The Spending Plan Tool (SPlaT) is an online tool that allows you to build a detailed spending plan for your program, including all projected program expenses – salaries, lodging, transportation, activities, etc. You will be asked to submit a spending plan created with SPlaT with your proposal application. Please review the following instructions for using the tool before you start.
Opening Your Spending Plan
When you log into the Spending Plan Tool, you will first encounter the launch page. To retrieve your plan, open the drop down list under “Planners Available for Edit”, select your program’s spending plan, and click “Continue”.
Navigating within the Tool
Once you open your spending plan, you will see buttons for the different sections: Home, Program Details, Program Personnel, Projected Spending, and Summary & Submit.
- Home will take you back to the main log in page
- Please click on the Program Details and Program Personnel buttons and complete those sections before you proceed to the Projected Spending
- When you click on the Projected Spending button, several other buttons will appear: Salaries & Benefits, Program Administration Costs, Airfare & Ground Transportation Costs, Home Base Costs, and Excursion Costs. Click on each of these buttons to add expenses in this category
- Click on the Summary & Submit button when you are done adding your projected expenses. Here you will add your program revenue and review your expenses and final program balance. Make sure to click the “Save All” button at the bottom of the Expenses Summary section before you move to another page or exit your spending plan
As you build your spending plan it is very important to save your work after editing any section or page.
Saving Sections
After adding a line to any section of any page (e.g. Home Base Student Lodging), a green “Save” button will appear under the section. Be sure to click this button before moving on to another section. Once you save the line, it will appear in a table at the top of the section with buttons for editing, removing, or copying a line.
Saving Pages
Once you have added all desired items to a page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Save All” button. This is very important. If you do not click this button before you move to another page, your work will be lost.
You will see that certain items or fields in the spending plan have red flag symbols over them. These flags indicate fields you must fill in for the initial spending plan you submit with your proposal. If your program is approved and moves on to recruiting, you can add more detail to your spending plan at that time.
On the Program Details page, there is a section for Currency Exchange Rates. You can add any and all currencies you expect to use on your program to this section. You will then be able to choose the correct currency from a drop down list in every projected cost section.
To add a currency:
- Choose the correct currency from the drop down list under “Currency Code”
- Click the “Exchange Rate” link over the following field to find the current exchange rate for your desired currency. You may want to edit this rate to add a cushion to your cost estimates in case of future rate changes
- Add your desired rate and click “Save Currency”. You can edit these rates at any time and they will automatically update any expenses entered with this currency
You can easily change the number of students you anticipate participating in your program at any time by changing the number on the Program Details page or the Program Details section of the Summary & Submit page. Note that if you change the number of students on the Summary & Submit page, a button will display reading “Update All Expenses Now”. Be sure to click this button before moving on. The new number will cascade throughout your Projected Spending pages and update your spending plan amounts and balance.
Before you enter any projected costs for faculty or staff, make sure you add any and all program staff members to the Program Personnel page. These staff members will then show up in a drop down list under the faculty/staff expense sections. For ease of use for identical costs, you can add a cost for one person, and then copy that cost and change the name of the person for other staff members.
In order for benefits amounts to calculate properly when you are entering staff salaries, make sure the correct appointment type is selected for each person on the Program Personnel page. Your departmental administrator can assist you in selecting the correct appointment type.
Calculating units for expenses on the Home Base Costs and Excursion Costs pages can be confusing. We deliberately left the unit field ambiguous because so many different units are used for charging (e.g. lodging nights, number or rooms, number of groups, etc.). You may have to do some math prior to entering the number of units for a given section. Here is a guide for using units on these pages:
Home Base Expenses
| Section | Formula | Example |
| Staff Ground Transportation | “Total Cost Foreign” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | |
| Student Lodging | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 50 nights x 10 EUR per night = 10,000 EUR |
| Faculty/Staff Lodging | “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 50 nights x 10 EUR per night = 500 EUR |
| Meal per Diems | “Number of Days” x “Cost per Day USD” = “Total USD” | |
| Honoraria | “Total Cost Foreign” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | |
| Independent Contractors | “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 6 days of instruction x 25 EUR per day = 150 EUR |
| Classroom/Studio/Venue Rental | “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 60 days x 10 EUR per day = 600 EUR |
| Group Meals | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 3 meals x 10 EUR per individual person’s meal = 600 EUR |
| Daily Public Transport | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 20 bus tickets x 2 EUR per ticket = 800 EUR |
| Activities (museums, tours, etc.) | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 5 activities x 10 EUR per individual person’s admission = 1000 EUR |
Excursion Expenses
| Section | Formula | |
| Staff Excursion Transportation | “Number of People” x “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 2 people x 2 one way rail tickets x 30 EUR per ticket = 120 EUR |
| Student Excursion Transportation | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 2 one way rail tickets x 30 EUR per ticket = 1200 EUR
OR 20 students x 1 charter bus rental x 100 EUR [amount due per person – divide lump sum by number of students and additional people] = 2,000 EUR |
| Student Lodging | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 2 nights x 30 EUR per night = 1200 EUR |
| Faculty/Staff Lodging | “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 2 nights x 30 EUR per night = 60 EUR |
| Meal per Diems | “Number of Days” x “Cost per Day USD” = “Total USD” | |
| Group Meals | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 3 meals x 10 EUR per individual person’s meal = 600 EUR |
| Activities (museums, tours, etc.) | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 2 activities x 10 EUR per activity admission = 400 EUR |
| Honoraria | “Total Cost Foreign” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | |
| Independent Contractors | “Number of Units” x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 3 days of translation x 100 EUR per day = 300 EUR |
| Other Expenses | (“Number of Students” + “Additional People”) x “Unit Cost Foreign” = “Total Foreign Cost” x Conversion Rate = “Total USD” | 20 students x 35 EUR (e.g. price for art class) = 700 EUR |
It is important to choose the correct payment method for each program expense so your Finance Manager can help you make advance payments and accurately estimate the amount of field advance funds you’ll need. For information on the different available methods see our Payment Methods web page.
Study Abroad Payment Guidelines
For detailed information on Study Abroad’s payment procedures and policies, see our online Payment Guidelines for the following expense categories:
| Paying People | Lodging |
| Meals | Transportation |
| Activities | Services |
| Other costs | Funding sources |
Submitting Your Proposal Spending Plan
When you have finished adding details about your spending plan for your proposal, you will need to generate a PDF to attach to your proposal application. On the bottom of the Summary and Submit page in the Expenses Summary section, click the “Save All” button, and then click the “Generate PDF” button.
After a moment this button will read “Download PDF”. Click it again to download a PDF of your spending plan. Do not click the “Submit Budget Plan” button or your spending plan will no longer be editable.
Submitting Your Final Spending Plan
When your program has been approved, continue to refine your spending plan as you negotiate costs and payment methods with your vendors and have a better idea of how many students will be participating in your program.
The final version of your spending plan will be due 30 days before the beginning of your program. Once you have finalized your plan, click the “Submit Budget Plan” button. At this point your spending plan will not be editable. If you must make changes after this point, contact your Program Manager or Finance Manager.