The same three steps that the apex page summarizes, with the technical and legal detail that matters for your CPA's review.
Read-only OAuth installation of the R&D Binder GitHub App on your organization. We pull commit metadata (SHA, author, date, message, file paths, lines added or removed) and pull-request titles for the qualifying tax year. We do not pull source code by default; if you opt in we can read README and ARCHITECTURE files for component-naming context only. We never write to your repos and never push commits.
Commits cluster into Section 41(d)(2) business components using a combination of Conventional Commits scope tags, file-path heuristics, and pull-request title keyword frequency. Each candidate component is then scored against the four-part test from 26 U.S.C. Section 41(d)(1) and Treas. Reg. 1.41-4: Permitted Purpose, Technological in Nature, Elimination of Uncertainty, and Process of Experimentation. Every claim cites a specific commit SHA or PR number; nothing is paraphrased.
You receive a PDF binder (the same format as the Cal.com 2024 sample) plus a QRE workpaper allocating wages, supplies, computer rental, and contract research at the Section 41(b)(3) 65 percent applied amount, plus a Form 6765 Section G appendix mapped column-for-column to the December 2025 IRS layout. Your CPA reviews, asks questions, files Form 6765. We never sign the return.
Read-only access only. We do not need write access, admin access, or production credentials. The scope is the minimum required to assemble contemporaneous documentation.
IRC Section 41(d)(1) requires every qualifying business component to satisfy four independent tests. The binder scores each component against all four, with cited evidence per claim.
The binder also enforces the substantially-all rule from Treas. Reg. 1.41-4(a)(6): at least 80 percent of the activities in a claimed business component must constitute elements of a process of experimentation. Documentation, lint-only, and cosmetic-copy commits are categorized separately and excluded from QRE.
Starting tax year 2026 (processing year 2027), Section G of Form 6765 is mandatory for non-exempt filers. The binder produces exactly what Section G requires.
Section G requires per-business-component reporting along nine columns: Business Component Name, Business Component Type (product, process, computer software, technique, formula, or invention), Business Component Description, Information Sought to be Discovered, Total Wages for Qualified Services, Total Cost of Supplies, Total Computer Rental, Total Applicable Amount of Contract Research, and Total Qualified Research Expenses (QREs).
Every R&D Binder includes a Section G appendix that maps to those nine columns one-to-one. The narrative sections of the binder produce the description and information-sought rows; the QRE workpaper produces the wages, supplies, computer rental, and contract research rows. Your CPA transcribes from the appendix; nothing has to be re-derived at filing time.
Qualified Small Businesses (under $5M in gross receipts and less than 5 years of gross-receipts history) electing the Section 41(h) payroll-tax offset are exempt from Section G reporting, capped at $500,000 per year against employer FICA. We still produce the Section G map for QSB customers so it is on file the day the company outgrows the carve-out.
Five phases. Most of the work is on our side. You spend roughly 2 to 4 hours total across the engagement, spread across async questionnaires and document reviews.
You install the R&D Binder GitHub App (5 minutes) and complete a short kickoff questionnaire (typically 10 to 15 minutes). We pull commit history, PRs, and any opt-in design docs, and produce a draft cluster list of candidate business components.
You and your CPA review the candidate component list async - we share it as a comment-ready document. We finalize the scope: which components are in, which are out, and the qualifying date range per component. Scope is locked here; later changes incur scope-change fees.
We score each component against the four-part test, build the QRE workpaper from your payroll register and contractor invoices, run the audit-defense flag review, and assemble the binder. No customer time required during this phase.
Draft binder delivered as a comment-ready document. You and your CPA flag corrections, additions, and clarifications in writing. We turn revisions in 2 business days.
Final binder PDF, final QRE workpaper, final Section G appendix, and the source-citation index delivered. Your CPA files Form 6765 with the binder attached as the contemporaneous workpaper.
Five things. Most are exports your finance or HR system already produces.