According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) keeping records is very important. Records must be kept that:

1.  Specify and explain all transactions - including any documents that are relevant for the purpose of working out your tax liabilities.

2.  Be made as soon as transactions occur or as soon as possible after they occur.

3.  Relate to all taxes for which you are liable - including income tax, goods and services tax, pay as you go taxes, capital gains tax, and fringe benefits tax.

4.  Relate to any election, choice, determination or calculation made under a tax law, including the basis on which any were made.

5.  A valid record for the purposes of claiming the R&D tax incentive is any record that verifies or contributes to calculating your claim.

6.  Your records must be in English (or easily translated into English) and you must keep them for five years after you make a claim. You can store records in either paper or electronic form. You do not need to send your records to the ATO unless they request this.

7.   If you are having difficulty maintaining your records you could talk to an experienced bookkeeper or accountant about setting up a good record-keeping system to keep track of your business records.

Please note that the incentive maybe disallowed if proper records are not maintained – refer http://mcnamaraandco.com/blog/the-importance-of-keeping-research-and-development-r-d-records/