Greetings, PIs, Business, and Grant Administrators,

Recently there has been a lot of confusion on the difference between office/other supplies and lab & research supplies. I wanted to provide some clarification and additional guidance that might be helpful when you are trying to decide the most appropriate account code to use.

Office Supplies versus Lab/Research Supplies

Office supplies, paper supplies, computing supplies, and other supplies are administrative or general in nature, often supporting multiple grant and non-grant activities. They are not allowed to be directly charged on sponsored projects except for in rare circumstances.

Example: Office supplies that are not allowed to be directly charged:

Paper
Notebooks
Pens/pencils
Toner cartridges
Books
Binders/folders
General use cleaning materials
General purpose computing supplies
Office furniture
Postage

Example: Office supplies that are allowed to be directly charged:

Office supplies specifically purchased for a grant where the amount required is significantly greater than the routine level of such item provided by the academic unit (i.e. complex program project or a survey funded by a grant)
Office supplies specifically purchased for a project whose principal focus is the preparation and production of manuals, large reports, or books
Postage for surveys
Shipping specimen to a lab facility for processing

Lab & research supplies are “non-administrative” supplies that are required to support the scope of work. Typically they are outlined in the budget justification or tie directly to the work being performed in support of the grant.

Glassware
Chemicals
Field supplies
Radioactive material
Compressed gases and liquids
Other research supplies directly tied to the scope of work as outlined in the proposal/award

Examples above are not all-inclusive. For additional guidance, please refer to the cost policy on sponsored agreements along with this matrix that gives some additional examples of costs that are normally considered direct versus indirect.

Supplies versus Equipment <$5,000

Another area of confusion is around what is considered a supply versus equipment <$5k. A good rule of thumb is that a supply is a consumable item that will be fully used by the end of the grant. If the item you are purchasing is not consumable (i.e. tool, medical device, appliance, etc.), it would be considered equipment <$5k and should be coded appropriately to either other equipment<$5k (65002) or non-cap scientific equip<$5k (65003).

If you have any questions when trying to determine the best account code to use, please reach out to your assigned financial analyst and they can assist with identifying the most appropriate account code.

Thank you.

Linda Serrantonio, CRA | Assistant Director | Team Lead

Research Finance | Reporting

University of Vermont