Enterprise R&D Tax Credit Reporting
(Timesheets + BI Connectors)
An R&D tax credit submission auditors accept directly from your data, with no spreadsheet stitching.
1. Install the connector for your BI platform
From the Atlassian Marketplace: Power BI Connector for Jira (Cloud) · Tableau Connector for Jira (Cloud) · BigQuery Connector for Jira (Cloud) · Data Studio Connector for Jira (Cloud)
2. Define the financial data model
Map worklog data, Tempo Account categories, team structure, and space hierarchy into your BI schema. Plan for three challenges: complex models when replicating KPIs, one-to-many relationships needing join logic, and occasional custom-field ID mismatches.
3. Build the R&D cost classification report
Add views for total hours and costs by CapEx or OpEx Tempo account category, hours and costs by space, and period-over-period trends. Include drill-down to the individual worklog level so auditors can verify each claim.
4. Join with HRIS/ERP data
If you need actual labor costs rather than blended rates, join Tempo time data with HRIS compensation in the BI layer to get precise CapEx dollar amounts without storing compensation in Jira.
5. Build the audit trail view
Trace tax credit claim → space → individual worklogs → worker → approval status. Required fields: Period, Worker, Space, Hours, Account Category, Approval Status, Approval Timestamp.
6. Schedule automated exports
So the dashboard always reflects the latest Tempo data and Finance reviews it rather than requesting ad-hoc pulls. Scheduling BI Connector Exports
You'll know it's working when your R&D tax credit submission runs with Tempo as the source of record and auditors accept the trail directly (one customer called it "the cleanest submission we've ever had").
Initiative-Level Cost Accountability
(Timesheets + Structure PPM)
Leadership sees actual R&D cost by initiative on demand, so the CFO can answer where R&D budget is going without pulling from multiple boards.
1. Install Structure PPM
Install from the Atlassian Marketplace if it isn't already in place. See the integration guide Structure + Timesheets. Opening Structure takes two clicks: the first opens a menu showing Structure and Cross-Team PI Planner, the second opens Structure.
2. Map your initiative hierarchy
Organize Jira spaces and epics into a portfolio structure reflecting strategic priorities (for example: Portfolio → Initiatives → Spaces → Epics → Stories). Creating Your First Structure
3. Enable cost roll-ups
So Structure aggregates logged time at each hierarchy level. Agree on a handling approach for duplicate estimates first, since lower-level estimates can replace higher-level ones rather than summing. Totals Columns. Financial Manager cost data is not yet accessible in Structure (planned for later in 2026), so use raw hours for now.
4. Create the investment accountability view
Columns: Initiative Name, Planned Hours (from Capacity Planner if available), Actual Hours (from Timesheets), CapEx Hours, OpEx Hours, and Variance. Flag any initiative with more than 20% cost variance for review.
5. Bring the view into portfolio reviews
Incorporate it into monthly or quarterly reviews so actual cost data is on screen when leadership weighs investment decisions, not reconstructed from an export.
6. Build the CapEx allocation report
A Structure view showing what percentage of total R&D investment is capitalized vs. operating, rolled up by initiative. This answers the CFO's question on CapEx-eligible R&D directly.
You'll know it's working when leadership can see actual cost by initiative on demand and the CFO can answer where R&D budget is going without pulling from multiple boards.