Cost Transfers

A cost transfer is an after-the-fact reallocation of costs associated with a transaction from one Project-Task-Award (PTA) to another.  Refer to Research Policy Handbook 15.8 Cost Transfer Policy for Sponsored Projects 

Cost transfers should be completed within three months of when an error is discovered, and no later than six general ledger (GL) months after the original expense is posted to an award. Transfers that do not meet the timeliness criteria require additional central review and exceptional approval.  Only OSR Post Award Directors and Research Administration Policy and Compliance (RAPC) may authorize a transfer of an expense onto a sponsored PTA after six months with the concurrence of a school level approval.  

Where to Process Cost Transfers

• The Oracle Financials iJournals application allows users to transfer most non-personnel expenses from one account to another or across Expenditure Types or Object Codes.
• Labor Distribution Adjustments (LDA) within Oracle Financials allows authorized users to transfer payroll earnings, which are paid by the PeopleSoft Payroll system*.
• Graduate Student tuition or TAL adjustments are processed by authorized users through the Graduate Financial Support (GFS) system*.
• Changes to capital equipment transactions are processed through the Capital Cost Transfer (CCT) application that allows the Property Management Office as a central office to make such changes. Changes to capital equipment transactions cannot be processed via normal ijournal transactions.
• Changes to incurred subaward invoices cannot be processed via normal ijournal transactions. If you need an adjustment made to an incurred subaward invoice expense, please work with the Financial Support Center

*After-the-fact reallocation of costs associated with graduate student RAships typically require entry in two systems: 1) an LDA to adjust the salary and benefits, and 2) a GFS entry to adjust the tuition.

Late Cost Transfer Exceptional Approval Process

1. The department administrator reviews the Research Policy Handbook 15.8 Cost Transfer Policy for Sponsored Projects, prepares the cost transfer in the appropriate system i.e., ijournals or Labor Distribution Adjuster, but does NOT submit/route the cost transfer until Step 4 is completed. 
2. The department administrator seeks and obtains department approval via email and provides the relevant ijournal or LDA transaction ID and acceptable supporting documentation.**
3. The department seeks and obtains school compliance approval via email.
   • SoM - Your department's assigned Research Financial Compliance Manager
   • SoE - Charles Jackson, Director, Engineering Research Administration
   • H&S - Sonia Barragan, Executive Director for Research Administration, H&S Dean's Office
   • VPDoR -  Alex Ochoa, Research Administrator, Vice Provost and Dean of Research
   • SDSS - Jane Chen, Chief Financial Officer, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
   • GSE - Irene Lam, Director of Research Administration and Compliance, Graduate School of Education
4. The school compliance officer/POC seeks and obtains OSR Post Award director level approval via email.
5. If approved: 
   • For late cost transfers processed via an ijournal, the department administrator attaches the OSR Post Award director level email approval to the ijournal along with acceptable supporting documentation.**
   • For late cost transfers processed via an LDA, the department administrator attaches the OSR Post Award director level approval  email to the relevant SeRA record for the given project(s) and references the approval in the LDA justification.
     • Use Attachment Category: Correspondence and Backup; Subcategory: Correspondence and Backup and add a descriptive attachment note e.g., "Late Cost Transfer Approval of LDA for John Doe".

Note: If a late cost transfer transaction is submitted/routed for approval prior to completing steps 2-5, the cost transfer transaction will be returned to the submitting department.

**Acceptable supporting documentation includes OBI CER Expenditure Balance report, OBI CER Monthly Expenditure Details, OBI CER Expenditure Details report, Expenditure Transactions, and (PTD) screens of FFIT.

Additional Resources

Tips for Writing a Cost Transfer Justification

Need further cost transfer assistance? Have questions, feedback, or are experiencing other issues? Contact the Client Advocacy & Education Team.  We’re here to help!