Financial profile of a participant

The financial profile of a participant is the place where you define how personnel and indirect costs are calculated for that participant in a project.

In this area you can:

• Set one or more personnel cost rates for that participant
• Set one or more indirect cost rates that apply to that participant

These settings control which rates are available when you:

• Plan your budgets
• Report effort and actual costs

What are personnel cost rates

A personnel cost rate defines the personnel cost per unit of time for a participant. Depending on your configuration, this can be:

• Hourly rate
• Daily rate
• Monthly rate

Typical examples:

• A standard hourly rate for researchers of one institution
• Different daily rates for senior vs. junior staff
• A single monthly rate for all employees of a small organisation

Where personnel cost rates are used

The personnel cost rates set in the financial profile of a participant are used when you:

• Plan personnel budgets

  When you enter planned effort (for example in person months, days or hours), EMDESK calculates the corresponding personnel costs using the selected rate.

• Report personnel costs

  When you report actual effort for a person or a group, the system uses the applicable personnel cost rate to calculate the reported personnel costs for that participant.

What are indirect cost rates

An indirect cost rate defines how indirect costs are calculated as a percentage on top of eligible direct costs.

In EMDESK, indirect cost rates are:

• Defined per project and
• Assigned per cost category (for example personnel, travel, other direct costs)

This lets you reflect the rules of your funding scheme, such as Horizon Europe, where indirect costs are often calculated as a fixed percentage on top of certain direct cost categories. For example, set a 25 % indirect cost rate that applies to all eligible direct costs for that participant, or only to selected cost categories, depending on your funding rules.

How indirect cost rates are applied

When an indirect cost rate is configured and assigned to a participant:

• During budget planning

  EMDESK calculates the indirect costs automatically as a percentage on top of the relevant budgeted direct costs for that participant and cost category.

• During cost reporting

  EMDESK calculates the indirect costs automatically on top of the reported eligible direct costs for that participant and cost category.

Once configured:

• When you map out your project budget, you select the relevant personnel rates in the planning views. The personnel costs and related indirect costs are then calculated automatically based on the effort and the indirect cost rules.
• When you report effort and costs, the same rates and indirect cost rules are applied to calculate the reported personnel and indirect costs consistently with your budget.

Open and edit the financial profile of a participant

To manage the financial profile of a participant:

1. Click Participants in the Home menu to open the Participants section. Find the participant whose financial profile you want to edit. Click the participant row, or Click the Edit icon next to the participant.

1. A sidebar for this participant opens. Select the Financial profile tab.

1. In the Financial profile tab you can:

• Add, view and edit personnel cost rates for this participant. For the detailed step-by-step guides, see: Set and edit personnel cost rates
• Add, view and edit indirect cost rates assigned to this participant. For the detailed step-by-step guides, see: Set and edit indirect cost rates