An allocation assigns an expense to a grant in GrantLink. The expense can be a whole QuickBooks transaction or one line of it. You can also record committed spending before the transaction reaches QuickBooks. An allocation doesn't create an expense, and QuickBooks stays the record of the date, amount, vendor, and account.

GrantLink saves new allocations as Approved, whether you assign them yourself or a QuickBooks link, an allocation rule, a split, or a commitment creates them. There is no queue of allocations waiting for approval. An allocation to a QuickBooks expense counts as actual grant spending right away. A commitment that isn't matched to QuickBooks yet counts as committed spending, separate from actual spending.

In most cases, an allocation changes GrantLink only. Your organization can allow a reviewed QuickBooks update for some assignments, as described in the section on when QuickBooks changes.

Before you start

For an allocation to a QuickBooks expense, check these points:

QuickBooks is connected, and the transaction has synced.
The transaction is an operating expense. Income and cash movements, for example transfers, use other workflows.
The grant's status is Active or Closeout. The expense date falls inside the grant period and any limits set on the grant for the earliest and latest expense dates.
No other active allocation or restriction release already covers the same expense.
Any budget line you choose belongs to the selected grant.
Your role is Member or Admin. Viewers can view allocations but can't create or change them.

You can't allocate a deleted or dismissed transaction, a transaction with a zero amount, or a transaction that GrantLink created. For a journal entry, or a transaction that has both expense lines and other lines, choose one expense line with a nonzero amount. GrantLink doesn't allocate the whole mixed transaction.

Grant list in the Classify dialog: The Classify Transaction dialog lists Active and Awarded grants. GrantLink saves allocations only to Active and Closeout grants, so choose an Active grant. If you choose an Awarded grant, the save fails. A Closeout grant accepts allocations but doesn't appear in this list.

Record committed spending before QuickBooks

Use a commitment when a grant should show a cost before its transaction reaches QuickBooks.

Open Allocations, select Add Allocation in the page header, and then choose Commitment.
Choose an Active grant and, optionally, one of its budget lines.
Enter the Accounting date and an amount that isn't zero.
Add the payee, document number, and memo if you have them. GrantLink needs the document number to match the commitment automatically.
Select Add committed allocation.

The commitment is saved as approved and shows as committed spending for the grant right away. It exists only in GrantLink. It doesn't create or change a QuickBooks transaction, and it doesn't count as actual spending while it is unmatched.

GrantLink attaches the commitment automatically when exactly one synced transaction or line matches its date, amount, and document number, and the payee information doesn't conflict. The amount then moves from committed to actual spending, and GrantLink doesn't count it twice. If more than one transaction could match, or the match isn't exact, the commitment stays open for you to review.

To match an open commitment yourself, follow these steps:

Open the grant, then select Transactions > Allocations.
Open the commitment to see Commitment details.
Select Attach QuickBooks transaction. The list shows unallocated transactions and lines within 90 days, sorted by how close the date and amount are.
Confirm that you have the right transaction, then attach it. You can't attach an expense that is already allocated to another grant.

You can edit or delete a commitment while it is unmatched or needs review. After you attach it, you can't edit the commitment or undo the match. You can still change the budget line of the resulting allocation or remove the allocation. If a suggested match is wrong, choose Keep as GrantLink-only.

Let QuickBooks links handle routine expenses

Open the grant and select Details.
In the QuickBooks section, select Manage, or Set up if the grant has no links yet.
On the Expenses tab, link the Class, Customer, Project, or Location that your team uses on the grant's costs.
Sync QuickBooks.
Open the grant's Transactions > Allocations and check the results.

GrantLink allocates an expense automatically only when the links point to exactly one eligible Active grant. It doesn't replace an existing allocation, add an expense dated outside the grant period, or guess when the links conflict.

Allocation rules can also assign expenses. An organization can have up to 500 active rules. Test each rule with its simulation before you rely on it. See Settings > Allocation rules.

Review the Ledger views

Open Ledger and choose a view:

View	What it shows
Unallocated	Expenses that still need a grant
Allocated	Transactions with an active allocation
Split	Expenses assigned to more than one grant, or to one grant with the rest left out of grant reporting
Income	Income transactions, which aren't allocated here
Cash movements	Transfers and similar movements, which aren't grant expenses
Not grant-eligible	Transactions that can't be allocated, including dismissed ones

Select a row to open the transaction details. The details show the lines, accounts, and QuickBooks Class, Customer, Project, and Location. If GrantLink is still building the Ledger, or the build failed, wait or retry before you treat the list as complete.

For more on views, filters, and journal entries, see The Ledger Workflow.

Assign one expense to one grant

In Ledger > Unallocated, choose a grant in the row's Grant column. You can also open the row details and select Classify if GrantLink shows it there.
In the Classify Transaction dialog, select the expense line if the transaction has more than one line.
Confirm the grant in Select Grant.
Optionally choose a budget line and add a memo or business rationale.
Select Classify.

The allocation counts for the grant right away and appears in the grant's Transactions > Allocations. An allocation without a budget line is still grant spending. It shows as Uncategorized until you choose a budget line.

When QuickBooks changes

An allocation changes QuickBooks only in the cases below. In every other case, QuickBooks stays unchanged.

One grant, reviewed update: Your organization must use Selected writebacks with grant tracking updates allowed, or Full writeback / automation, in Settings > QuickBooks > Permissions. The grant needs a QuickBooks writeback destination, and the transaction must be a bill, purchase, journal entry, or vendor credit. GrantLink is making QuickBooks changes available in stages, so this update may not be available yet. When all of these apply, GrantLink saves the allocation and then shows Review QuickBooks changes. Select Apply to QuickBooks to queue the Class, Customer, or Project change. If you close the review instead, the allocation stays saved in GrantLink, and nothing is sent to QuickBooks.
Split, reviewed journal entry: When you open a saved split with Edit reporting split, the dialog shows Review QuickBooks journal. GrantLink posts a journal entry only if Settings > QuickBooks > Permissions allows allocation journal entries, your organization keeps its books in US dollars, and you approve the previewed entry.

In Read-only reporting, GrantLink never changes QuickBooks. If your organization uses Selected writebacks without grant tracking updates, you can't assign grants in Ledger.

An Approved allocation isn't proof that QuickBooks changed. Check the update's status before you rely on it.

Split a shared expense

Use Split when one expense belongs to several grants, or when part of it should stay out of grant reporting. In one split, you can enter amounts or percentages, and a budget line for each grant. Saving a split changes GrantLink only.

See Splitting a QuickBooks Transaction Across Multiple Grants for line selection, rounding, the remainder, editing, and removal.

Use bulk actions carefully

Select rows in Ledger to show the action bar:

Grant assigns all selected unallocated rows to one grant and can set one budget line.
Split applies the same grant percentages to every selected transaction. The percentages must total 100%. A bulk split can't use amounts, choose lines, set budget lines, or leave part of the expense out of grant reporting.
Budget Line updates selected rows that are already assigned to one grant.

In Read-only reporting, GrantLink checks each transaction on its own. Valid rows save, and rows with problems stay for you to fix.

When your organization allows reviewed QuickBooks updates, the bulk Grant action first shows each eligible line, the amount, the QuickBooks change, and the rows that can't be updated. When you approve, GrantLink saves and queues only the eligible rows, and the other rows don't change. If GrantLink can't confirm that it received a request, the row shows Receipt unconfirmed. You can retry that row without creating a duplicate.

Bulk Split changes GrantLink reporting only in every permission mode. It does not update QuickBooks. Bulk actions can partly succeed, so read the result counts after each one.

Use the single-transaction dialogs when lines, percentages, amounts, budget lines, or remainders differ between transactions.

Correct or remove an allocation

To change a split, open the row menu and select Edit reporting split. GrantLink replaces the split and keeps its history. To change only the budget line, update it in Ledger or in the grant's Transactions > Allocations.

To remove allocations from a Ledger row, follow these steps:

Open the row menu and select Remove, or Remove all if the row has more than one allocation.
Enter a Reason for removal. GrantLink requires a reason.
Check the result before you try again.

GrantLink removes several allocations one at a time. If one removal fails, the earlier removals stay in effect. GrantLink records each removal in the activity log. You can't directly remove an allocation that was posted to QuickBooks with a journal entry. Correct the coding in QuickBooks if it is wrong there. To remove a commitment, use the commitment controls on the grant.

Check the result

Reopen the Ledger row and check its grants and assigned amount.
Open each grant's Transactions > Allocations and check the amount and budget line.
Open the allocation details to review the source, method, status, creator, rationale, and history.
For a queued QuickBooks update, check its status in the Ledger row or in Settings > Background jobs. If the outcome is unclear, use Check status. It checks QuickBooks without sending the change again.
Review Settings > Activity log for creation, removal, and update events.
Reconcile GrantLink's allocations and any QuickBooks update with the source transaction and your allocation method.

For review and correction steps, see Reviewing and Correcting Grant Allocations.