Secure funding and write grant applications

I need to finish the draft grant application for the environmental monitoring project and get it to the head of department by Monday morning. Open our funding spreadsheet, confirm the budget lines for personnel and consumables match HR's salary schedule and last quarter's procurement totals, calculate the indirect costs at 12%, and attach the budget workbook to the grant draft before sending it to Dr. Patel for review.

Before I submit the grant budget, make approval easy for Dr. Patel and the reviewers: put the total ask and the percent going to direct personnel on the top sheet, show the key deliverables tied to each budget line, flag any costs that might cause a reviewer hesitation—like training stipends or equipment over $10,000—and include a one-sentence justification for each flagged item.

While reconciling the grant budget, I found two salary lines that don't match HR's current scale and I only have until Monday. I'm worried Dr. Patel will reject the draft or I'll miss the submission. I can't quietly change the numbers without approval. Should I present the budget with a highlighted note about the discrepancy and proposed correction, or lock the current figures and ask HR for immediate confirmation?

Over several applications we consistently lose time on last-minute salary scale mismatches and unclear overhead rates, which forces rushed fixes before submission and strains relations with finance. What routine or habit should I adopt with HR and finance so budget lines are pre-validated well before any grant deadline?