Budget settings
This section allows you to configure the budget settings of the call. As long as a call has the status “draft”, all parameters can be edited. For a published call, only specific parameters can be edited. This section is not visible to applicants.
Real costs
The real costs checkbox list allows you to activate/deactivate real costs for five cost categories.
By default, real costs are allowed for all five cost categories, namely Staff costs, Travel and accommodation, External expertise and services, Equipment, and Infrastructure and works. For the cost category Office and administrative costs, no real costs can be activated but only flat rates (see below).
If real costs are not allowed for a cost category and no unit costs (see below) are activated for that cost category, the respective table of that cost category is hidden from the partner budget page and no costs items can be inserted by the applicant.
Flat rates
The flat rate configurator allows you to activate five off-the-shelf flat rates for a call.
All five flat rates can be activated for one call.
One project partner cannot use all five flat rates at the same time - see Partner budget options.
Flat rate name | Flat rate calculation |
Staff cost flat rate based on direct cost | Calculates staff costs as a flat rate based on direct costs in other cost categories, namely travel and accommodation (if not a flat rate), external expertise and services, equipment and infrastructure and works. |
Office and administrative costs flat rate based on direct staff cost | Calculates office and administrative costs costs as a flat rate based on staff costs (either real costs or flat rate) |
Office and administrative costs flat rate based on direct cost | Calculates office and administrative costs costs as a flat rate based on direct costs in other cost categories, namely staff costs (either real costs or flat rate), travel and accommodation (either real costs or flat rate), external expertise and services, equipment and infrastructure and works. |
Travel and accommodation flat rate based on direct staff cost | Calculates Travel and accommodation costs as a flat rate based on staff costs, either real costs or flat rate |
Other costs based on staff costs | Calculates other costs as a flat rate based on staff costs (either real costs or flat rate) |
For each activated flat rate,
the maximum rate in % shall be defined in the field “Set Rate”
the input values allowed are anything between 1-100%, be aware that according to the CPR the default value given in the image below should not be exceeded unless formally approved by the European Commission.
it has to be selected if the flat rate shall be used with a fixed % or if the applicant shall have the possibility to select the flat rate % up to the set rate.
Please note that for the office and administrative costs flat rate based on direct cost, a maximum of 7% is applicable, in which case the Member State shall not be required to perform a calculation to determine the applicable rate. For rates higher than 7%, the rate shall be calculated in accordance with Article 48(2)(a) CPR.
Lump sums
The lump sums defined in the programme setup can be activated for a call and will be available for the applicant in section E- Project lump sums and unit costs of the application form.
If no lump sum is activated, section E - Lump sums will not be editable for the applicant.
Unit costs
The unit costs defined in the programme setup can be activated for a call.
The activated unit costs will be available for the applicant in the partner budget tables of the respective cost categories.
If unit cost(s) with “Multiple Cost Categories” are activated, these can be selected in the partner budget table “Unit cost covering more than one cost category”.
Draft budget
“Allow Project proposed unit costs”: Ticking this box enables Section E.2.1 “Project proposed unit costs” in Application Form (see E- Project lump sums and unit costs) which allows creation of individual unit costs for a particular project, as apply in a draft budget approach.