Senior Personnel: (1) Provide a current payroll register for each employee and clearly indicate payroll period, i.e., bi-monthly, bi-weekly, etc. (2) For each named individual who is not presently employed by the organization, provide an employment agreement that states the rate of payment with the organization's considerations in determining the rate of pay. (3) For positions where specific individuals have not been named, provide an explanation of how the rates were determined and any related documentation. (4) Salaries that can not be sustained by commercial activities will be limited to the amounts supported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics salary surveys. CAAR generally does not exceed the mean average salaries in its recommendations. CAAR also does not consider small business owners to be “Chief Executives.” Standard Occupational Classifications (SOCs) should be suggested, or they will be determined without input from the small business. (See www.bls.gov)
Other Personnel: For all "other personnel" proposed at an annualized salary in excess of $50,000, provide cost data as described for senior personnel above. If individual is administrative (i.e., accounting, secretarial, etc.), state reason they are proposed directly and not included in indirect costs.
(see sample timesheet)
Fringe Benefits: Provide the categories of costs (FICA, health benefits, etc.) included and the related amounts. Provide calculation of the actual fringe rate for previously completed fiscal year (total fringe costs / total labor costs). (See Indirect Costs below.)
Permanent Equipment: Defined as nonexpendable, tangible personal property, having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit. However, companies may elect to establish their capitalization threshold at less than $5,000. Provide cost data from three sources which can be in the form of written quotations and/or copies of pricing information contained in catalogs, trade journals, etc. In situations where equipment can only be provided by one specific source provide a sole source justification and a written quote from that source.
Travel: Provide an itemization of travel which should include the destination, purpose of travel, number of days in travel status, and the estimated costs for items included in the amount (airfare, cab fare, car rental, per diem rates, hotel and other incidentals.) First class and business class fares are unallowable. Per diem in excess of Federal Travel Regulation limits is unallowable. No supporting detail is required for attendance at the annual Grantee Conference budgeted at $2,000 (or less) per person, limited to $4,000/year. (Federal Travel Regulation)
Materials and Supplies: Provide an itemized listing of materials and supplies to include the item identification/description, vendor, quantity, price, and extended amount. Provide quotations or other appropriate documentation to support any single material and supply item with an extended amount in excess of $5,000.
Publication Costs/Documentation/Dissemination: Provide an explanation of items included in this amount and the per item cost (e.g., the estimated number of pages and the per page cost.)
Consultant Services: For each consultant, provide an agreement which includes the following information: (1) the services to be provided; (2) the period of performance and the consultant's availability; (3) the qualifications of the consultant to perform the work; and (4) the rate of pay, not to exceed the daily equivalent of the current maximum rate paid to an Executive Schedule Level IV Federal employee which is currently $571 per day. Consultants should be chosen using a competitive selection process; otherwise, sole source justifications should be maintained.
Subawards: For each subaward provide (1) a statement detailing the relationship between the awardee and the subawardee; (2) a statement describing the manner in which the subawardee budget was solicited; e.g., sole source or competitive; (3) the type of award contemplated; e.g., fixed price or cost reimbursement; and (4) an analysis to support that the subaward budgeted amount is reasonable. Subawards should be chosen using a competitive selection process; otherwise, sole source justifications should be maintained.
Indirect Costs: No documentation is required to support budgeted indirect costs plus fringe with an effective rate of 50% or less of direct salaries and wages (S&W). Documenation is required to support indirect costs with an effective rate greater than 50% S&W and is limited to 150% S&W. Indirect costs budgeted at an effective rate greater than 50% must be substantiated by a current indirect rate proposal for the most recently completed fiscal year expenses. The indirect rate proposal must clearly reflect total expenses per your financial statement and show a reconciliation. Rate proposals that do not have a clear reconciliation to total expenses as reported in the financial statements will not be reviewed and the 50% S&W "safe rate" will be recommended for funding. If available, the corresponding rate agreement should be provided; however, NSF reserves the right to make adjustments for forward pricing purposes. In the event the most recently completed fiscal year of activity does not reasonably reflect performance under the Phase II award, a budgeted rate proposal may be submitted in addition to the most recently completed fiscal year actual calculation. Budgeted rate proposals submitted without an actual calculation for the most recently completed fiscal year will not be reviewed. Budgeted pool expenses must be supported by actual cost data or evidence must be provided that a future obligation will be in place accompanied by a reliable quotation. Budgeted indirect rate proposals must include a reference column for each pool expense and each supporting document must be attached and labeled accordingly. (Sample indirect cost proposal)
Indirect Rate Proposal Adjustments:
- IR&D must be treated as a direct cost and included in the indirect rate allocation base.
- The following expenses will not be funded as part of indirect cost pools:
- Patent and patent related expenses;
- Sales and marketing;
- Business development; and
- Manufacturing and production.
- Indirect salaries and wages in excess of 35% total salaries and wages, less paid time off, is considered unreasonable and will be reclassified to direct costs.
- Subcontracts will be excluded from the base unless subcontracts in the indirect cost proposal are proportionate to subcontracts budgeted in the SBIR/STTR proposal. ODC’s to outside organizations may be treated as subcontracts.
- Equipment will be excluded from the base. Indirect costs will not be applied to equipment.
- Sales/marketing, business development, and manufacturing/production must be allocated its share of general and administrative expenses and included as part of the allocation base.
- FCCM will not be funded.
