R&D approval workflow

Configure who signs off on R&D claims and the gates each claim has to pass before it gets submitted.

The R&D workflow is org-wide — one workflow per organisation, applied to every claim. You configure it once at Settings > R&D approval, and every claim from that point on follows the same path.

The two-stage shape

R&D mirrors the CapEx workflow shape exactly:

Stage	Type	Purpose
Approval	APPROVAL	Reviews the rationale and the qualifying spend figure. Claim moves from IN_REVIEW to APPROVED here
Completion	COMPLETION	Marks the claim as submitted to the authority. Claim moves to SUBMITTED here

You cannot add or remove stages. You can change who is on each one. Both pillars use the same WorkflowStageType enum and the same approver assignment model — so once you have configured one, the other takes thirty seconds.

Adding approvers

For each stage:

1. Click Add member.
2. Pick a user from the org. The combobox filters out users already on that stage.
3. Save.

Approvers are users, not roles. The R&D approval flow is normally tighter than CapEx — the typical pattern is one or two named approvers (usually the CTO and the CFO, or the Head of Engineering and the tax lead) on each stage.

What each stage gates

RECOMMENDATION
   -> DRAFT          (rationale being written)
   -> IN_REVIEW      (rationale submitted, waiting on Approval stage)
   -> APPROVED       (Approval stage signed off)
   -> SUBMITTED      (Completion stage marked, claim filed externally)
   -> CLOSED         (assessment received)

The Completion stage in R&D represents "we filed this with HMRC / the IRS / the authority". CLOSED is set later when the assessment comes back — that is not gated by the workflow because the timing is outside your control.

Saving the workflow

The page saves changes in place. First-time setup creates the workflow; subsequent edits update it. After each save the page re-reads the workflow from the server so what you see matches what's live.

Permissions

Configuring the workflow requires SETTINGS_FINANCIAL_CONFIG_*. Approving a specific claim requires being on the relevant stage as an approver — checked at the per-claim mutation, not at the settings page.

What this does not configure

• Which framework is used — that is set per claim when the claim is created.
• The rationale prompts — driven by the framework, not by org config.
• Filing automation — submission to the tax authority is still a manual step. The Completion stage is your sign-off that filing happened.

Related

• R&D overview — the queue your approvers actually work from.
• Claim review — where claims get built and submitted into the workflow.
• CapEx approval workflow — the equivalent setup for capitalisation claims, with the same shape.