Grant Status Lifecycle

Grants in GrantLink move through a defined lifecycle. Each status controls what actions are available.

Status Overview

Status	Description	Typical Duration
Prospect	Potential funding opportunity	Weeks to months
Applied	Application submitted, awaiting decision	Weeks to months
Awarded	Award received, not yet active	Days to weeks
Active	Grant period in progress	Months to years
Closeout	Grant period ended, finalizing	30-90 days
Closed	Fully complete	Permanent

Status Progression

Prospect → Applied → Awarded → Active → Closeout → Closed
    │         │                              │
    └─────────┴── (declined/withdrawn) ──────┘

What's Allowed at Each Status

Prospect

Action	Allowed?
Edit grant details	✓ Yes
Record fund receipts	✗ No
Allocate expenses	✗ No
Run indirect costs	✗ No
Submit claims	✗ No

Use this status for grants you're considering or planning to apply for.

Applied

Action	Allowed?
Edit grant details	✓ Yes
Record fund receipts	✗ No
Allocate expenses	✗ No
Run indirect costs	✗ No
Submit claims	✗ No

Application submitted—waiting for the funder's decision.

Awarded

Action	Allowed?
Edit grant details	✓ Yes
Set up budget	✓ Yes
Record fund receipts	✓ Yes
Allocate expenses	✗ No
Run indirect costs	✗ No
Submit claims	✗ No

Award received but grant period hasn't started. Set up the budget and record initial funding.

Active

Action	Allowed?
Edit grant details	✓ Yes
Record fund receipts	✓ Yes
Allocate expenses	✓ Yes
Run indirect costs	✓ Yes
Submit claims	✓ Yes
Generate reports	✓ Yes

This is where most work happens. Full functionality is available.

Closeout

Action	Allowed?
Edit grant details	✓ Limited
Record fund receipts	✓ Yes
Allocate expenses	✓ Yes (within period)
Run indirect costs	✓ Yes (final run)
Submit claims	✓ Yes (final claim)
Generate reports	✓ Yes (final report)

Grant period ended. Finalize allocations, run final IDC, submit final claims and reports.

Closed

Action	Allowed?
View grant details	✓ Yes
View history	✓ Yes
Edit	✗ No
Allocate	✗ No
Run IDC	✗ No
Submit claims	✗ No

Grant is complete. Data is preserved for audits and historical reference.

Changing Grant Status

Moving Forward

1. Open the grant page
2. Use the status dropdown in the header
3. Select the next status and confirm

Moving Backward

In some cases, you can move backward:

• Closeout → Active — If more work is needed
• Closed → Closeout — Requires admin permission

Declined or Withdrawn

From Prospect or Applied, you can mark a grant as:

• Declined — Funder didn't approve
• Withdrawn — You chose not to proceed

Expense Date Constraints

GrantLink enforces date rules based on grant settings:

Setting	Effect
No expenses before	Can't allocate expenses dated before this
No expenses after	Can't allocate expenses dated after this
Grant period dates	Typically match the above

This prevents accidentally charging expenses outside the grant period.

Best Practices

1. Update status promptly — Move grants through the lifecycle as events occur
2. Use Closeout properly — Don't skip to Closed; use Closeout for final activities
3. Set date constraints — Configure expense date limits to prevent errors
4. Archive old grants — Move completed grants to Closed to keep active lists clean

Quick Status Check

From the Grants list:

• Filter by status to see all grants at each stage
• Sort by status to group similar grants
• Status badge shows current state at a glance

How GrantLink supports this today

GrantLink helps by organizing QBO-backed allocations, budget lines, fund receipts, funding shares, documents, report outputs, and activity history. It supports audit preparation, but it does not replace funder guidance, accounting policy, or professional review.