Hour administration (WBSO)

Definition

The hour administration is the mandatory record of hours spent on research and development (R&D/S&O) work, logged per person, per project and per day. Once your WBSO application is granted, you must demonstrate that the hours on which the benefit is based — an estimate made at the time of application — were actually worked. RVO expects you to record at least the date, the employee, the approved project, the number of R&D hours and a brief description of the work, supplemented with supporting documents such as reports, designs or test results that show progress. Only genuine R&D hours count; meetings about planning, administration or commercial tasks do not. The hour administration forms the basis for the realisation report you submit to RVO after the calendar year ends — although sole traders who spent more than 500 R&D hours are exempt from this. If your hour administration is inaccurate or you cannot substantiate the hours, you miss out on WBSO benefit or risk a correction during an RVO audit. It is therefore best to record your hours daily, or shortly after the work is done: reconstructing them afterwards is error-prone and hard to substantiate during an audit.

Frequently asked questions

What do you need to record in your WBSO hour administration?

RVO expects you to record, per project, per employee and per day, the date, the number of R&D hours and a brief description of the work, supplemented with supporting documents such as reports or test results.

What happens if your hour administration is incorrect?

If your hour administration is incorrect or you cannot substantiate the hours, you miss out on WBSO benefit or risk a correction during an RVO audit.

What do you use your hour administration for after the year ends?

Your hour administration forms the basis for the realisation report you submit after the calendar year ends, except for sole traders who spent more than 500 R&D hours.