fpBuilder - Budgets

BUDGETS

Preparing the budgets for your proposed research can be one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks of the whole process. It has resulted in a number of novel approaches to budget preparation, including agreeing the budget before deciding on what the tasks are , or conversely, leaving the budgeting until the end of the process which usually results in serious over-runs. fpBuilder provides a range of ready-made templates for you to fill in order to assemble your budget details quickly, and in a manner that is visible to all members of your consortium. This means that budgets can evolve at the same time as the discussion on tasks and responsibilities progresses, and all partners are kept fully informed of the budgetary constraints on all aspects of their activities. fpBuilder calculates individual budgets for each Partner, then consolidates these into a single overall project budget.

If budgets are not your thing - and let's be honest - Framework budgets are a tricky enough beast, we are happy to help. We offer a range of on-line services designed to take the pain out of creating and managing your budget throughout the proposal preparation process:

	Budget Setup: We discuss the original proposal concept with you and interact with all the the partners to collect all the required budgetary and financial information. Then we set up the budgets on line where you are free to modify and adapt them as the project progresses.
	Budget Follow Up: Fortnightly budget health checks where we look at the budget figures in detail and discuss with each partner in turn, to ensure everyone is tracking their costs correctly and is aware of the budget constraints as they apply to them.
	Budget Manager: The complete package. We create the initial budget data, plan the budgets for each partner, provide all budget information on line in real time, and produce weekly status reports and recommended action items. All for the full duration of proposal preparation and submission.
	Budget Pro: For complicated projects with a large number of tasks, or simply where detailed budgetary control is required, we also provide a total task-based financial modeling system. This provides for allocation of resources to specific tasks which in turn provide the deliverables of the project, resulting in detailed control over costs based on task-specific labour rates by specific location. This is invaluable for getting a full understanding of the cost basis of your proposal, which in addition to helping you better manage the proposal will prove an essential asset when it comes to the contract negotiation stage.

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