From Outline to Upload Week 3: A Winning Cost Volume + Technical Volume

There are 15 days between your business submitting for non-dilutive R&D funding and the next SBIR/STTR deadline. This week your goal is to get (1) a submission-ready cost volume and (2) complete drafts of the remaining technical volume sections so Week 4 can be review, compliance, and upload.

This guide is agency-generic on purpose. Always defer to your solicitation/BAA for the final rules.

This Week’s Goal (Non-Negotiables)

By the end of Week 3, you should have:

·       A complete cost volume (v1) that matches your work plan, period of performance, and funding cap rules

·       Drafts of the remaining technical volume sections (complete beats perfect)

·       A clean cross-check between objectives → tasks → hours → dollars → schedule

Part 1: Complete Your Cost Volume (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Start from the work plan, not from a blank spreadsheet

The fastest path to a credible cost volume is:

·       List your Week 2 tasks and subtasks

·       Assign the role responsible for each task (PI, engineer, analyst, subcontractor)

·       Estimate hours per task

·       Convert hours to dollars using your internal rates (and make sure those rates align to current GSA rates)

We refined our internal template over time that gets us to a first draft Cost Volume in under 10 minutes. We promise this task isn't as daunting as DISP makes it look.

Step 2: Add non-labor costs with intent

Common categories to sanity-check:

·       Direct materials (only what you truly need to execute the plan)

·       Travel (if allowed and justified)

·       Subcontractors/consultants (with clear scope and deliverables)

·       Indirects/overhead and profit/fee (as applicable)

Step 3: Determine your profit rate

Your profit rate is the last factor that will impact the total price of your proposal. Ideally, you should bid lower if you can by limiting scope, but not by dropping your profit rate to 0%. We share the profit rate we have used for SBIR and STTR proposals that got funded in our template.

Step 5: Run the “disqualification prevention” checks

Before you export anything:

· Funding cap: total is within the allowed cap (including any special line items)

· Period of performance: matches what you enter elsewhere and what your schedule implies

· Narrative alignment: named personnel and major tasks have enough hours to support the SOW

· Subcontractor inputs: you have required details early (don’t chase this in Week 4)

· Formatting/compliance: you followed the current cycle’s instructions (don’t assume last cycle’s format is acceptable)

Step 6: Lock a v1 and stop touching it casually

Assign one owner to control the cost volume file. Everyone else provides inputs, but one person is responsible for:

·       Version control

·       Final math checks

·       Export settings

·       Submission-ready formatting

Part 2: Draft the Remaining Technical Volume Sections

Draft the remaining sections so they are complete, structured, and easy to score.

Recommended drafting order

1. Technical approach / methodology (how you’ll do the work)

2. Work plan narrative expansion (turn tasks into reviewer-friendly prose)

3. Testing and evaluation plan (how success is measured)

4. Schedule and milestones (what happens when, and why it’s feasible)

5. Key personnel and roles (who does what, tied to tasks)

6. Related work / prior experience (proof you can execute)

7. Facilities/equipment (as applicable)

A simple “reviewer readability” checklist

·       Headings mirror common evaluation criteria (so reviewers can score quickly)

·       Every objective has a visible path to execution (task, deliverable, metric)

·       You define what “success” means in measurable terms with no industry jargon

Resources to Help You This Week

·       Cost volume guidance: https://www.intrepidgovproposals.com/free-sbir-resources/how-to-submit-a-winning-sbir-cost-volume

·       Common submission mistakes checklist: https://intrepidgovproposals.com/free-sbir-resources/common-mistakes-to-avoid-when-submitting-your-sbirsttr

·       AI workflow (use it to organize and check, not ghostwrite): https://www.intrepidgovproposals.com/free-sbir-resources/how-to-use-ai-for-sbir-proposal

Week 3 “Done by Friday” Checklist

·       Cost volume complete (v1 exported and ready)

·       Hours and dollars trace cleanly back to tasks and objectives

·       Remaining technical sections drafted (complete, not perfect)

·       One alignment review with PI/key personnel

·       One compliance pass against the current solicitation/BAA

Next week, we create graphics for the technical volume to tell your story through visuals and write the Volume 1 to bring your proposal package together.

FAQ

• What is an SBIR cost volume (and when is it required)?

  An SBIR cost volume is the budget portion of your proposal that explains your projected costs (e.g., labor, materials, travel, indirect rates) and how they support the work plan. Whether it’s required—and how detailed it must be—depends on the agency and solicitation instructions.

• What costs are typically allowed in an SBIR cost volume?

  Common allowable categories include direct labor, fringe benefits, materials/supplies, travel, equipment (when permitted), subcontracts/consultants, and indirect costs (overhead/G&A). The key is aligning every cost to the proposed technical work and following the solicitation’s cost rules.

• What are the most common mistakes that cause SBIR cost volumes to get rejected or scored poorly?

  1. Frequent issues include math errors, costs that do not map to the work plan, missing documentation or justification, unrealistic labor hours, unallowable cost categories, and inconsistencies between the technical narrative and the budget. Reviewers look for internal consistency, compliance, and credible assumptions.