A budget is an argument about what the work really requires. This guide walks through the lines reviewers examine most closely and the omissions that most often cause a revision request.
Key points
- Price staff time at true cost, including employer contributions and cover.
- Show overheads openly rather than hiding them inside activity lines.
- Include contingency and explain the basis for it.
- Every budget line should be traceable to an activity in the narrative.
Staff time is the line that gets tested
Give the role, the proportion of full time, the duration and the full employment cost. Reviewers can tell when a salary figure excludes employer contributions, and an under-costed team is the most common reason a grant runs into difficulty in year two.
If a role is shared between projects, describe the allocation method. If a key person is not yet recruited, say so and budget realistically for recruitment time.
Overheads belong in the open
Rent, utilities, insurance, finance and HR support, IT, and audit are real costs of delivering funded work. Presenting them transparently, whether as a recovery rate or as itemised lines, is stronger than distributing them invisibly across activities.
Costs applicants routinely forget
The following lines appear in most revision requests we send.
- Safeguarding training, checks and supervision time.
- Translation, interpretation and accessible formats.
- Data protection work, secure storage and consent processes.
- Regulatory or licensing fees, and professional indemnity.
- Participant costs: travel, childcare, stipends, refreshments.
- Monitoring and evaluation, including analysis time.
- Currency movement on cross-border spend.
Contingency and exchange rate risk
A contingency line of a few per cent, with a stated basis, reads as competence. Where income or costs sit in different currencies, state the rate you used and the date. If a movement of ten per cent would break the budget, say what you would do.
Reconcile before you submit
Check totals against the narrative, check that co-funding is described consistently, and check arithmetic in every subtotal. A budget that does not add up invites doubt about everything else in the application.