Documentation

Overview

CapRadar is an Atlassian Forge app for Jira Cloud. It classifies Jira work into CapEx, OpEx or excluded time, records R&D qualifying time, and runs a period close with review, approval, lock and a hash-signed snapshot. Exports include a CSV pack, an auditor PDF pack and journal entry files.

Requirements

• Jira Cloud. A Jira administrator installs CapRadar and sets it up on the admin page.
• Jira groups for the CapRadar roles (for example a finance group and an approver group).
• Work data in at least one form: native worklogs, Tempo worklogs, or work items with assignees and status history.
• Cost rates by role or person, as a CSV file.
• Rovo only for the Rovo agent (Advanced). Every other feature works without it.

Install and get started

1. Install CapRadar from Atlassian Marketplace. A Jira site administrator approves the requested read scopes.
2. Run the install wizard on the admin page (Jira settings → Apps → CapRadar): choose the backfill range for historical work (24 months by default), and map Jira groups to roles.
3. Create a policy on the global CapRadar page: pick a template, the currency, the period length (monthly by default), the time zone and the fiscal calendar.
4. Import rates on the Rates page.
5. Add rules, for example Stories in an epic in development as CapEx, Bugs as OpEx, label maintenance as OpEx. Use the simulator before saving.
6. Clear the queue. Classify the remaining epics in To classify with a reason.
7. Close the period. Prepare for approval, resolve the checks, approve and lock. Export the auditor pack.

CapRadar supports Jira's light and dark themes.

Navigation and surfaces

Global page (CapRadar)

The finance workspace: Period, To classify, Initiatives, Adjustments, Close & sign, Reports, Plan, Costs, Journal, Calibration, R&D, Policies, Rates, Calendars, Inbox and Data issues. Access follows your CapRadar role.

Admin page

Install wizard, group to role mapping, sync status, privacy and licence. It shows no financial data.

Work item panel (Capitalization)

The class, a one-line reason and Why?. On epics, Classifiers also see and edit the phase, the authorization date and the uncertainty flag.

Space page

For engineering managers: hours only, the queue for their own spaces and delegated sign-off.

Dashboard gadget

Capitalization this period: the capitalization rate (finance roles only), unclassified hours, period status and a link.

Measurement methods

CapRadar measures work with three methods, all inside Jira. The method is chosen per policy or per space and is shown on every number.

(a) Attributed worklogs

Native Jira worklogs with an author, written in Jira or by time trackers that write attributed native worklogs. CapRadar follows worklog events and reconciles hourly.

(b) Tempo sites

On sites where Tempo writes worklogs, the Jira copy does not identify the person. CapRadar reports hours per work item, epic and space, costs them with team or space blended rates, and labels them “no per-person attribution”. In Advanced you can import a Tempo report CSV or a percentage allocation CSV to attribute hours, labelled “imported attribution”.

(c) Timesheet-free allocation

Hours are allocated from Jira work item data, multiplied by role or person cost. Two bases are available: resolved work items (assignee, resolution date, story points or count per person and period) and in-progress days (each working day of a person split across the work items assigned to them in an In Progress status, read from the Jira changelog, net of holidays and absences). Days without an in-progress work item stay unallocated and appear in Data issues. The formula is printed in the methodology.

The method calibration report compares allocation (c) with attributed worklogs wherever both exist, per person, epic and class, so you can show your auditor how close the allocation is.

Hierarchy

CapRadar uses the Jira hierarchy: initiative, epic, work item and subtask, through the parent field. Levels above epic come from the parent field or from a custom field you choose.

Rates and cost

• Role and person rates, effective-dated, imported by CSV. The MarginRadar rate export can be imported directly. Separate apps cannot share storage, so the CSV is the bridge.
• Team or space blended rates as a fallback.
• Cost methods: hours multiplied by rate, or monthly cost multiplied by share.
• Loaded cost components (salary, benefits, overhead percentage) in Advanced.
• Rates and per-person cost are visible to finance roles only, enforced on the server. Where per-person rates are not needed, use role or blended rates.

Policies and templates

A policy holds the rules, phases, currency, period settings, fiscal calendar and method for a set of spaces. Templates give you a starting point that you can edit:

ASU 2025-06 removes the project stages from ASC 350-40 for internal-use software. It is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after 15 December 2027, with early adoption permitted. CapRadar can simulate a migration from the stage model to ASU 2025-06 and apply it from a period you choose.

Policies are versioned. Each period is computed with the version in force, and the policy hash is part of the snapshot. Advanced adds several policies (for example per legal entity, each with one currency), a diff between versions and migration simulation.

Rules

A rule is a set of conditions plus an outcome. Conditions are combined with AND within a rule and OR within one dimension.

• Conditions: space (key or category), epic or initiative, work type, label, component, custom field, JQL, epic phase and an effective date range.
• Outcomes: a treatment (CAPEX, OPEX, EXCLUDED) and, independently, an R&D flag and category.
• Priority: an explicit number. Ties go to the more specific rule, then the older rule.
• Versioning: a rule used in a locked period is never edited in place; a change creates a new version.

Resolution order

1. Override on the worklog or allocation line
2. Override on the work item
3. Class of the parent work item (for subtasks)
4. Override or class on the epic
5. Override or class on the initiative
6. Phase rule from the epic's phase on the work date, including the ASU 2025-06 gates
7. Highest-priority matching rule
8. Policy default (recommended: UNCLASSIFIED, so nothing is capitalized by accident)

Every result stores why it was classified that way. Why? in the app, in exports and in Rovo shows the decision path, for example the epic it was inherited from, who set it, when and with what reason.

Rule simulator

Before you save a rule, the simulator shows what it matches and the change in hours and cost for the current and past periods. Nothing is saved until you confirm. Locked periods are never changed by a new rule.

Capitalization phases

Set the phase of an epic or initiative with an effective date and an optional evidence note, for example “Board approval 12 March 2026”. The policy template decides what each phase means.

For ASU 2025-06 policies, each epic or initiative has a funding authorization date and a significant development uncertainty flag (from, to, reason). Work before the authorization date, or while the uncertainty flag is active, is OpEx with the reason shown. Pre-close checks warn about CapEx epics without an authorization date.

Phase changes are audited. A change that affects a locked period applies from the first open period, or through a reopen.

Overrides

• Override a worklog, work item, epic or initiative with a reason of at least 10 characters and an optional reference (ticket or memo ID).
• Bulk overrides from the queue and from report drill-downs.
• Engineering managers override within the spaces they can browse and where an admin delegated them; finance overrides anywhere. Manager overrides can require finance confirmation.
• Every override is in the audit trail with before and after values.

Queues and data issues

To classify lists unclassified work grouped by epic, with a counter in the navigation and a bulk Classify as action at epic or work item level.

Data issues lists what needs fixing before close: missing rates, worklogs without an author, work without an epic, Tempo summary worklogs, backfill differences and unallocated days.

The coverage check (Advanced) compares logged or allocated hours with expected hours per person or team and flags gaps before close.

Calendars and organisation

• Fiscal calendar per policy: fiscal year start month, calendar months or 4-4-5, 4-5-4 and 5-4-4 week patterns, with fiscal year and quarter labels in every report.
• Working calendars: working week, bundled public holidays per country and absence import, used by in-progress-day allocation and the coverage check.
• Organisation dimensions: effective-dated cost centre, department and legal entity per person, usable in rules, reports and journal segments. Advanced adds team membership with percentage shares, validated to at most 100% per person and day so time is never counted twice.

Period workflow and close

Separation of duties is on by default in Advanced: preparer, reviewer and approver must be different people unless an admin enables single-person close, which is printed on the report. In Standard it is opt-in.

Periods are monthly by default; quarterly is a policy setting. Work is assigned to a period by the worklog start time, or the allocation period, in the policy time zone.

Snapshots, signatures and Verify

• Each approved period produces a snapshot with a SHA-256 content hash, signed with the signer, time, time zone and attestation version.
• Each snapshot carries the hash of the previous period's snapshot, so the periods form a chain.
• Verify in the app recomputes the hashes. The CSV pack manifest lists the SHA-256 of every file, so an auditor can check it offline with sha256sum.
• The hash makes any later change to a snapshot detectable (tamper-evident).

Post-lock adjustments

When work in a locked period changes (for example a late worklog or a new override), CapRadar records a post-lock adjustment and shows it in the next open period, with its source period and size. A signed period is never changed. The Adjustments page lists them by target period.

Reports

• Period summary, per space and epic, per person (where attributed), audit trail, classification explanation, method mix, and logged versus allocated side by side.
• Executive board pack: one page per period and year to date with the capitalization rate trend, CapEx by initiative, plan versus actual, adjustments, status and hash.
• Zero rows are hidden by default, with a toggle. A freshness indicator shows the last event and the last reconcile.

Exports

Exports are generated in your browser. Exports of open periods carry the watermark “Draft, not approved”. Every export is logged.

R&D time record

R&D is independent of treatment: OpEx work can still qualify as R&D for tax purposes. Rules set an R&D flag and a category (for example experimental development, or an IP right for IP Box). The R&D record and jurisdiction layouts are in Advanced:

• Poland: ulga B+R and IP Box (time per IP right)
• United Kingdom: R&D
• United States: Section 174 and Section 41 qualified wage summary
• Canada: SR&ED; Australia: RDTI; Netherlands: WBSO

Each layout is a report format for your advisor to check. CapRadar does not decide eligibility.

Amortization

In Advanced, CapRadar builds a straight-line amortization schedule per capitalized initiative from its in-service date and useful life, and can include amortization entries in journal files.

Plan and forecast

In Advanced, enter planned CapEx and OpEx per initiative and fiscal period in the app or by CSV. CapRadar shows actual versus plan, a run-rate forecast to fiscal year end, and in-app alerts when variance passes your thresholds.

Journal entry files

Map classes to general ledger accounts (capitalized asset, expense accounts per class, amortization and accumulated amortization) with entity and cost centre segments. From a locked period, CapRadar generates a balanced journal CSV in your browser. Advanced adds layouts for common ERP imports and amortization entries. CapRadar creates files only; it posts nothing to any system.

Non-labour costs

In Advanced, enter or import contractor invoices, software licences, cloud and other costs with date, amount, space, epic or initiative, vendor reference and cost centre. They are classified by the same rules, phases and overrides and included in snapshots, hashes and exports. No file attachments are stored.

Inbox and scheduled packs

In Advanced, schedule packs monthly, quarterly or per fiscal year. They arrive in the in-app inbox of finance users, together with notices for late changes after review, failed checks and approvals. CapRadar sends no email, Slack or webhook messages.

Roles and permissions

Roles are mapped to Jira groups on the admin page and computed on the server. Every list is filtered to the spaces the user can browse. Finance roles see aggregates for all spaces in their policy, which is stated in settings.

Rovo agent guide

The CapRadar agent is part of the Advanced edition. Open Rovo chat in Jira and choose CapRadar. Rovo must be available on your site.

Questions it answers

Period summaries, explanations of a classification, capitalization per space and epic, initiatives, the unclassified queue, close status and verification, period comparisons and trends, adjustments, data issues, the R&D summary and evidence, rule simulation, the audit sample, variance drivers, likely misclassifications, calibration, plan versus actual, journal previews and coverage.

Actions it can take after you confirm

• Propose a classification, set an epic phase or authorization date, create overrides with a reason
• Save a rule as a draft (activation stays in the app)
• Prepare a period for review and request approval inside CapRadar
• Record a non-labour cost line, set a plan line, schedule a pack, assemble an auditor request
• Save a draft document such as a methodology memo, a variance commentary or an R&D narrative, labelled “draft, AI-assisted, to be reviewed”

These actions change CapRadar data only, never Jira. Approve, lock, reopen and sign stay in the app because they need an explicit attestation.

Rules the agent follows

• It answers only from CapRadar data and never invents spaces, keys, numbers or rules.
• It always states whether a period is a draft or approved and locked, mentions adjustments and names the measurement method.
• It explains your configured policy and does not give accounting or tax advice.
• It hides amounts when the caller has no finance role, and never outputs account IDs or email addresses.
• It says when it does not know.

Data, privacy and security

• CapRadar stores its data in Atlassian Forge hosted storage (Forge SQL and the Forge key-value store), following your Jira site's data residency. Classifications are stored only in CapRadar; CapRadar writes nothing to your work items.
• Stored: account IDs (through an internal person key), worklog metadata (work item, start, duration), work item fields used by rules and allocation, status and assignee intervals, absence dates and type codes, cost centres and team shares, rates you import, non-labour cost lines, Rovo drafts, approvals and audit entries.
• Not stored: worklog comments, work item summaries and descriptions, comments, attachments, email addresses and display names.
• Hours worked per person can be personal data. If you use per-person reports or allocation, check your works council or employee information duties.
• When Atlassian reports an account as closed, CapRadar deletes the account ID and keeps a random person key, so signed snapshots stay valid.
• No data leaves Atlassian. See Privacy, Security and the DPA.

Editions

CapRadar comes in two editions, licensed through Atlassian Marketplace.

• Standard: ingest and all three measurement methods, hierarchy, rates and blended rates, rules and the simulator, policy templates, ASU 2025-06 fields, overrides, queues, policy history and hash, the period workflow with fiscal calendars, single approver, signed snapshots with Verify, post-lock adjustments, the CSV pack and the auditor PDF pack with sample, reports, the board pack, the generic journal CSV, organisation dimensions, the R&D flag, English and Polish, and all Jira surfaces.
• Advanced: everything in Standard, plus imported attribution, loaded cost and monthly share costing, the coverage check, multiple policies, policy diff and migration simulation, multi-step approval with separation of duties on by default, the Reviewer and Auditor roles, XLSX exports, the R&D record and jurisdiction layouts, amortization, team shares, non-labour costs, plan and forecast, ERP journal layouts, scheduled packs and inbox, retention controls and the Rovo agent.

Languages

The interface, the methodology text and exports are available in English and Polish. Rovo answers in your language from the same data.

FAQ

Troubleshooting

Hours are missing from a period

Check the freshness indicator and Data issues. Worklogs without an author, work without an epic and unallocated days are listed there. The backfill status is on the admin page.

Many hours are unclassified

Open To classify and classify the top epics, or add a rule. The policy default is UNCLASSIFIED on purpose.

Prepare for approval is blocked

A blocking check failed, for example missing rates or CapEx epics without an authorization date. Fix the item or waive it with a reason.

I cannot approve

Separation of duties is on and you prepared or reviewed this period, or you do not hold the Approver role.

Cost columns are empty

Cost is shown to finance roles only. Check your role mapping on the admin page.

Verify fails

The file changed after export, or it belongs to a superseded snapshot. Export again from the locked period and compare the snapshot ID.

Still stuck? See Support.