Communication campaign Most common issues identified: Personnel costs & Other direct costs Antonio Requena Fernández FCH JU Financial Officer.

Communication campaignMost common issues identified:

Personnel costs & Other direct costs

Antonio Requena Fernández FCH

JU Financial Officer

2

Personnel costs

Personnel costs

Hours dedicated

to the project

Hourly rateX=

3

Hourly rate

Hourly rate of

an employe

e=

Other statutary costs…

Health insurance

Pension contribution

Social securitySalary

Total annual costs

Total annual costs

Total annual costs

Total annual costs

Total annual costs

Annual productive hours

4

Hourly rate: Productive hours

Standard (ALL employees)

Total days in a year 365

Weekends -104

Subtotal 261

Annual holidays -21

Statutory holidays -15

Illness & others -15

Productive days per year

210

Working hours per day

8

Productive hours per year

1 680

Actual (individual)

You compute the actual individual number of productive hours for each employee

vs

Don’t use billable hours!!!

If actual productive hours exceeds standard use actual!!!

The time recording system must allow keeping track of this number of actual individual productive hours

5

Overtime

Overtime may be accepted

In any other case: either overtime not paid or there is not clear distinction between normal and overtime hours

The hourly rate applicable to these «overtime» hours has to be calculated separately from the hourly rate applicable to the normal working hoursThe hourly rate is calculated:• Adding in the numerator:

normal costs + «overtime» costs (if any)

• Adding in the denominator: normal hours + «overtime» hours

If actually paid according to beneficiary’s policy AND

If there is a system that allows the identification of normal / overtime hours worked for the project

6

Hourly rate: Productive hours

Activities includedNormal working activities of the personnel, including: Sales and Marketing Preparation of proposals Administrative time Non-project related,

general research activities Teaching, training and

similar hours (in the case of universities/similar bodies)

Activities excluded General training (if not

project related) General internal meetings

(if not project related)

7

To be assessed by the auditors

Must give the same level of assurance as the timesheets

Alternative evidence

Name and signature of a supervisor

Amount of hours claimed for the project

Daily, weekly or monthly basis

Whole duration of the project

Timesheets

The golden rule: Claim ONLY actual hours worked on the project

Hours dedicated to the project

Full name of beneficiary Name and signature of employee

Title of the project

Reconcilable with the absences register

8

Example of timesheet

Project Reference

Name of BeneficiaryName of staff memberCalendar YearCalendar Month

Calendar Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Total

Hours worked on this project * 0.0Hours worked on other projects** 0.0Hours worked on other projects** 0.0Hours worked on other projects** 0.0Hours worked on other projects** 0.0Hours worked on other projects** 0.0Other activities 0.0Total hours 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0* In case of absence, indicate one of the reason codes below

** Indicate project reference

Absences

Weekend WESick leave SLPublic holidays PHAnnual holidays AHOther absence OA

Hours worked on other projects* 0.0

Summary for this month

Hours worked on this project 0.0Hours worked on other projects* 0.0

Hours worked on other projects* 0.0Hours worked on other projects* 0.0Hours worked on other projects* 0.0

Date and signature of staff member Date and signature of Project Manager/ Coordinator/Responsible

Other activities 0.0Total hours 0.0

Reference to the WP

Brief description of tasks

9

Actual personnel costs. Some errors

= XProductive

hours

Annual costsHou

rsHours

Personnel

costs

Personnel

costs

Timesheets not reliable Claim of more hours than dedicated to

the project Claim of more hours than

substantiated by timesheets

+

10

Actual personnel costs. Some errors

= XProductive

hours

Annual costs

Hours

HoursPersonnel

costs

Personnel

costs

Timesheets not reliable Claim of less hours than dedicated to

the project Claim of less hours than substantiated

by timesheets

-

11

Actual personnel costs. Some errors

= XProductive hours

Productive hours

Annual costsHou

rs

Personnel

costs

Personnel

costs

Use of standard hours instead of actual when the latter are higher

Use of billable hours instead of productive hours

-

12

Number of productive hours shall correspond to usual management practice of the beneficiary and reflects its actual working standards

They exclude any ineligible cost item and any cost claimed under other costs categories in order to avoid double funding

Based on the actual personnel costs of the beneficiary as registered in its statutory accounts, without estimated or budgeted elements

Based on the usual cost accounting practice of the beneficiary and consistently applied to their participations in the Framework Programme

Acceptability criteria for average personnel costs

Average personnel costs

13

SME owners and other natural person who do not receive a salary

SME owners

= X1 575

Annual living allowance corresponding to the appropriate research

category published in the ‘People’ Work Programme

of the year of the publication of the call to which the proposal has

been submittedHourly

rate 100

Country correction

factor published

in the same document

14

100

106.9X

1 575

58 500 €/year=39.71

€/h

Example: SME owner without salary from Austria with 5 years of experience at the time of deadline of submission of a proposal 2011

SME owners

Use the tool available at CORDIS

15

Travel costs• Only for staff taking part in the project• In case of conferences/seminars: copy of the

presentations to show direct link to the project• Expenses related to daily commute to work are not

considered travel costs.

Other direct costsThe golden rule: Costs attributed directly to the

project which can be identified as such according to the accounting principls of the beneficiary

Consumables and supplies• If they are necessary for the implementation of the

project• Subject to the accounting principles of the beneficiary,

the following consumables/supplies can be considered either direct or indirect costs:• Water, heating, electricity, maintenance, insurance• Communication expenses, postal charges, office

supplies• Costs related to general administration and

management• Miscellaneous recurring consumables

16

Minor tasks• Minor services not identifed in Annex I but needed for

the implementation of the project• Examples:

• Organisation of the rooms and catering for a meeting (logistic support)

• Printing of material, leaflets, etc.• Services related to setting up and maintenance of

a project website• To be reported under type of activity “Management”,

category of costs “Subcontracting”

Other direct costsThe golden rule: Costs attributed directly to the

project which can be identified as such according to the accounting principls of the beneficiary

17

Other direct costsThe golden rule: Costs attributed directly to the

project which can be identified as such according to the accounting principls of the beneficiary

Equipment• If necessary for the implementation of the project• Costs to be determined according to the

beneficiary’s usual accounting practice• Possibility of charge 100% equipment acquisition

price in 1 reporting period if national legislation allows it

• Otherwise, depreciation to be charged in each relevant periodic report

• Consider percentage of use in the project• Depreciation costs for equipment bought before the

start of the project• Yes, if the equipment has not yet been fully

depreciated , then the remaining depreciation can be eligible under the project

• Subject to the accounting principles of the beneficiary, computers and office software can be considered either direct or indirect costs