In order to assist beneficiaries in the preparation of the interim and final LIFE programme financial reports, the European Commission has developed a file for use on a voluntary basis which includes an MS-Excel worksheet with all the standard forms for the use of LIFE III project beneficiaries. (For LIFE+ projects, please visit the Project administration LIFE+ section.)

These forms consolidate all the financial data related to the beneficiary and its partners, where this applies, in a single file. In addition, they may also be used for the preparation of periodic progress reports.

The beneficiary and partners must complete the forms with their respective expenses, print them out and then sign the declaration before submission.

The beneficiary is responsible for consolidating the overall project expenses (beneficiary + partner) and to provide the full set of financial reports (beneficiary, partners, beneficiary + partners) to the Commission.

Please note, that forms 8 (1) and 8 (2), related to the reporting of overhead costs, are not relevant for the projects financed in 2005 and 2006.

Please note that for projects financed in 2005 and 2006, the depreciated (eligible) amount of equipment and infrastructure costs is the actual depreciation charged and registered in participants' financial accounts. While the 50% and 25% ceilings foreseen in article 26 of the CP remain as a default value in forms 4 (1) and 4 (2) and should be removed if appropriate.

Number of reports required

Two financial reports are normally required per project: one for the mid-term payment and one for the final payment.

In both cases the use of the file is highly recommended. If it is not used and the beneficiary follows the format of the file and provides the mandatory content in a satisfactory manner, the reports will be accepted.

In any case, the signed printed copy is still required. The supporting file will guarantee the precision of the calculations and provide a standard, quick, easy and recognisable approach to the European Commission officers and the Monitoring Team dealing with the expense statement validation/evaluation.

The file can be used in the compilation periodic financial progress reports, as this information could help serve as a reference and aid the monitoring of the financial progress of the project, thus avoiding unexpected situations that could occur when the Interim and Final reports are due.

Language versions available

The LIFE financial forms file includes the option to choose from the following languages: DA, DE, EL, EN, ES, FR, IT, NL, PT, FI, SV.

System Requirements

• A personal computer with a 486 or higher processor.
• Microsoft Windows 97 operating system or newer version.
• Microsoft Excel 97 or newer version.
• Users of Excel 2000 & 2002 are advised that Excel contains a macro security framework that controls the execution of macros and prevents them from running automatically. Initially this does not allow the file to work properly. To avoid this problem, users are requested - in the "Tools" menu, under the "Macros" submenu – to set the level of security of macro execution to medium (a prompted message will require if the macro is allowed to run) or to low level. For any other application or file, users are recommended to restore the level of security to the highest level.

Download Instructions

• Download the file on your computer.
• Move it to the directory where you would like the expanded file to be saved.
• Use a compatible decompression programme: i.e. Winzip

Characteristics

• Standard: Equal and common for all beneficiaries.
• Single: Only one file used.
• Multilingual: DA, DE, EL, EN, ES, FR, IT, NL, PT, FI, SV are incorporated.
• Multipurpose: For Interim, Progress and Final Financial Reports.
• Automatic: The programme makes all calculations.
• Secure: The programme contains several security levels. To preserve its integrity, it is recommended that the worksheet be used only for the purpose for which it is intended, i.e. a simple data collection tool to help beneficiaries compile financial information.
• User-friendly: Completing the data fields of the forms is a straight-forward activity that does not require any special technical capacity.
• Consolidated: Incorporates all the information generated by all the participants on the projects in a single file.
• Flexible: Can accommodate as many data fields as needed by simply inserting a new "row".
• Multistatus: Valid whatever the VAT of the beneficiary.
• Ready to be used: The beneficiary may update the file at any time and does may begin to introduce information any time (i.e. the beneficiary does not need to wait until a financial report is due to be able to begin filling in the information).

Disclaimer

This file, for use on a voluntary basis, was developed for the sole purpose of assisting beneficiaries in the preparation of the interim and final LIFE programme financial reports. It in no way substitutes or replaces any contractual conditions that relate to the LIFE projects as described in the Standard Agreement and Common Provisions (SAP/CP).

The content provided in the files is believed to be accurate and reliable. We will make changes, updates and deletions as required and make every effort to ensure the accuracy and quality of the information provided. However, the Commission assumes no responsibility for any errors and is not liable for any damages of any kind resulting from the use of, or reliance on, the information contained therein.