SRA Post-Award Terminology

Allocation: The process of assigning a cost, or a group of costs, to one or more cost objective(s), in reasonable proportion to the benefit provided or other equitable relationship. The process may entail assigning a cost(s) directly to a final cost objective or through one or more intermediate cost objectives (2 CFR §200.4)

Allowability: Those categories of costs that are allowable as a charge on a grant or contract as determined by the terms and conditions of the award and/or appropriate cost principles. Certain types of costs, such as the cost of alcoholic beverages, are not allowable and may not be charged to a contract or grant.

Auxiliary: Self-supporting entities that allow the University to provide essential goods and services to its departments, faculty, staff, students, and incidentally to the general public (interchangeable terms “auxiliary operations” and “auxiliary department” have the same meaning).

Chartfield Combination: Department ID – Fund Code – Project Number

Committed Effort: The portion of time committed to a particular activity expressed as a percentage of the individual’s overall activities for the University.

Consistency: Once an accounting principle or method is adopted, it must continue to be followed in future accounting periods. 

Cost Reimbursable with a Fixed Billing Schedule (CRF): A contract/grant for which the sponsor pays for the full cost incurred up to an agreed-upon amount based on a fixed billing schedule.  These projects are billed based on the fixed billing schedule, but at the end of the award any unspent funds, based on expenditures, will be returned to the agency. 

Cost Reimbursement Type Contract/Grant (CRB): A contract/grant for which the sponsor pays for the full costs incurred in the conduct of the work up to an agreed-upon amount. These projects are billed based on expenditures on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Cost Sharing: Project costs not reimbursed by the sponsor to support the scope of work defined by the sponsored award (Uniform Guidance §200.29).

Cost Transfer: the reassignment or transfer of charges between funding sources, whether they be sponsored or non-sponsored sources.

Direct Cost: Cost that are readily identified to the Sponsored Award.

Disallowed Costs: Charges to a Federal award that the agency or pass-through entity determines to be unallowable, in accordance with the Federal statutes, regulations that are applicable, and the terms and conditions of the award.

Effort Reporting: The mechanism used to verify that direct labor charges to sponsored projects are reasonable, and reflect that actual work performed. Effort reporting shows the distribution of effort by an individual for all of the individual’s activities at the University. FSU uses the FACET system to certify Effort Reporting.

Encumbrance: A purchase order, payroll commitment, or contingent liability that is chargeable to an account, but has not yet been paid out.  Once the charge is actually paid, the charge gets released as an encumbrance and becomes an expenditure.

ePAF/pPAF: Electronic or Paper Personal Action Form is used for reappointing employees or making funding changes.

Equipment: A tangible nonexpendable personal property (including Information Technology systems) that have a useful life of greater than one year, and an acquisition cost which is greater than or equal to $5000. 

Expenditure: Payment for goods or services that are charged against available funds.

Export: An actual shipment or transmission of goods/services/technical data that is subject to either EAR or the ITAR regulation out of the United States. Or the release of software, technology, or technical data that is subject to EAR or ITAR regulations to a foreign national in the United States.

Export Controls: Federal laws and regulations that restrict the unlicensed flow of certain devices, materials, or technical information outside of the United States or to a foreign national within the United States. There are 3 governmental agencies that regulate exports 1) Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) which is administered by the Department of Treasury, 2) International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) which is administered by the Department of State, 3) Export Administration Regulations (EAR) which is administered by the Department of Commerce.

Fixed Price (FP) Contract/Grant: A contract/grant for which one party pays the other party a predetermined price, regardless of actual costs, for services rendered or the delivery of a final product/report. Quite often this is a fee-for-service agreement.  These projects are billed based on completion of deliverables.

FIXCOM: A contract/grant for which the sponsor has set 2 different billing mechanisms within the same contract.  Due to the difference in billing mechanisms two projects will be set up: one project will be set up as a Fixed-Price (FP), the other a Cost-Reimbursement (CRB).

Fund Code: Identifies the source of monies that are used in a transaction. They are a three digit numerical code, and often have different restrictions and reporting requirements.

110: Comes from Education and General funds (E&G), current fiscal year appropriations. Commonly used for cost share.

140: Carry Forward from prior fiscal year’s E&G funds.  Commonly used for cost share.

320: Revenue generating business-type activities for Auxiliaries. Can use used as cost share with approval from the Budget Office and Sponsored Research.

5xx: Grants and other research –related monies provided by government or private entities

520: The sponsor is a Federal Agency

523: The sponsor is a state agency, with federal flow through.

524: The sponsor is a private or other institution with federal flow through.

530: State awards with NO Federal flow through

540: Private or other institution awards with NO Federal flow through

545: Research Foundation Salary & Tuition OMNI Companion Accounts

546: Magnet Research and Development Awards

550: SRAD Distributions and PI Residuals

551: Council on Research and Creativity (CRC)

552: External Funding Control

555: SRAD Cost Share

556: Over Salary Cap

560: Control and Operating Projects

570: Overhead

599: FSU Foundation Awards

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP): A common set of accounting principles, standards, and procedures that companies use to compile their financial statements. They are a combination of authoritative standards (set by policy boards) and simply the commonly accepted ways of recording and reporting accounting information.

Indirect Cost (F&A cost): Charges that are not directly identified to a Sponsored award.

Indirect Cost Rate Proposal: The documentation that is prepared by FSU in collaboration with advisors to substantiate our request for an established indirect cost rate as described in the Uniform Guidance.

In-kind (Third Party) Cost Sharing: Third party non-cash contributions of time, talent, or resources from FSU or donated by third parties.  Third-party in-kind contributions may be in the form of real property, equipment, supplies and other expendable property, or goods and services directly benefiting and specifically designated for the project or program.

Intellectual Property: Characterized as non-physical property that is the project of an original thought. Intellectual Property rights surround the control of physical manifestations or expressions of ideas by protecting rights to produce and control physical incarnation of those ideas. Examples include but are not limited to: Inventions, Literary and Artistic works, Trade names, Trade services, and Know-how.

Letter of Credit (LOC): A payment mechanism that allows the institution to request a wire transfer of cash from the federal sponsor’s treasury account in order to recoup the costs of the research projects supported by that sponsor. These projects are billed based on expenditures on a weekly basis.

Mandatory Cost Sharing: Project costs that are quantifiable by either percentage of effort or dollar amounts that are not paid by the sponsor and are required as a condition of the award.  Mandatory Cost Sharing must be tracked and reported to the agency. The documentation requirement falls to the PI and department representatives.

Off Campus: Research that is conducted in a space that is not owned by the University or paid for by University funds. 

On Campus: Research that is conducted in a space that is owned by the University and the University is bearing the cost of the space with University funds. 

Over-the-cap: Portion of a faculty or staff member's salary that exceeds a regulatory maximum imposed by the sponsor, eg. NIH salary cap. 

Participant: The recipients of a service or training provided at a workshop conference, seminar, symposium or other short-term instructional or information sharing activity. Participants may include students, national scholars, scientists, private sector representatives, agency personnel, teachers, and others who attend and participate in the conference, workshop or training activity.

Participant Support Costs: Direct costs for items such as stipends or subsistence allowances, travel allowances and registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with meetings, conferences, symposia, or training projects.

Pass-through Entity: A non-Federal entity that provides a subaward to a subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal sponsored program.

Principle Investigator (PI): The individual responsible to conduct the research or other sponsored activity as described in the proposal for an award.

Prime: The party who receives the award from the federal agency.

Program Income: Gross income earned by the non-Federal entity that is directly generated by a supported activity or earned as a result of the Federal award during the period of performance except as provided in §200.307 paragraph (f). (See §200.77 Period of performance.) Program income includes but is not limited to income from fees for services performed, the use or rental or real or personal property acquired under Federal awards, the sale of commodities or items fabricated under a Federal award, license fees and royalties on patents and copyrights, and principal and interest on loans made with Federal award funds. Interest earned on advances of Federal funds is not program income. Except as otherwise provided in Federal statutes, regulations, or the terms and conditions of the Federal award, program income does not include rebates, credits, discounts, and interest earned on any of them. See also §200.407 Prior written approval (prior approval). See also 35 U.S.C. 200-212 “Disposition of Rights in Educational Awards” applies to inventions made under Federal awards.

Project Status:

H (Hold): Defaults when the award is generated.

N (New Project Not Open): The O Effective date is in the future.

O (Open): Effective Date is award start date or allowable spend date.

E (Completed): Effective Date project budget period end date.  Departments cannot create new transactions against the project.  Payments against encumbrances will process.

S (Semi-closed): Effective Date that SRA has generated a final invoice to the agency.  Only certain transactions can be processed at this point and only SRA staff has authority.

C (Closed): Effective Date that SRA has cleared all closing item.  No transactions should occur against the project at this point.

Reasonableness: The nature of the goods or services acquired, and the amount paid for those goods and services, reflect the actions of a prudent person at the time the cost was incurred.

Rebudget: The act of amending a budget by moving funds from one category or line item to another, also known as a Budget Amendment.

Requisition: A written order for a good or service to the Procurement department.

Residual: The funds remaining on a fixed price project after the final closeout.

Retroactive Distribution of funding (RDF): A form used to make any correction to posted payroll charges associated with an employee’s payment. It may not be used to make changes to an employee’s compensation employment period, full-time equivalency, position, or future funding sources.

Salary Cap: Legislatively mandated limit to the amount of direct salary that an individual may receive while working on grants, cooperative agreements, extramural research, and development contracts.  For the purposes of the salary limitation, the terms “direct salary”, “salary”, and “institutional base salary” have the same meaning.

Stipend:  A payment made to an individual to provide for the participant’s expenses during the period of the training or other activities. A stipend is not considered compensation for services normally expected of an employee.

Tuition Waivers: A portion of the student’s tuition will be covered by sources other than the student.

WAV1 – The Contract/Grant will pay the matriculation fee for Graduate assistants and Out-of-State Tuition for the College of Engineering.

WAV2 – The College/School Waiver Allocation will cover all tuition of students paid or supported by this project.

WAV3 – An alternate source will cover all tuition of students paid or supported by the Contract/Grant.  Departmental Billing Form is required to charge matriculation to the project.

WAV4 – The Contract/Grant will pay Matriculation ONLY even if a College of Engineering Student is appointed.

Unrecovered Overhead: Indirect costs that are not collected by the University when a sponsor does not pay the full negotiated Indirect Cost rate. In some cases, unrecovered overhead may be used to fulfill a sponsor's cost-sharing requirement.

Voluntary Committed Cost Sharing: Costs committed on a voluntary basis and specifically included in the award budget.  These costs may be a percentage of effort, or specific charges.  Voluntary Committed Cost Sharing must be tracked and reported; however, the agency may not require FSU to report them.

Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing: Costs not required by the sponsor or included in the award budget.  In most cases it is a quantitative amount that is not referenced in the proposal or award.   It is tracked by FACET, but is not auditable.  Typically these are researcher efforts that are above the level originally committed.