Once an award has been set up, Principal Investigators/Project Directors and their local support personnel are responsible for making purchases on the grant and charging them to the GR account. Managing the day-to-day operations of a sponsored project requires thorough knowledge of institutional policy, as well as the terms and conditions of the grant itself. There are institutional procurement policies to follow for certain expenses, and there is also a financial review process to ensure that the expenses are allowable, allocable, and reasonable. Below, we’ve created a guide for PI/PDs and local support personnel in navigating through hiring processes, travel expenditures, and other procurement needs that may come up over the course of the project.
Managing an Award Budget
- Faculty
- Release Time: If the awarded budget includes academic year course release, Grant Accounting works with the PI/PD and the PI/PD’s department to charge the grant the appropriate release time for that period.
- Summer Salary: Follow HR’s instructions on “Period Activity Pay” which can be found on the Workday Job Aid for HR web page.
- Hiring Part-Time Employees (including hourly student workers)
- Graduate/Doctoral Assistantships
- Assistantships are composed of a stipend and tuition. If the awarded budget includes a Graduate Assistantship or Doctoral Assistantship, the PI/PD works with Grant Accounting to ensure the necessary paperwork for The Graduate School is completed for the student(s).
- Hiring Full-Time Employees (100% Grant-Supported)
- To hire a full-time employee on a sponsored project, the PI/PD should consult with HR’s Talent Acquisition office to be advised on hiring policies and procedures. The current process for hiring a full-time employee can be found on the Hiring a Manager or Professional Staff web page
- Full-Time Employees (Reassigned Time)
- To contribute effort on a grant as a full-time Montclair professional staff member or manager, the PI/PD works with Grant Accounting to ensure the costing allocation is correct. For example, if a manager commits 10% of their time to a sponsored project, Grant Accounting will ensure that 10% of their salary is charged to the grant during the period of performance.
- Montclair State University Travel Regulations
- The University’s Travel Regulations apply to all travelers on all University business, regardless of the source of funding. The current Travel Regulations can be found on the Travel Regulations web page.
- Fly America Act for Federal Grants and Contracts
- Awardees of federal funds must follow the Fly America Act which requires the use of a U.S. flag air carrier service in economy class for all air travel. There are certain exceptions to this rule (e.g., in cases where there is no domestic air carrier travelling to your intended destination). Please contact the Office of Grant Accounting for more information.
- International Travel
- PI/PDs who are travelling internationally must complete both an “Export Control Screening Checklist” and a one-time CITI Export Control Course Training several months before travel. Both requirements, as well as additional information on Export Controls, can be found at the Global Compliance and Export Control web page.
- Montclair State University Travel Spend Authorizations and Expense Reports
For other non-travel purchasing needs, such as materials and supplies, there are several ways to complete purchases through the procurement and supplier invoice processes. These can be complex, so Montclair Procurement Services can assist with determining the best method of purchasing. All purchases must be in compliance with the University’s purchasing guidelines and the State of New Jersey’s laws and regulations. Once the method of purchasing has been determined, please see below for further instruction on navigating the procurement process.
- Procurement, P-Cards, and Punch-Out Catalogues
- PIs/PDs are encouraged to review information on the Procurement Services web page, including, but not limited to, bid thresholds, the University’s P-Card program, and existing University Contracts for procurement requisitions.
- The Procurement Training Guides provide information on the policies and procedures for procuring goods and services, as well as instructions for using Montclair’s “Punch-Out” catalogues for several existing University Contracts.
- Supplier Invoices
- In certain circumstances, a PI/PD can request a payment for a supplier without a purchase order via a Supplier Invoice. This is not used for reimbursements or refunds, and may only be used for the limited spend categories which are listed on the “Spend Categories for Supplier Invoices” job aid on the Finance & Treasury Job Aids web page. There is a separate “Supplier Invoice” job aid on that same web page that details the step-by-step process of submitting a supplier invoice.
- Expense Report
- If a PI/PD charges an expense using their own personal money, they can submit an Expense Report to be reimbursed. (This is not recommended for any expense other than travel, as it places the financial risk on the individual who charged the expense.)
- A PI/PD should review the “Expense Items for Expense Report Usage” and the “Spend Authorization and Expense Report” job aids, which can be found on the Finance & Treasury Job Aids web page.
- It is important to note that Montclair is a tax-exempt institution, and that taxes will not be reimbursed. To process a tax-free, out-of-pocket purchase, please use the Tax Exempt Letter.
Participant support is an expense budgeted at the proposal stage to cover training/workshop activities. It typically includes support paid to external participants who are not employees of Montclair (e.g., teachers, trainees, fellows, student stipends and associated travel, subsistence, and other allowable, supported costs). Note: This category is not used for incentive payments to human subjects. Human subject incentives are typically included as “other” direct costs.
Because participant support costs are specifically dedicated for training and development, they are subject to additional regulations and affect indirect costs. For awards that have budgeted for participant support costs, the assigned Grant Accountant will create a separate GR account specifically for those expenses.
As PI/PDs incur direct expenses, indirect costs are charged to the grant based on the indirect cost rate and base listed in the proposal. These are distributed according to Montclair’s Policy on Indirect Cost Distribution and Expenditures. For PI/PDs that do not have an individual IDC account, the assigned Grant Accountant will create one. These funds cannot be used to increase an individual’s salary, but they can be used for other scholarly purposes, such as internal seed funding, publishing expenses, or conference travel.
OSP is responsible for drafting and executing subaward agreements. Once fully executed, PI/PDs are responsible for reviewing and approving invoices submitted by the subawardee to ensure financial compliance. For more information, please see our Outgoing Subawards web page.
For direction on spending down the cost-share budget, please contact the Office of Grant Accounting.
Financial Review and Spending Process
- Reasonable: Constituting action which a prudent person would have taken in similar circumstances (e.g., travel at federal domestic and/or foreign per-diem rates are generally deemed “reasonable“ on federal grants)
- Allocable: Assigned directly to the sponsored project under consideration (e.g., costs involved in a purchase of specific materials and lab supplies must be proportionally allocated to the particular sponsored grant or project being charged)
Rebudget/Budget Amendment
Sometimes, despite thorough research in the proposal stage, expenses do not come out to their anticipated amounts or the budgeted product or service is no longer available by the time the PI/PD is ready to purchase it. Based on the award terms and conditions, PI/PDs may be able to rebudget funds without prior approval. To initiate a budget revision, PI/PDs must submit a budget amendment and justification to their assigned Grant Accountant. If the Grant Accountant determines that prior approval is required, PI/PDs must work with OSP Post-Award Officers to submit a formal request to the sponsor. For more information, please see our Prior Approval & Other Requests web page.
