Create a separate code for every operation or project under review, connect staff and periods, require sufficiently precise activity entries, approve them regularly and reconcile time with deliverables, versions, meeting records and accounting evidence. Have eligibility and valuation reviewed by competent advisers: Tempolia organises data; it does not provide a tax determination.
Separate qualification from time recording
The first decision concerns the operation: which work may fall within the scheme, for what period and on what scientific or innovation basis? This analysis cannot be inferred from a simple “R&D” label. Once the scope is documented and reviewed, time recording helps connect human resources to the described work.
Structure projects and activities
Use a stable identifier for each operation, phases connected to objectives and tasks that describe the work: state of the art, uncertainty formulation, experimentation, design, testing, analysis or documentation. Distinguish potentially eligible, related and excluded activities without asking each employee to reach a tax conclusion.
Define entry and approval rules
| Control | Frequency | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Completeness | Weekly | Expected hours, entered hours and absence |
| Consistency | Monthly | Activity consistent with role, phase and period |
| Approval | Monthly or milestone | Manager, date and variance comment |
| Reconciliation | Quarterly | Time, payroll/accounts and deliverables |
| Locking | After review | Locked period and traceable amendment |
A flat allocation reconstructed later is weak evidence. French tax guidance states that personnel partly assigned to qualifying work is taken into account in proportion to time actually and exclusively spent and excludes a flat-rate calculation. Always consult the current French text and your adviser.
Connect time to other evidence
- Scientific or technical file describing objectives, prior art, uncertainties, work and results.
- Meeting records, tickets, laboratory notebooks, code commits, versions, tests and decisions.
- CVs, qualifications, roles and employment dates of relevant staff.
- Payroll and accounting evidence used to value expenditure.
- Allocation rules, exclusions, corrections and approvals.
The time report acts as an index to this evidence. It becomes less useful when activities are vague, identical, entered once a year or inconsistent with technical records.
Produce an auditable report
The report states calendar year, operation, person, activity, period, quantity and conversion rule, with access to source rows. Reconcile annual totals with available working time, absences and other activities: a person cannot report more time than the documented calendar supports.
Understand the limits of the software
Tempolia does not decide whether an operation qualifies for CIR, CII or a grant, does not guarantee acceptance of expenditure and does not replace the scientific file or accounting records. Rules and rates can change. This page provides a documentary organisation method that must be reviewed for each situation.
French primary sources checked on 19 July 2026: BOFiP — CIR personnel expenditure, Ministry of Higher Education — CIR guides and Directorate-General for Enterprise — CII.
See also: time management, reports and management and the Tempolia FAQ.