FP7 - Finances

The Guide on Finances for projects in FP7 is very complex. There is a variety of different documents of the EC in which the specific requirements regarding financial issues are explained.

•  Guide to Financial Issues (745 KB)
•  FP7 Grant Agreement - Annex II General Conditions (192 KB)

Guidelines according to project types

In FP7, there are respective guidelines for the various project types. Thus, it is recommended to read the updated guidelines when applying for a research grant.
 http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/find-doc_en.html

GABO:mi already has profound experience and is pleased to support you with any queries you may have regarding finance. We help you to best realize the requirements in your project and guarantee an adherence of these guidelines.
 Additional information about Finance management

Funding rates

There are different funding rates for the different project types. These are allocated as follows:

Cost categories

Project costs are of the following categories:

• Direct costs (in direct relation to the project; proof upon request has to be made available)
  
  • Personnel costs (recorded by so-calledal (Beleg mit so genannten Timesheets)
  • Verbrauchsmaterialien
  • Geräte
  • Reisekosten
  • Other costs
• Indirect costs

Timesheets

The personnel costs have to be documented by timesheets (timesheet.xls (260 KB). In this form, the information on when and how much each person has worked for the project has to be entered. The timesheets do not have to be handed in at the EC, however, these documents could always be requested by the EC in the process of an Audit.

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs cannot definitely be allocated to a project. However, they are in relation to the project activities (e.g. rent, electricity, telephone bills, etc.). There are different indirect cost models. In these models, a certain percentage for indirect costs is established (e.g. 60%) with which the indirect costs are calculated.  Additional information about indirect costs

Cost model

Each partner of an EU research project needs to be validated first. In the process of the validation, the cost model, which is valid for all projects in which the institution takes part, is determined.  

 Additional information about cost models
 

Calculation of the funding rates

The funding rate refers to the total amount of costs, i.e. the direct costs including the indirect costs.

Example:

Subcontracting

As part of the direct costs, there is a special case, the so-called subcontracts. The general rule of the EC says that each partner needs to deliver the performance by himself and provide the necessary resources for it. However, there are certain cases when this is not possible. In this case, a subcontractor or an external company is engaged for this activity. The following needs to be considered:

• Costs have to be budgeted under "Subcontracting" (or at a later point in time, the Annex I needs to be amended)
• Only "minor tasks" may be subcontracted, no major tasks
• Subcontracting between partners of one project is not allowed
• For the use and accounting of subcontracts, the guidelines of the EC have to be adhered to.

Please be aware that no indirect costs may be added.

Budget Shift

When finalizing the Grant Agreement of an FP7 project, a certain budget is allocated for each partner and cost category. In the course of a project, the budget planned may be shifted between cost categories as necessary as long as this still complies with the activities of Annex I. It is however very important that the total funding is not exceeded. Should a budget shift towards subcontracting become necessary, this has to be approved by the EC first and the Technical Annex has to be amended accordingly.