HU Berlin Personnel Cost Calculator – User Documentation#

1. Intended Use#

The Personnel Cost Calculator helps you calculate personnel costs for third-party funded projects at Humboldt University in Berlin. The tool is primarily intended for research officers and administrators who regularly prepare calculations for project applications.

The basic principle is based on a combination of natural language input and precise calculation. You describe your personnel requirements in normal English; the system extracts the relevant parameters and performs the calculation based on the current TV-L remuneration table. All calculations are deterministic and correspond to the official tariff data.

2. Range of functions#

The calculator offers the following core functions:

• Natural language input: Formulate your staffing requirements as continuous text without having to fill out structured forms.
• Automatic parameter extraction: The system recognizes pay groups, experience levels, job shares, and terms from your description.
• Interactive queries: If the information provided is incomplete, the system asks specific questions.
• Annual installment calculation: The costs are automatically divided into annual installments, as is customary for third-party funding applications.
• Step increases and wage increases: The system automatically takes into account step increases according to TV-L (collective agreement for civil servants) and an annual wage increase of 3%.
• Q&A mode: Once the calculation has been completed, you can ask questions about the calculation.
• Excel export: The results can be exported as a structured Excel file.
• Fallback form: A manual input form is available if required.

Supported job types#

3. Operation#

Step 1: Enter project description#

Formulate your personnel requirements in the text field. The system understands various formulations:

• Job shares: “half-time position,” “50%,” “2/3 position,” “67%”
• Time periods: “summer semester 2026,” “3 years from April 2026,” “April 2026 to March 2029”
• Positions: “doctoral student,” “postdoc E14,” “2 doctoral students E13/2”

Step 2: Answer questions#

If any information is missing, such as the level of experience, the system will ask for it. Answer these questions in the chat.

Step 3: Check the results#

Once you have entered all the information, an overview table will appear showing annual increments and total costs.

Step 4: Ask questions or export#

You can ask detailed questions in Q&A mode. To continue processing, use the “Excel export” button.

Important controls#

• Send: Submits your entry or response
• New calculation: Resets the session for a new project
• Excel export: Generates a downloadable file
• Manual form: Appears automatically after several failed input attempts

4. Application example#

Initial situation: You are preparing a DFG application and need a personnel cost calculation for a three-year research project with two doctoral positions and one postdoc position.

Input:

“We need 2 doctoral students E13/2 at 67% and one postdoc E14/4, term April 2026 to March 2029.”

System response: The system recognizes all parameters and calculates the costs. You receive a table with the annual slices for 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 (pro rata) as well as the total costs per position and for the project.

Query in Q&A mode:

“What will the project cost in 2027?”

Answer: The system provides the costs for the calendar year 2027, broken down by position.

Export: With “Excel export,” you will receive a formatted file for your application.

5. Recommendations for efficient use#

• Specify the pay grade and level as explicitly as possible, for example, “E13 Level 2” instead of just “doctoral student.”
• Use specific dates for start and end to avoid queries.
• Use the Q&A mode for detailed questions instead of starting a new calculation.
• Check the results before exporting, especially for complex constellations with multiple positions.
• If you encounter recurring difficulties with text entry, the manual form is a reliable alternative.

6. System limitations#

The personnel cost calculator is subject to the following restrictions:

• TV-L Ost only: The calculation is based exclusively on the TV-L Ost collective agreement area. Other collective agreement areas are not supported.
• *No funder-specific rules: * Special requirements of individual funding agencies (DFG, BMBF, ERC) for cost calculation are not stored.
• No material costs: The tool calculates personnel costs only, no other cost items.
• Fixed wage increase: The assumed wage increase of 3% per year may differ from the actual development.
• No storage: Calculations are not saved; the Excel export saves your results.
• Local LLM required: A local language model instance must be available for natural language input.

7. Summary#

The personnel cost calculator greatly simplifies the creation of personnel cost calculations for third-party funded projects. Natural language input eliminates the need to manually fill out complex tables; deterministic calculation ensures accurate results in accordance with TV-L.

You retain control over all parameters and can refine the result at any time by asking specific questions or correcting it using the fallback form. The tool does not replace your professional review, but speeds up the calculation process and reduces sources of error in manual calculations.