What Are Non Labor Cost Transfers (NLCT)?

Non Labor Cost Transfers (NLCT) are the mechanism used to reassign a non-labor expense that was previously recorded elsewhere in the project subledger.  This update to charges may occur between a sponsored project and a non-sponsored project or two sponsored projects.  

A high frequency or high number of NLCTs on an award may be seen as an indication that the award has been managed incorrectly with poor oversight and/or attention to detail requiring third parties to ensure accuracy through repeated corrections. 

However, even if the need for them becomes questionably frequent, cost transfers must be applied when they are necessary. It is far better to make corrections and to ultimately be correct than it is to leave charges uncorrected and ultimately leave ineligible charges in place. 

Active award management that is supported by a monitoring loop that identifies issues early will mitigate the need for repeated cost-transfer correctives. 

This page provides a single location for all information related to cost transfers including links to policy and procedure documents, as well as checklists and training material. 

The following list will assist preparers and approvers with the tools necessary to identify the elements critically important for their NLCT submission and how to properly document and justify the transfer of an expense to or from a sponsored award.