The work that starts when the money arrives
What are my obligations after winning a grant?
Reporting on both program and finances, spending only within the period of performance and only on approved line items, keeping documentation that survives an audit, and requesting approval before making significant budget or scope changes. Federal awards add more: spending above an annual threshold triggers a single audit, and many grants pay by reimbursement, so you spend first and claim afterwards. Budget for the administrative time. It is real and it is routinely underestimated.
Last reviewed 6 August 2026.
What you take on
- Reporting, on a schedule
- Program reports on what happened and financial reports on what was spent, at intervals set in the award. Late reports jeopardise the next payment and, more quietly, the next award from the same funder.
- Spending inside the lines
- Only within the period of performance and broadly in line with the approved budget. Moving money between categories beyond a stated threshold usually needs prior approval, and so does changing scope or key personnel.
- Cash flow, if it is a reimbursement grant
- You spend and then claim, and the claim takes time to pay. An organization without reserves can win a grant it cannot afford to start, which is a specific and avoidable trap.
- Audit exposure
- Spending above a federal threshold in a year triggers a single audit, which costs money and management attention. Know where that line sits before you pursue awards that cross it.
- Documentation that outlives the project
- Timesheets, receipts, procurement records, evidence for any match you claimed. Records must be retained for years after closeout, and reconstructing them later is not really possible.
The thing to ask for early
A no-cost extension gives you more time to spend money already awarded. Most funders grant them readily when asked in good time and reluctantly when asked in the final fortnight.
Projects run late. Asking three months before the end reads as management; asking three weeks before reads as a problem.
Where Quillify stops, and why
We do not manage post-award reporting. Not a deadline tracker for reports, not a drawdown tool, not a compliance system. Some tools in this category do, and if that is what you need, that is what you should buy.
What we cover is finding the money, working out whether you are eligible, knowing what is required before you commit, drafting from your own material, and recording what you applied for and what happened. The obligations after a win are real and they are outside that line, and we would rather draw the line than blur it.
Who asks this most
The answer above is the same whoever you are. What Quillify does about it is not.
Related
- What a rejection is actually telling youWhy was my grant proposal rejected and should I reapply?
- Cost share and matching fundsWhat does a matching funds or cost share requirement actually mean?
- The vocabulary, defined plainlyWhat do all these grant terms mean?
All guides, or the glossary.
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