Currently, the way the rules stand, by including the term “SME” in the Rules and by using uninformed and unclear language in the subsequent documents, SME’s can benefit from “double” concessions in FP7.
Many SMEs may not have any formal method (and accounting system) in place which allows the calculation of overheads per project (or even a particular department), and therefore the derogation method is being used and approved by most SMEs in the 2007 Calls for proposal.
The Finance Helpdesk has produced a leaflet to provide some more information on this subject.
To view the leaflet click here.