Setting Up Grant Budgets

A well-structured budget is essential for grant tracking and reporting. This guide covers how to set up budgets in GrantLink.

Understanding Budget Categories

Budget categories are the line items in your grant budget. Common categories include:

• Personnel - Salaries and wages
• Fringe Benefits - Health insurance, retirement, payroll taxes
• Travel - Mileage, lodging, conference travel
• Equipment - Purchases over a threshold (often $5,000)
• Supplies - Office and program supplies
• Contractual - Consultants and subcontracts
• Other Direct Costs - Training, communications, etc.
• Indirect Costs - Overhead/F&A

Creating a Grant Budget

Step 1: Add Budget Categories

When creating or editing a grant:

1. Scroll to the Budget section
2. Click Add Budget Line
3. Select or create a category
4. Enter the budgeted amount
5. Repeat for all categories

Step 2: Map to QuickBooks Accounts

Each budget category can map to one or more QuickBooks accounts:

1. Open the grant's Budget tab
2. Choose the option to map QuickBooks accounts to budget lines
3. Assign the relevant accounts to each line
4. Save

This mapping helps GrantLink associate transactions with the appropriate grant budget line; it does not change anything in QuickBooks.

Budget Modifications

Grants often require budget modifications. GrantLink tracks these:

Recording a Modification

1. Open the grant
2. Go to the Budget tab
3. Edit the budget line amounts or budget matrix
4. Enter the required modification or revision reason
5. Save the changes

GrantLink saves budget revision snapshots and their required reasons so previous versions can be reviewed and compared. Any effective date, funder approval reference, or supporting approval process should be maintained through your organization's external documentation process.

Common Modification Types

• Line item transfer - Moving funds between categories
• Cost extension - Adding time without additional funds
• Supplement - Additional funds awarded
• Reduction - Funds returned or reduced

Budget vs. Actual Tracking

GrantLink continuously compares your budget to actual spending:

Budget Variance Report

See at a glance:

• Budgeted amount per category
• Spent to date
• Remaining balance
• Percentage used
• Variance (over/under)

Alerts and Notifications

GrantLink uses fixed grant-level spending thresholds at 75%, 90%, 95%, and 100% of the award amount. These thresholds are not configurable per category, and GrantLink does not currently detect unusual spending patterns. Review category variances and unusual activity as part of your team's regular financial controls.

Best Practices

1. Match funder categories - Use their terminology
2. Build in flexibility - Understand which lines can be adjusted
3. Review monthly - Catch variances early
4. Document everything - Keep modification approvals on file
5. Plan for closeout - Leave time to spend remaining funds appropriately

How GrantLink supports this today

Use the grant Budget tab to create budget lines, map QuickBooks accounts, compare budget to actual spending, and review saved revision snapshots. GrantLink requires a reason when saving budget changes and applies fixed grant-level 75%, 90%, 95%, and 100% spending thresholds; category-specific alert policies and unusual-spend review remain external team processes.