenditures were actually made and paid. For that, keep for example quotations, order confirmations, invoices and proof of payment.
Only costs and expenditures applied for and granted in advance can be included. The records must moreover show that they are directly attributable to the R&D and meet the applicable service requirements.
If you chose the cost flat rate, separate cost records for WBSO are not necessary.
RVO must be able to follow that the requested technical activities were actually carried out, by which employees, for how many hours and — if applicable — at which actual costs.
Good WBSO records show one consistent technical story: what you had applied for, what your people actually developed or researched, how much time was spent on it and what was ultimately realised.
| Situation | Start of record obligation |
|---|---|
| Self-employed professionals / R&D taxpayers | From the start date of the application |
| Employers / R&D withholding parties | From the start month of the application |
So do not only start registering when the R&D declaration arrives; the record obligation runs from the start of the granted period.
The complete R&D records must be 7 years kept.
Therefore also ensure that digital systems, version history, tickets and technical documents remain accessible and traceable after migrations. RVO explicitly points out that dating and names must be preserved, for example when migrating a version control system.
Application: development of a positioning mechanism with ±0.05 mm accuracy.
Records: technical drawings → measurement results → observed deformation → alternative bearing construction → test setup → test results → new solution direction.
Application: technically new data structure due to latency requirements.
Records: Git commit → Jira ticket → benchmark → failed solution direction → new data structure → new benchmark.
The records do not have to be a beautiful final report. They must show what was technically done and how the development actually proceeded — including the routes that did not work.
In an RVO audit, inadequate records can lead to hours, costs or even complete projects not being accepted. RVO can then issue a corrected R&D declaration and correct previously granted payment reduction. For self-employed professionals the R&D declaration can be withdrawn. In addition, a fine can be imposed.
Run through these six questions. If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, there is an administrative risk in an audit.
Report the realised R&D hours and, if applicable, actual costs and expenditures after the end of the calendar year.
Receiving questions from RVO about your application or records? Good substantiation is decisive.
Project records and hours records are always mandatory. If you chose actual costs and expenditures, cost and expenditure records additionally apply.
Within ten working days. The registration must moreover connect to the leave and sickness records.
At the latest two months after the end of each calendar quarter.
Seven years. Ensure that digital documents, version history and tickets remain traceable even after system migrations.
Yes. Precisely that documentation shows that there was technical uncertainty and own development work.
No. If you chose the cost flat rate, separate cost and expenditure records for WBSO are not necessary.
RVO can reject hours, costs or projects, issue a corrected R&D declaration and in certain cases impose a fine.
For employers from the start month of the application and for self-employed professionals from the start date of the application.
We check your hours, project and cost records before an actuals report or RVO audit.
SOURCES AND SUBSTANTIVE REVIEW
Reviewed by Peter Klaren, WBSO specialist since 2004. Last substantively updated: 21 September 2026.
