How do I do the documentation for the Forschungszulage correctly and audit-proof?
Summary
Forschungszulage documentation is less about "bureaucracy for the application" — it becomes decisive later, when claiming it from the tax office (and potentially years later during an audit). If you document personnel costs (incl. timesheets/time tracking), contract research, assets/depreciation, and project-related development evidence cleanly and in a GoBD-compliant way from the start, you reduce follow-up questions — and secure predictable funding. With dieforschungszulage.de, you can keep documentation lean: including software that can process Personio data and send digital timesheets to employees.
Why documentation is so important and when it really matters
With the Forschungszulage (public funding under the FZulG), there are practically two "worlds":
1. BSFZ certification (technical/substantive): Here it's about whether your project is recognized as R&D at all (project description, systematic approach, etc.).
2. Tax office (financial/tax): This is where they verify whether the eligible expenses actually occurred — and that's exactly what you need Forschungszulage documentation for. Often you don't have to submit all receipts immediately, but you must retain them in full and be able to present them quickly, transparently, and in an immutable form upon request.
That's why a simple principle pays off: Set up documentation not "for the application," but "for the audit."
Can I still set up the documentation retroactively?
Yes — you can still set up Forschungszulage documentation retroactively in a clean way. What matters most then is plausibility and a traceable rationale. If you don't have day-by-day time tracking, you can often reconstruct R&D time shares retroactively based on project traces (e.g., tickets, commits, sprint reviews, project plans/Gantt, meeting minutes, deliverables) and derive hour records from them; be strict about separating vacation/sick days and non-eligible activities (routine operations/administration).
The key is to document the logic (which sources, which assumptions, which period), store the documents GoBD-compliantly, and ultimately be able to show a consistent chain of payroll evidence/payroll journal → time share → project linkage.
The 4 documentation areas you need to make audit-proof
At its core, you must be able to clearly assign your eligible costs to one (or multiple) R&D projects. To make that work, you should split your documentation into these areas:
- Personnel costs (your own employees) → timesheets / time tracking + payroll evidence
- Own contributions (sole proprietors/partners) → hour records + plausibility
- Contract research (external service providers) → contracts + invoices + performance evidence
- Assets / depreciation (movable assets, if applicable) → fixed-asset evidence + allocation to the project
(optional / depending on your setup): Overhead lump sum (from 2026 for projects starting on/after 01/01/2026) → calculation logic + base documents
Personnel costs: What you must document (incl. timesheets)
In practice, personnel costs are often the biggest lever. For them to be accepted, you need two things:
Proof of costs (payroll/salary data)
Typically keep ready:
- Payroll and salary statements and/or payroll journal
- Employment contracts (incl. translations if relevant)
- An overview of which people worked on the R&D project
Proof of working time in the R&D project (timesheets/time tracking)
As soon as employees are not working 100 % on the R&D project (or are split across multiple projects), you need a robust time allocation logic.
Important: There is no "one mandatory template," but documentation must be GoBD-compliant: traceable, complete, correct, timely, organized — and ideally immutable.
What belongs on a good timesheet (practical minimum):
- Person's name + fiscal year/period
- Project name + (if available) project ID
- Daily or monthly overview of hours
- short activity description (so it's clear it was R&D — not routine/administration)
- approval/confirmation (employees and/or project responsible persons)
If you want a template, you can find one here: Timesheet template for the Forschungszulage (PDF + Excel)
How dieforschungszulage.de makes this easier
Our software can process HR/payroll data (e.g., from Personio) and automatically send digital timesheets to employees. This reduces manual effort, ensures consistent structures — and later makes it much easier to provide evidence to the tax office.
Own contributions: When founders/partners develop themselves
If sole proprietors or partners work on development themselves, own contributions are essentially a separate documentation block.
What you need:
- hour records (similar to timesheets)
- clear separation: what was R&D, what was management/sales/administration?
- plausibility: time assumptions must fit the project and calendar (do not count vacation/sick days as working time)
This is especially relevant for founder-led tech companies, because development hours can add up quickly.
Contract research: Contracts, invoices, performance evidence (EU/EEA)
If you involve external service providers or research suppliers, you should set up documentation so the project linkage is unambiguous.
Documentation checklist:
- Contract / scope of work (scope, link to the R&D project, period)
- Invoices (with a clear service description)
- Performance evidence (e.g., reports, tickets/deliverables, acceptance protocols, result documents)
- optional: short file notes if invoice items are mixed and you need to separate them
Important: Contract research is not "everything external". What matters is that these are R&D services and that the linkage to the project can be evidenced.
Official contact point (for framework/process): BSFZ – Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage
Assets and depreciation: When fixed assets are used in the project
Depending on the project, depreciation of certain movable assets may also be relevant (e.g., measuring devices, prototype equipment, specialized machinery, hardware for test environments).
What you should document:
- purchase receipts/invoices
- fixed-asset register / depreciation (AfA) evidence
- traceable allocation: how and over which period was the asset used in the R&D project?
- if applicable, usage shares if the asset was not used exclusively for the project
More details: Assets in the Forschungszulage
Project-related development documentation: Making R&D "visible"
In addition to costs, you need a "project trail" showing: this was systematic, technical, development-driven.
Proven in practice:
- project plan (e.g., Gantt plan for systematic planning)
- short technical reports / sprint summaries
- minutes of relevant decisions
- intermediate results (tests, measurements, releases, prototypes)
- clear separation between R&D and routine operations (bug fixing/standard operations vs. experimental development)
This doesn't have to be a novel — but it should be understandable for third parties what was developed, why it was technically uncertain, and how you proceeded.
GoBD compliance: "Immutability" is the key
Many teams start with Excel — that can work, but you should then establish a clean practice, e.g.:
- regular approvals
- export/PDF at period end
- clear versioning/filing
- traceability of changes
A digital system is often easier here because it directly incorporates structure, permissions, approvals, and archiving.
How long do I have to keep the documentation?
The Forschungszulage is often applied for retroactively — and audits can happen later. Therefore:
- retain receipts and evidence long-term in an organized way
- file them so you can find them again even after team changes
- ideally: one clean folder/workspace per project (costs, time, contracts, project trail)
Given the funding amount, the Forschungszulage has very few documentation obligations
The Forschungszulage is one of the most attractive, predictable funding instruments for innovation in Germany — especially because it:
- is non-repayable
- works strongly via personnel costs (typically the largest block)
- is repeatable year after year with good structuring (follow-on projects, follow-on years)
- means significantly less risk and effort with clean documentation
If you want to solve this efficiently (without your CTO/finance team investing weeks), combine:
- clear documentation logic (as above)
- tooling/automation (e.g., Personio import, digital timesheets)
- clean filing and "audit readiness"
Do you still have questions about this topic?
We are happy to discuss your specific case in a free initial consultation. We'll find out in just a few minutes how much funding your company can receive.
