Supplies and Materials
- Cost Estimation
- Budgeting Facilities and Administrative Costs as Direct Costs
- Categorizing Expenses
- Project Specification and Descriptions
- Special Considerations: For-Profit Sponsors
Supplies and materials are consumable items (e.g., animals, glassware, chemicals, reagents, etc.) used in the course of conducting the scope of work for a project.
Cost Estimation
Estimate supplies using an appropriate cost estimation method such as catalog prices, vendor quotes or historical costs for like projects (appropriately escalated). The estimate should include all costs associated with obtaining that supply or material, including shipping, handling and delivery charges.
Budgeting Facilities and Administrative Costs as Direct Costs
Do not propose as a direct cost supplies/materials normally treated as a facilities and administrative cost without adequately documenting in the budget justification the project specific special purpose or circumstance necessitating the charge.
Projects funded by industry sponsors are performed primarily for the benefit the sponsor, the University and the public of California. Generally, these sponsors are concerned with the total cost of conducting a project rather than the classification of costs. Accordingly, direct charging supplies/materials normally treated as facility and administrative costs may be appropriate under such circumstances.
Categorizing Expenses
Assign only supply and material costs to this category. Do not propose equipment or other direct costs as supplies and materials.
Use broad categories to describe supply expenses and provide a more detailed description of the category in the budget justification (e.g., glassware would include test tubes, beakers, etc.)
When using a standard budget, propose costs using UCR's major cost categories to enable the tracking of such costs in the UCR financial system. If the sponsor requests or requires more detailed information, provide it in the budget justification.
Project Specification and Descriptions
All proposed supply expenses must be project specific. That is, performance of the project must necessitate the acquisition and consumption of the budgeted supplies and materials.
Do not use words such as "general" or "miscellaneous" to describe supply costs.
Special Considerations: For-Profit Sponsors
University Regulation No. 4 requires full recovery of expenses (direct and indirect costs) incurred when undertaking activites for external entities. Consequently, it is not appropriate to use University funds to support the costs of a project funded by a for-profit sponsor. Likewise, it is not apprpriate to use funds provided by one sponsor to support the costs of a project funded by another sponsor, as doing so could result in the University promising the same exclusive rights regarding project intellectual property to both sponsors and extensive litigation expenses for the University.