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Closing

What if I want to close a sub budget?

If a sub budget and its parent have the same end date, it is GCA's practice to close both budgets to status 4 at the same time. We can, however, close a sub budget to status 3 at any time to prevent additional transactions from posting.

If you wish to close a sub budget completely more than six months before the parent budget's end date, please request closeout via Grant Tracker.

If a sub-budget was created for funds restricted for a specific purpose, any funds remaining in that sub-budget remain restricted for that purpose. When the sub budget is closed out, those funds will be restricted on the parent budget in 37-99.

Note: the Transpasu form is NOT required to close a sub budget and return its remaining balance to the parent. Use it if you wish to keep the sub budget open while transferring part of its funding back to its parent.

What do I do if my budget is coming to a close, but there are still expenditures that haven’t posted?

Know your Final Action Date (FAD), which is listed on the Grant Tracker Budget Information page. If any charges have not posted on or before that date, you MUST notify GCA of the charges by that date, or we will not be able to include them in the final report or invoice, and the charges will become a deficit to the department.

We're getting an extension. Can we keep the budget open?

If you are expecting a no-cost extension or a supplement/extension (adding additional funds to the budget), you may notify GCA via the Closing topic in Grant Tracker. We will then flag the budget to prevent it from being closed to status 4. However, we cannot extend the end date unless we receive an Extension PAC (for no-cost extensions) or a Supplement/Extension FA (when additional funding is to be added) from OSP. If you are confident you will receive the extension but expect sponsor approval to be delayed, you may ask OSP to provide an Temporary Budget Extension PAC to extend the budget end date with a department budget as backup in case the extension is denied.

What do the budget status numbers mean?

The UW fiscal system codes each budget in one of four statuses, which define the transaction types that can and cannot be posted to the budget.

  • Status 1: Open to revenue and expenditures--i.e. a fully active budget.
  • Status 2: Closed to expenditures, open to revenue. Rarely used for grant/contract budgets. The main exception is when a parent budget is set up to receive funding, but 100% of that funding is then allocated to sub budgets where the actual expenditures will take place.
  • Status 3: Closed to all expenditures and revenue, but still allows for Journal Vouchers on grant and contract budgets. This is a preliminary closeout status automatically applied after the Final Action Date (or earlier at department request). Although this status allows for expense transfers, please notify GCA immediately if you plan to make transfers after the Final Action Date. We need an accurate picture of total expenditures at that point in order to submit correct and timely final invoices and/or reports.
  • Status 4: Fully closed. The budget number is inactive and will purge from the system at the next biennium close.
Why does this budget have an unusually early Final Action Date?

A budget with a short window for final invoicing and/or reporting will generate an early Final Action Date (FAD). Most sponsors allow 60-90 days after the award end date to complete final invoicing or reporting, which generates a FAD over a month after the end date.

However, if the sponsor allows 30 days or fewer, the FAD window will also be short. GCA recognizes that this short turn-around time produces challenges for departments, especially for procard charges, travel reimbursements, subaward invoices, and other charges where expenditures post after they are incurred. However, if you follow the procedure below for pending charges, credits, or transfers, we can incorporate these transactions.

What if our budget has closed (or is closing soon), but we still have pending charges?

If your budget's Final Action Date (FAD) is approaching or has already passed, please notify GCA of any pending charges ASAP by submitting the Pending Transactions Detail Form via Grant Tracker. This will allow us to incorporate the charges into our final invoice and/or report.

If the final invoice or report has already been issued, you will also need to provide written sponsor confirmation that they will accept a revised final invoice or report.

Contacts

Who do I contact for this budget?

Budget information is available to on-campus users for all GCA budgets via Grant Tracker. You can search by various criteria, including budget number, grant number, and PI. You can ask questions through Grant Tracker itself or by calling GCA's main phone number, 206-616-9995. If your request isn't related to a specific budget or is for multiple budgets, you may instead email us at gcahelp@uw.edu. 

What if I have questions or need to make a change on a budget not managed by GCA?

Please see Financial Reporting's grid of budget number prefix identifiers and contacts.

Cost Share

How do I complete a Non-FEC cost share Tagging report?

Non-FEC cost share contributions are reported on a "Non-FEC Cost Sharing Tagging Report" and sent to Grant and Contract Accounting (GCA) via Grant Tracker. Please see the Instructions for Tagging Non-FEC Cost Share Contributions on the GCA Cost Share webpage.

I can’t get into the eFECS Cost Share Module, how do I obtain access?

Access to eFECS is managed via ASTRA. Your ASTRA authorizer for MyFinancial.desktop (MyFD) is also your ASTRA authorizer for eFECS.

Where can I find the amount of cost share that has been pledged and/or actually performed for a budget?

The eFECS Cost Share Summary application provides cost share pledge information. Enter a budget number and click find to see what is recorded for pledges and actuals to date for the referenced budget number. For more instructions on using the eFECS application, email efecs@uw.edu

What do the letters M, R and/or C stand for in the Cost Share Summary application?

Cost share  is coded in the system as M (Mandatory), R (Committed) and C (Salary Cap) cost sharing.

Note that Salary Cap cost share is no longer captured in the cost share summary application, and is only visible on a faculty's FEC.

How can I tell if we have met the cost share requirements on a particular budget?

It depends on the cost share requirements from the sponsor and/or what the PI proposed to the sponsor.

At the bottom of the Cost Share Summary application there is a column showing the total pledged dollar amount and another showing the actual total cost share dollars. Cost Share is considered met when the documented Cost Share actuals in the Cost Share Summary satisfy the sponsor’s requirements or meet the cost share commitments in the proposal budget.

Review the award documentation in conjunction with the Cost Share Summary application to determine if the pledged cost share requirement has been met.

Can I use Unrecovered Indirect Costs (UIDC) for cost share?

Unrecovered Indirect Costs (UIDC) can be used for cost share when prior written sponsor approval has been received.

For more information on UIDC, see the Cost Share Commitment Components section on the GCA Cost Share webpage.

How does Unrecovered Indirect Costs (UIDC) get documented in the Cost Share Summary system?

Grant and Contract Accounting (GCA) reviews budgets with UIDC Cost Share on a quarterly basis, makes the necessary computations, and enters the Unrecovered Indirect Cost (UIDC) share into the Cost Share Summary application. Departments should review these entries and let GCA know via Grant Tracker if there are questions.

What is in-kind cost sharing?

In-kind cost sharing is non-monetary--e.g. volunteer time--and is treated as third-party cost share. In-kind contributions are assigned a dollar value by the entity providing the service (whether UW-affiliated or a third party) and reported to GCA as third-party non-FEC Cost Share, with no F&A assigned.

For more information on Third-party Cost Share, see the Cost Share Commitment Components section on the GCA Cost Share webpage.

Where do I go for more information on Third-party Cost Share?

Information on Third-party Cost Share may be found in the Cost Share Components section of the GCA Cost Share webpage.

Can an NIH Training Grant have a Cost Share Commitment?

Very unlikely.  NIH only allows Cost Share on Awards where it is stated in the Program Announcement that Cost Share is required (very rare), or will be a factor in selecting the Award recipients.

So unless the Program Announcement states that Cost Share is a factor, Cost Share should not be included in any NIH Award.

For Training Grants, funds are limited and are to cover the costs of supporting the Trainee.  The salary of the PI is an allowable cost on a T32 Training Grant but, typically, there are insufficient funds to cover PI or other staff effort on the Award.  The PI may choose to have their effort paid from non-sponsored funds.  While PI and other staff will expend effort on the Award, and that effort paid from non-sponsored funds, that effort does not need to be recorded as a Cost Share commitment unless the Program Announcement specifically states that Cost Share will be a factor in Award selection.  To the best of GCA’s  knowledge, an NIH Training Grant Program Announcement has not included Cost Share as a factor.  

What if there is a gap between when my FEC report is released and when Cost Share contributions need to be reported to the sponsor?

The PI will need to prepare an Interim Cost Share report.

For more information on Interim Cost Share reports, see the Close Out section on the GCA Cost Share webpage.

How do I determine what the Cost Share F&A Rate is?

For information on the F&A Rates which apply to Cost Share Commitments and Contributions, see the Cost Share F&A Rates section on the GCA Cost Share webpage.

I don't have any Faculty Effort Cost Share, which addendum should I use?

If your proposal contains no Faculty Effort Cost Share, use either the Calendar Dollar-based (for Org codes 302, 304, 308, 310) addendum or the Calendar Dollar-based (for all other Org codes) addendum.

Can I use Tuition Payments or Waivers for Cost Share Contributions?

Yes.  See Cost Share Tuition Waivers for more information.

I have an Award where volunteers are contributing time and effort towards the objectives – is this considered Cost Share, and how do I document it?

Yes, the time and effort volunteers contribute to an Award would be considered Third Party Cost Share. In order to document the Cost Share, the volunteer (or the entity providing the volunteers) are required to submit a letter that identifies:

  • The number of volunteers,
  • The hourly rate for the volunteer(s) time (this would not be based on the volunteers prime profession but, instead, the same rate as other workers would make for the same work), and
  • How many hours the volunteer(s) expects to work at that rate.

Once the volunteer time is completed, the volunteer (or the entity providing the volunteers) are required to provide a letter that states:

  • The number of volunteers,
  • The total hours the volunteers contributed to the Award, and
  • The total value of the contribution based on the hourly rate of pay.

Please see the webpage on Third Party Cost Share for additional information.

Can faculty on less than a 12-month appointment volunteer their time outside their appointment period as Third Party Cost Share?

Yes, this would be considered Third Party Cost Share and should be documented by a commitment letter and a contribution letter from the faculty members themselves (not the institution). Fringe benefits and F&A would not be allowed for the volunteer time.

My Department has a Service/Recharge Center budget and provides a service to the sponsor on an Award with Cost Share. Can we charge the sponsor the internal/lower rate instead of the external/higher rate and use the difference in rates as a Cost Share?

The difference between the internal and external rate may be used to meet an Award’s Cost Share Commitment as long as application of the lower rate is unique to the specific Award.  The loss in revenue, by charging the internal instead of external rate, is the UW’s Cost Share Contribution.  If the Department were to routinely offer this discount then it would not be representative of an actual cost to the department and could not be used for Cost Share.