Companion Guide
This resource provides guidance on how to complete the financial report template as part of an Ultimate Recipient’s (UR) quarterly report.
NOTE: All expenses claimed must directly support the project. Expenses related to organizational costs may not be considered eligible (see Indirect Costs).
More detailed definitions, including post-award financial information and account information can be found in the National Cybersecurity Consortium’s Call for Proposals Post-Award Guide.
Direct Labour (Salaries and Wages)
Direct Labour includes the cost of staff working on project activities that directly support project deliverables.
- Costs for staff working directly on the project, including staff working in technical roles within the current reporting period. Note that the hourly rate should be included, not the overall salary (see “Tips and Tricks” for more information).
- All matching contributions under Direct Labour must be input as “cash”.
- Staff benefits, including RRSP, medical and dental costs. These should instead be included in the Indirect Cost Category under “Benefits from wages and salaries”.
- Overtime costs and staff allowance costs.
- Executive staff oversight work unless the Executive staff directly works providing technical expertise on project deliverables. All work done by executives should generally be allocated to the Indirect Cost Category, except where circumstances necessitate that the executive assumes a technical role within the project.
- Hourly Rate: If an employee is paid a salary, the hourly rate can be calculated by taking the annual salary and dividing it by standard annual hours (if the standard work week per employee contract is 40 hrs/week, then annual hours are 40 hours x 52 weeks = 2,080 hours per year).
- Pay Raises: Pay raises should be reflected in two line items, separating different pay rates. For example, if the claim period is April-June, and the project staff received a raise effective May 1, recipient should make 1 line for April 1-30 hours at old rate, and second line for May 1-June 30 with new rate. Explain any changes in employment in the comments field.
Other Direct Expenses
Other Direct Expenses includes remaining direct costs that directly support the project deliverables. These include subcontractor and consultant costs (note the separate subcontractor category in the Quarterly Financial Report template), direct materials and consumable costs, any commercialization activities, and other direct incremental costs.
- If only a portion of the invoice is being claimed against the project budget, please explain in the “comments” section, and included the % allocation of the cost, if applicable. For example, including “Partial claim of $2,000 due to other non-project work included in invoice”, or “Including 50% of the invoice, as this cost was divided between the project and another business initiative” would provide context for reviewers.
- Canadian sales tax (HST, GST, PST, QST).
- Office supplies, stationery, postage, general software and licensing costs. These should generally be allocated to the Indirect Cost Category.
- Other currencies: For expenses incurred in currencies other than CAD, please include currency and exchange rate of the transaction in the provided columns (columns K & L in the Direct Expenses category).
Equipment
Important: Total equipment costs cannot exceed 20% of the NCC grant.
The equipment category includes the cost of items that specifically support the success of the project deliverables. This includes either purchasing or leasing computer or special purpose equipment or infrastructure. This category also includes costs to modernize or update existing equipment to support the project deliverables.
- If only a portion of the equipment is being claimed against the project budget, please explain in the “comments” section. If this portion being claimed is a percentage of the total cost, please include the percentage being claimed in the “comments” section.
- Canadian sales tax (HST, GST, PST, QST).
- General equipment for the organization that has not been specifically purchased or modernized to support the project’s success.
- Extended warranties – these should be included in Indirect Costs.
Travel and Outreach
The Travel and Outreach Category includes costs that are directly related to supporting the project deliverables and the overall project success. This does not include organizational travel and promotion costs that don’t specifically support the project.
- All travel expenses (airfare, accommodation, meals, incidentals, mileage) that directly support the project, including those outside of Canada.
- Canadian sales tax (HST, GST, PST, QST) for travel within Canada.
- Travel insurance – these costs should be included in the Indirect Cost category.
- Seat upgrades – this is not eligible.
- Costs of regular daily commuting, alcoholic beverages, valet parking, costs for passport issuance, unless it is for urgent and required travel, costs for drivers’ licenses, in-flight movies and refreshments, hotel room movies and mini-bar service, personal articles (i.e., toiletries, magazines, etc.), laundry service, and credit card fees for cash advances when using a personal credit card.
- Expense caps: Travel costs must adhere to the National Joint Council directive (appendices B & C) or Treasury Board Secretariat policies. Costs that exceed these recommendations may not be validated in full.
- Cancellation: Trip cancellation costs (i.e. hotel, flight, etc.) are generally not considered eligible costs.
Outside of Canada Costs
Important: Cannot exceed 10% of the NCC Grant.
- Non-Canadian staff outsourced to work directly on supporting project deliverables outside of Canada.
- Paying non-Canadian researchers to work directly on supporting project deliverables outside of Canada.
- Using non-Canadian equipment to directly support project deliverables outside of Canada.
- Local taxes incurred outside of Canada associated with the costs listed above.
- Travel costs for Canadian residents for trips outside of Canada. These should be entered in the Travel and Outreach Category and should not be included in “Outside of Canada” costs.
Indirect Costs
Important: These costs cannot exceed 15% of the Total NCC grant. They also cannot exceed 55% of direct labour over the Total Project Cost.
The Indirect Cost Category includes costs that are not directly required to carry out the project. This category includes overhead costs and administrative costs. Note that use of this category is up to the discretion of the Ultimate Recipient, and that no details/receipts are required as supporting documentation. Please note that staff benefits, including RRSP, medical and dental costs, should be included in this category.
- If your total NCC Grant is $100,000, then your total Indirect Costs cannot exceed $15,000, or 15%.