Division of Research

Fabricated Equipment Definition and Criteria

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Fabricated Equipment Definition and Criteria

Fabricated equipment is defined as customized equipment for a sponsored project that is built for functionality that cannot be purchased “off the shelf” or is not commercially available. Fabricated equipment is composed of several components that are integrated into a single, functional unit.

Typically, fabricated equipment would be purchased with separate transactions and may be from multiple vendors. Fabricated equipment is not something that can be configured or simply assembled by connecting parts into a system. All fabrication costs should be specifically identified as directly related to the fabrication.

*If audited, departments must be able to justify the costs capitalized with fabricated equipment.

Criteria—an item shall be classified as Fabricated Equipment if all the following apply:

  • The need to fabricate an asset comes about when equipment does not already exist “off the shelf” and is being built for a sponsored project.
  • The equipment is not expendable and has a usable life of more than one (1) year and the final piece of equipment must have a total acquisition cost of $5,000 or more. Equipment fabrication must meet the same definition as movable equipment.
  • All components of the fabricated piece of equipment must function as a single unit and will be collectively disposed of at the end of the useful life of the equipment.
  • Individual components cannot be used independently of the remaining pieces of fabricated equipment and cannot function separately apart from the fabricated unit to which it is attached. 

Costs that MAY be included in Fabricated Equipment:

  • Allowable costs under fabricated equipment budgets include materials and supplies, internal recharge shop activities, non-academic personnel labor (e.g., engineers or technicians), and individual items of equipment and instrumentation that are required and will be incorporated into the final fabricated equipment item. Software development is not considered fabrication, but software that is internal/exclusive to the asset and is necessary for the equipment to function for its intended purpose can be part of the fabricated equipment budget. Do not include licensed software.

Costs that MAY NOT be included in Fabricated Equipment:

  • Unallowable costs under fabricated equipment budgets include academic personnel labor (i.e., faculty salaries, graduate student or postdoc salaries, research associates), warranties, service and maintenance agreements, repairs and maintenance, facility rental, travel, licenses, user fees, replacement parts, training costs, consumable items (e.g. batteries, bulbs, gases, etc.), software acquisition (unless internal/exclusive to the asset and necessary to operate fabrication), and general operational expenses and other similar costs that don't become a permanent part of the completed fabricated asset are also unallowable. These items should be charged to the parent account and will be subject to indirect costs, or departmental funds.

Requesting a Fabrication Account - Initiated by the Department

If you have received an award and will be using the sponsored funds to fabricate a piece of equipment, a fabrication account is required. 

**A fabrication account must be created prior to any purchasing for the fabrication, regardless of whether the fabrication was already approved by the sponsor or in the original proposal budget.

  1. Complete Fabrication Equipment Account Request Form and a Budget Template to fund the fabrication, emailing both documents to Property@brown.edu and cc’ing your OSP Post Award Grant/Contract Accountant hereinafter referred to as the ‘Post Award Accountant’.  The Fabrication Account Request Form includes sections for a description of the equipment being fabricated and a detailed budget itemization. The Property Manager will review the proposed budget for capitalization allowability.
  2. Once approved by the Property Manager, the Post Award Accountant will complete an independent review. Thereafter, he/she will create a new Fabrication financial account in Huron, using the budget template for the distribution of award funds. Once this integrates to Workday, the Post Award Accountant will add the new financial account to the form and return a signed copy to the Property Manager at Property@brown.edu and the Department contact.
  3. The Spend Category – Fabricated Part (4080) should be used when processing transactions against the fabrication account. If a transaction does not allow for this spend to be selected upfront, the department will submit a journal entry to reclassify the spend category. These journal entries can be submitted monthly batches, but at the very least, must be completed by the end of each Fiscal Year to ensure all costs are captured for capitalization.
  4. When the fabricated equipment is complete, the department must inform Property@brown.edu and the Post Award Accountant. The Property Manager will complete the steps to properly tag the equipment for inventory and depreciation. And the Post Award Accountant will transfer the Fabrication account balance to the 80000: Other Expenses Ledger Account on the parent financial account. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Additional Information

Additional information can be found under the Controller’s Equipment and Property Management page.

Fabricated Equipment forms can be found on the Division of Research's Forms & Policies page.

Roles and Responsibilities of Fabricated Equipment Requests

PI & Department Administrator

  • Coordinates with Sponsored Projects for sponsor approval of a fabrication account, if required. Submits Fabricated Equipment Account Request Form to the Property Manager at Property@brown.edu and copies Sponsored Projects Post Award Grant/Contract Accountant.
  • As of 3/24/25, the request form for all fabricated equipment financial accounts will include an approved list of components and department administrators must confirm an item is on this list prior to purchase.  If audited, departments must be able to justify all costs capitalized for the  fabricated equipment and tie each purchase to the approved list of components.  If at any time additional fabrication components are needed, a Modification to Fabricated Equipment Account Form with the additional list of components should be submitted to Property Manager, cc'ing Sponsored Projects for review and approval.
  • Processes cost transfers to capitalize expenses via a journal entry, monthly or annually, prior to the end of each fiscal year.
  • Once the fabrication is complete, notifies the Property Manager and Sponsored Projects. Tags the fabricated equipment item and notifies the Property Manager and Sponsored Projects of any equipment transfer or disposal requests, in accordance to the Equipment Capitalization Policy, as outlined in the Movable Equipment Manual. 

Sponsored Projects

  • Confirms that a fabrication account is allowable and coordinates sponsor approval request, as required. Establishes fabricated equipment financial account.

Controller’s Office/Property Manager

  • Reviews and approves the Fabrication Account Request Form, verifies the fabrication components are allowable fabrication costs, and provides asset tags to the Department/PI once fabrication is complete.