Admin - See

Outlays or Expenditures
An Outlay is the issuance of checks, disbursement of cash, or electronic transfer of funds made to liquidate a federal obligation. (GAO's - A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process)

An Expenditure is the actual spending of money; an outlay. (GAO's - A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process)

The NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List entry for Expenditures is:

  • (1) The charges may be reported on a cash or accrual basis, as long as the methodology is disclosed and is consistently applied.
  • (2) For reports prepared on a cash basis, expenditures are the sum of:
    •   (i) Cash disbursements for direct charges for property and services;
    •  (ii) The amount of indirect expense charged;
    • (iii) The value of third-party in-kind contributions applied; and
    • (iv) The amount of cash advance payments and payments made to subrecipients.
  • (3) For reports prepared on an accrual basis, expenditures are the sum of:
    •   (i) Cash disbursements for direct charges for property and services;
    •  (ii) The amount of indirect expense incurred;
    • (iii) The value of third-party in-kind contributions applied; and
    • (iv) The net increase or decrease in the amounts owed by the non-Federal entity for:
      • (A) Goods and other property received;
      • (B) Services performed by employees, contractors, sub-recipients, and other payees; and
      • (C) Programs for which no current services or performance are required such as annuities, insurance claims, or other benefit payments.