Proposal Budget - Non-Personnel Costs

Overview

This section of the budget is where you enter any expenses that are not categorized as personnel salaries. These cost categories were derived from the Research & Related Budget forms utilized in system to system submissions. This means that the cost element/object code selected in the list that appears when Other Direct category is selected will appear in that (other direct costs) section of the budget forms. The defined budget categories in this non-personnel section are: Equipment, Travel, Participant Costs, and Other Direct. When needed, the default budget category can be overridden by changing the default on the Details window after an expense has been added to the budget. Changing the category, for example, from Other Direct to Equipment, will force that line item to appear in the equipment section of the submitted forms for this proposal while retaining the cost object for internal review purposes.  Each institution may configure these budget categories and mapping slightly differently.

Non-Personnel Costs

Within the Non-Personnel Costs tab you can view, edit, or add new expenses related to other costs (not personnel salary/fringe).  The Period tabs across the top appear for each project period defined for this proposal based on the Start and End dates defined in the Proposal Details.  Upon initial navigation it will default to Period 1 but the other periods are accessible by clicking on the desired period tab.

Below outlines the functionality available in the Non-Personnel Costs tab of the proposal budget.

Assign Non-Personnel

Use the Assign Non-Personnel button to add others non salary expense line items to your budget.  Within the Add Assigned Non-Personnel to Period panel it has the following fields available:

• Category Type: Select the appropriate category type for the expense from the dropdown (i.e. Equipment, Travel, Other).  Selections are configured by each institution.
• Category: Once a Category is selected it will narrow down the sub categories available, select the most appropriate option.  Selections are configured by each institution.
• Object Code Name: Chose the correct financial object code this cost will expense against.
• Total Base Cost - Enter the total dollar value of the expense.  Selections are configured by each institution.
• Quantity: Specify a quantify if appropriate (for reference only, does not calculate).
• Description: Add more description for the line item to aid in budget review.

Clicking on the Add Non-Personnel Item to Period button will add the line item to your budget for the given period.  Once added you can edit with the Details and Details & Rates buttons (more info below) or remove the line item completely by using the trashcan icon to delete.

Subaward Tip: Use the Subaward tab to insert the necessary line items into your budget.  While you may manually select and maintain subaward cost objects in the Other Direct Cost section, using the tool is more convenient and is programmed to use the correct ones. You don’t need to upload an S2S Budget form; you can manually enter the Direct and Indirect expenses for the subawardee for the system to populate the budget periods.  More information on this functionality can be found in the Proposal Budget - Subawards article.

Edit Assigned Non-Personnel

To edit the added non-personnel lines click on the Details link for the given expense.  The Non-Personnel Details window consists of three tabs; Details, Cost Sharing, and Rates. Adjustments and edits can be made to the existing line item via this window. Several action buttons appear in the lower portion of the window no matter which tab is in focus.

The Save Changes button must be clicked to apply any edits made to the data in the window. Clicking Save Changes will save and close this window; the updates will populate in the period detail row.  Or use the Cancel button to close the window without saving any changes (you can also use the “x” in the upper right corner of the window).  The Save And Apply to Other Periods and the Sync to Cost Limit action buttons are explained below.

Details

The following items can be maintained in this tab:

• Start Date: Defaults to the period start date, but may be edited to align to task or quarterly budgets (must be in MM/DD/YYYY format).
• End Date: Defaults to the period end date, but may be edited to align to task or quarterly budgets (must be in MM/DD/YYYY format).
• Category Type: Select the appropriate category type for the expense from the dropdown (i.e. Equipment, Travel, Other).
• Category: Once a Category is selected it will narrow down the sub categories available, select the most appropriate option. Use this option when you need to force any default cost object to appear in a different section of the budget forms (ex: Other Direct Software to Equipment).
• Total Base Cost: The value entered when the item was added is displayed for Period 1, later periods display the amount entered when the Autocalculate Periods tool was used (inflated if that option was selected). Click in the field to edit the amount, if desired.
• Quantity: Click in the field to add or change the number, if desired. This field is used for reference and does not impact calculations and may not appear on any printed form.
• Description: This field is only required for Equipment items on S2S detailed Budget forms, but can be used for reference. Click in the box to add or edit the text. The maintained information will appear in the header space of the Edit Assigned Non-Personnel maintenance window for reference.
• Apply Inflation (checkbox): Default is checked; the Total Base Cost will be inflated when the Autocalculate Periods or Apply to Other Periods tools are used, referencing the Rates > Inflation table for this budget category. Uncheck the box if this line item should not inflate in later periods.
• Submit cost sharing: Default is checked; any cost sharing incurred for this line will be populated on the S2S forms. Uncheck the box to restrict this line’s cost sharing from appearing. (The Budget Details window has the ability to override and not submit cost sharing for the entire budget. Use this line item checkbox to uncheck discrete line items when the budget is set to submit.)
• On Campus: Defaults to the system determined status. If your system does not have Off Campus line cost objects available, uncheck this box to make an On Campus cost object utilize maintained Off campus OH rates. The Budget Details window has the ability to override all cost objects to either all ON, all Off, or Default (on and off, as maintained). Use this line item checkbox to override the default campus status.

Details - Cost Sharing

The Cost Sharing tab within Details maintains the following information:

• Cost Sharing: Enter a value in the field to represent the contributed cost sharing amount for the line item.
• Unrecovered F&A: This read-only field will display a value if under-recovery is calculated (applicable) to the line item.
• Justification:  Use this text box to jot down notes about this line item expense. All the notes can be consolidated to provide you with a text document that can aid in preparing your complete budget justification narrative.  See the Proposal Budget - Budget Notes article for more information on this functionality.

Details - Rates

The Rates tab within Details is used to view and adjust rates applied on the selected line item. The columns list the rate class, rate type, the calculated rate cost, and calculated cost sharing, if applicable.  

Uncheck the box in the Apply Rate? column to remove that rate application – which may only be relevant for special submissions.  NOTE:  unchecked rates will become under-recovery.

Save And Apply to Other Periods

The Save And Apply to Other Periods button allows you to apply a new line item, or changes made to an existing line item, to the budget periods already generated.

NOTE:  Budget Category, Object Code Name will not be applied to later periods if the line item already exists in those periods; Justification is period specific and must be entered in each period, if desired.

Sync to Cost Limits

The Sync to Period Direct Cost Limit and Sync to Period Cost Limit buttons within the Details of a non-personnel line item allow you to recalculate that specific expense to meet the cost limits of the budget defined in the Periods & Totals tab.  The system will increase or decrease the line item value automatically to meet either the Period Direct Cost Limit or total Period Cost Limits. After the system adjusts the expense value you will need to click save for the changes to update in the budget or cancel to close the window without saving the changes.

Prerequisite: The Cost Limit field for this period must be maintained on the Periods & Totals screen.