Importing Existing Grant Data

If you have existing grants tracked in spreadsheets or another system, GrantLink can help you import them. This guide covers the import process.

Before You Import

Prepare Your Data

Gather the following for each grant:

• Grant name and funder
• Award amount
• Grant period (start and end dates)
• Budget categories and amounts
• Current spending (if any)

Connect QuickBooks First

We recommend connecting QuickBooks before importing grants. This allows GrantLink to:

• Match historical transactions to imported grants
• Auto-create classes for grant tracking
• Validate budget categories against your chart of accounts

Import Methods

Method 1: Manual Entry

For a few grants, manual entry is often fastest:

1. Go to Grants > Add Grant
2. Enter all grant details
3. Set up budget categories
4. Repeat for each grant

Method 2: Bulk Import (Coming Soon)

We're developing a CSV import feature that will allow you to:

• Upload a spreadsheet of grants
• Map columns to GrantLink fields
• Import multiple grants at once

Contact support if you have many grants to import and we can assist.

Importing Historical Transactions

After importing grants, you may want to allocate historical transactions:

Option 1: Retroactive Allocation

1. Extend your QuickBooks sync range in Settings
2. Wait for historical transactions to sync
3. Allocate them to the appropriate grants

Option 2: Opening Balance Entry

1. Calculate total spending per grant before GrantLink
2. Create a journal entry in QuickBooks
3. Let it sync as the "opening balance" for each grant

Verifying Your Import

After importing, verify everything is correct:

1. Check grant totals - Award amounts match your records
2. Verify budgets - Category amounts are correct
3. Review periods - Start and end dates are accurate
4. Test allocations - Try allocating a transaction

Tips for a Smooth Import

1. Start with one grant - Test the process before doing all
2. Document decisions - Note any data transformations
3. Reconcile totals - Compare to your source data
4. Ask for help - Our support team can assist with complex imports

How GrantLink supports this today

GrantLink can map grants to QuickBooks Customers, sub-customers/jobs, Projects, Classes, or app-only tracking. Configure this in Settings > QuickBooks Mapping before importing grants. Use Settings > QuickBooks Permissions to keep QBO read-only or to allow selected writebacks.