Documentation requirements for Lump Sum projects

Documentation of project expenses can be demanding, and for EU projects you have to be especially meticulous and read the Model Grant Agreement (MGA) carefully. There has been some relaxation in the rules for Lump Sum projects (Article 20), but this has also been slightly reversed in Article 25 (see below). Therefore, project managers should consider whether they want to set documentation requirements for Lump Sum projects as in regular Horizon Europe projects. The advantage is that all projects are treated equally. The disadvantage is that you may create unnecessary documentation.

Articles 20 and 25
According to Article 20.1 of the Model Grant Agreement (MGA) for Lump Sum projects, the individual grantee does not have to keep specific records of actual costs. In other words, the MGA for Lump Sum projects says that you can do without timesheets, payslips, employment contracts, depreciation policies, invoices or other documents that prove that the actual costs are real.

Despite the relaxation announced by the Commission in general and in Article 20.1 (mentioned above), note that Article 20.1 also refers to Article 25: “The records and supporting documents must be made available upon request (see Article 19) or in the context of checks, reviews, audits or investigations (see Article 25)”.