WBSO Audit: 5 tips for a successful audit

Are you already working on a WBSO subsidy project?

If so, your administration may still require some work. But because it is the intention that your innovative process is going well, the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO) may announce an audit visit. Also called a WBSO audit.

During an audit they look at the progress of the project. Here it is of course important that you as entrepreneur, ZZP'er or R&D employee can make clear what you have been working on, who has helped with this and how many hours are in the project so far. This gives the RFO the assurance that the project will proceed well and hopefully lead to a great innovation.

What is a WBSO audit

The RFO looks at one of the following two things in a WBSO audit:

• Are the records in order?
• Is the development being carried out and will it be carried out as described in the WBSO application?

To get ahead of these two situations, we hereby give you five tips to make the WBSO audit go smoothly:

Tip #1: Make sure your time records are organized and as complete as possible.

The RFO wants to know who spent how many hours on what part of the project and when these hours took place. Quite a mouthful, but the bottom line is that you need to record what has been done and by whom. You can use your own hour administration if you have one, otherwise you can use the RFO Excel model. Here you can record per month what has been done. You can then maintain this per colleague and it is approved by the RVO for all our other clients and projects. For more information about the WBSO time registration and how to do this visit our blog.

Tip #2: Make sure the timesheets match payroll.

Here it is important that the colleagues you have listed on the time registration can be found on the payroll. This may involve checking whether those colleagues have also worked the hours you have indicated in the time registration. Make sure that your timesheets are kept up to date. Possibly separately from the company's normal time records.

Tip #3: Be sure to write down, photograph, film, record or otherwise capture as much as you can.

The RVO comes during a WBSO audit to see if your project is going well. Logically, they then want to see what you have done. In case you don't have that much to show, this may raise questions from the RFO. Why is there nothing to show? How can those hours be explained? In this, it is not that the RFO expects you to have at least so many photos or so many A4s, they just want to see what you have done. So make it a regular part of the working method to collect as much material as possible and record it digitally or physically in a box or folder!

Step 4: Make sure the right people are present during a WBSO audit.

The RFO wants to hear in the audit how the track is going, and to pick the right person to do this can make quite a difference. Here it is important that the person in question knows about the different parts of the trajectory, has knowledge of the current status and understands the documents you intend to hand over as proof of your activities. In this way, you make it clear in an easy way that you know what you are doing and that the process is going well.

Step 5: Before the audit, consult with your WBSO advisor.

Still doubting whether your time registration, prototype or paperwork is well enough defined to convince the RFO of your progress? Then make sure that you go through your progress with your WBSO advisor. They can properly assess whether you still need to make adjustments and whether you can better inform the RVO about your work during a WBSO audit.

Don't have a WBSO advisor? Then get in touch with us! Subsidie op Maat has been successfully completing WBSO applications for years, with audits always running smoothly. To remove your doubts we can go through the administration with you and see if there is anything you can adjust to make the WBSO audit easier for yourself and for the RVO.