Grant Budget Builder · University of Idaho

1. Load the sample or start blank 2. Add people, costs & rates per tab 3. Check MTDC, fit to cap, export

Direct (5 yr)$0

Indirect (F&A)$0

Total requested$0

MTDC base (5 yr)$0

Cost rates

placeholder defaults

Budget by year

Indirect-cost base (MTDC) — what counts, what doesn’t

2 CFR 200.1

In the base

Excluded from the base

Year	Direct total	− Equipment	− Participant support	− Tuition	− Subaward over $50k	MTDC base	F&A

Cost categories by year

View the numbers as a table ↑

Share of total

all 5 years

Scenario compare

Snapshot the current budget, then change something (e.g. add a postdoc) and snapshot again — the table shows the marginal cost of each change. Or use “Compare without…” for a one-click with/without pair.

Scenario label

No scenarios yet. Build a budget, click Snapshot current budget, then edit and snapshot again to compare.

Fit to sponsor cap

Solves for the effort of selected personnel that brings the 5-year total (direct + indirect) to your target. The target defaults to the sponsor cap from the toolbar.

Target total (defaults to cap) Solve effort for

How to use this budget builder (more detail)

Hit Load sample to see a working example, or start from blank.
Pick a category tab and add rows. Personnel use people × effort % × months of the chosen appointment basis; the other tabs have editable Year 1–5 amounts per line, with a repeat with escalation shortcut for recurring costs.
Set the rates. Defaults are illustrative placeholders — confirm current fringe, F&A and tuition rates with the U of I Office of Sponsored Programs.
Set the sponsor cap to see headroom (or overage) in the summary strip and drive the fit helper.
Use Scenario compare (e.g. with vs. without a postdoc) or Fit to cap to solve for effort against a sponsor target.
Export JSON/CSV or open the Budget justification for a print-ready view with editable per-line justifications. Your work auto-saves in this browser.

Data & sources

This app downloads no datasets. Every rate shown by default is an illustrative placeholder generated for demonstration — none is an official University of Idaho figure. MTDC and indirect-cost rules follow the federal citations above.