Spending / Apply costs

Once the terms of an award are acceptable, OSP will execute all necessary documents (e.g., contracts) on behalf of Emory University. Next, OSP will establish an account and alert you, your chairperson, dean and the Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting (OGCA) of the funding. The internal document used for this notification is called a Electronic Notification of Acceptance (eNOA), and is prepared and distributed by the Data Management Group.

Once an account is established, you can make expenditures in order to conduct your project. Note that the eNOA provides details that you should review, such as account number, budget beginning and ending dates, the direct and indirect amount of funding, and the OGCA accountant that you will work with on all fiscal matters.

A monthly ledger report will be sent to you by OGCA indicating that month's expenditures and the cumulative amount spent to date. Should you have any questions regarding this ledger, please call your OGCA accountant, as noted on the NOA.

When you need goods and services for your research, utilize Procurement's Emory Express tool. Fisher Scientific is Emory's primary contract supplier for your lab supplies; however, Emory Express has a large number of hosted catalogs with various other scientific suppliers.

 

If there is a supplier that you have a preference to use that is not listed in Emory Express, please complete an Emory Express Requisition and select the "new supplier as vendor" on the requisition.

Add: 

OCR Device purchase form – get wording from PTerry/initiate negotiation of device

Can I purchase and get reimbursed?

Can I contact a vendor directly?

Can I buy from Amazon?

Emory Express Training

P-card guidance

Fee Schedule Definitions

You must also ensure that all costs that are charged directly to a sponsored project are: 

·       Allowable – A cost is allowable if it is eligible under the terms and conditions of the agreement.  These may vary by funding agency, but major categories of allowable expenses usually include project scientific personnel, supplies, equipment, patient care costs, and related travel expenses.  Expenses that may not be allowed include administrative salaries, local phone charges, or general use office supplies.

·       Allocable – A cost is considered allocable if it is chargeable to a project based on the proportional benefit to the project.  For example, allocating a percentage of salary in relation to the percentage of effort devoted to the project.  It is not appropriate to use funds from one project for items used in a different project.

·       Reasonable – A cost is considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services acquired or applied and the amount involved reflect that action that a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision to incur the cost was made.  

·       Costs for alcoholic beverages, entertainment, fund raising and lobbying activities are unallowable.  

As the Principal Investigator (PI) of a project, you will probably be required periodically to supply information regarding the technical progress of your research. Pay careful attention to your award document for the frequency with which you must report this information.

 OGCA will report your expenditures directly to the sponsor. OGCA will also oversee all fiscal aspects of your award. However, as the investigator, you will ultimately be responsible for all expenditures associated with your grant.

 Often you will be funded for a project period but must request the individual budget periods at a predetermined interval (e.g., NIH requires annual submission). Remember, continuation proposals must also be routed.

Emory University Travel Policies require that all University business travel be arranged through one of three Emory air travel providers.  Emory has a responsibility to provide travelers with cost-efficient resources for arranging air travel.  Additionally, Emory needs to know where its travelers are in the event of an emergency.

Before you plan or book an international trip, it is imperative that you visit the Emory International Travel Checklist page before traveling abroad.  Here you will find specific information about international travel, such as Cuba-specific travel, information regarding travel to high risk countries and general info on passports and visa's.  You will also find the link to Emory's International SOS. If your airfare was booked via Emory's three travel agencies, your itinerary is already uploaded for you into International SOS.  You will not need to do it yourself. 

Sponsored Program Travel  often have travel requirements that differ from the Emory University Travel Policy.  In particular, federally funded sponsored programs.

The Fly America Act Federal mandates the use of U.S. flag air carriers for federally funded international travel except when:

·       A U.S. carrier does not provide service to a destination; however, a U.S. carrier must be used for any leg of travel, when available.

·       Use of a U.S. carrier would delay travel time by 24 hours or more; would require a layover of six hours or more; or would extend the total travel time by six hours or more.

·       Travel by a foreign carrier would eliminate two or more aircraft changes en-route.

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rates are used to recover costs spent on sponsored activities that cannot be directly attributed to a particular project. These are often called indirect costs. The Cost Studies group calculates, proposes, and negotiates F&A rates with the federal government (Department of Health and Human Services). This process is generally done on a four-year cycle at Emory.

·       Click here for F&A Rates

·       Click here for F&A Cost Basis