Finance and Budget

University Controller’s Office

Grants & Contracts Standards

The Office of Grants & Contracts Accounting is committed to providing exceptional customer service by ensuring compliance, transparency and integrity in the fiscal management of sponsored research.

Detailed in the chart below are the approximate turnaround times related to core processes within G&C. For processes that utilize a JotForm, the status of a submission can be viewed via a link included in all JotForm email correspondences.

Please note: The Deferred (indirect costs application) process runs Monday through Thursday every week and on payroll days. The Letter of Credit (drawdown) process runs approximately twice a month. These processes may impact the turnaround time for some of the processes below.  

Follow up with the G&C accounting team responsible for your department (see below).

Process & System

Timeframe & Communication Standards

Advanced Index Requests 

(JotForm & Banner)
  • Reviewed and approved/denied within 7 business days
  • Banner setup processed within 5 business days upon receiving approval email

Award Create 

(RAMS-SPOT & Banner)
  • G&C accountant assigned within 3 business days upon receipt of RAMS-SPOT Snapshot 
  • G&C award setup within 5 business days for G&C to establish the grant ID and home index in Banner Finance 

Award Closeout 

(RAMS-SPOT, JotForm, and Banner)

0-30 Days After Project End Date 

  • Banner closeout emails sent to fiscal department contact
  • Department completes pre-closeout action form
  • Department process financial closeout (final expenditures and cost transfers, clear encumbrances, update labor distributions, etc.)
  • Department provides required backup documentation to G&C

30-60 Days After Project End Date

  • G&C reviews expenditures and indirect cost

60-90 Days After Project End Date

  • G&C sends FERs to department 
  • Department returns signed FERs and/or fixed price closeout form
  • G&C prepares and submits final financial reports and invoices

90-120 Days After Project End Date

  • G&C reconciles receivables 
  • G&C processes Banner financial closeout

Banking Documents
  • Coordinated with the DSP team working on the proposal
  • Banking information is completed within 2 business days by G&C Cash Compliance team

Cash/Check Process
  • ACH wires are processed within 3 days 
  • Physical checks within 7 business days

Collections Process
  • 30-60 days outstanding payment
    • Accountant follows up with sponsor at next invoice
  • 60-90 days outstanding payment
    • Manager follows up with sponsor 
  • 90-120 days
    • Signed collection memo sent to sponsor, CC: Principal Investigator
  • 120+ days
    • Director send collections memo 
    • Director initiates AG collections process

Fixed Price Closeout Form

(JotForm & Banner)
  • G&C reviews submissions within 14 business days after receiving Dean approval
  • Fully approved fixed price closeouts will have the residual balance pooled by G&C within 5 business days

Post-90 Day Cost Transfer Requests

(JotForm)
  • Within 10 business days of submission, the cost transfer request will be reviewed, and approved/denied. 
  • If approved, the request will be processed in Banner the same day and an email sent to the submitter confirming completion

Sub-Index Requests

(JotForm, RAMSPOT & Banner)
  • Allow 5 business days for processing after Jotform is submitted
  • Subaward index processed within 5 business days after notification from RAMSPOT/DSP subaward team

Invoicing
  • Bills are run once a month by the 5th business day of the month
  • Sent by the end of the month for the previous month’s expenses (unless the award adheres to a different invoicing schedule i.e. quarterly, etc.)

Clinical Trial Invoicing
  • Shared responsibility with G&C and departments
  • Refer to the Award terms and conditions

Budget Loads (award modifications, reallocations, etc.)

(RAMSPOT)
  • After the RAMSPOT award setup is complete, allow 3 business days for processing after final budget is received

If you have not received any correspondence from a member of our team within the timeframe provided below, please follow up with the appropriate contact(s) listed below:

For general inquiries, or if point of contact is unknown:

For status on pending items, please contact the G&C accountant or team:


For banking information or check/wire inquiries:

Cash Team Email: gcacash@vcu.edu                     

For effort reporting questions or inquiries:

Effort Team email: effortreport@vcu.edu