Office of Sponsored Projects:
Post Award – Award Management 

Subawards

Once the principal investigator initiates the College Requisition for the Subcontract the Post Award Specialist becomes involved in the process. The requisition, and all related documents such as Scope of Work, Budget Justification and Budget are attached and submitted through PeopleSoft Workflow.  At that point the responsible Post Award Specialist will review the requisition and verify all the related documents.  Upon review and verification of the necessary documents the requisition will be approved in workflow.  If the requisition was deemed incomplete in any way it will be denied in workflow and returned to the department. If a subaward was not included in the sponsor-approved budget, OSP will submit information to sponsor (as required) to ensure subaward approval with the sponsoring agency.

Once a subaward is put in place the responsible PI should be receiving the invoices directly from the subcontractor for review and approval.  Departments should have established oversight procedures to ensure that correct payments to subcontractors are made, withheld, or denied as appropriate.  Once the approval is completed by the PI the invoice should be forwarded to their assigned Post Award Specialist for further review and approval.  At that point the invoice will then be sent to the Accounts Payable department to be processed. 

Suggested Subcontract Invoice Review Process:

The PI review process should ensure that the following conditions are met prior to approval:

  • Subcontractor invoices have enough detail to determine how the funds are being used
  • Amount to be paid doesn’t exceed amount obligated
  • Invoice dates are within Subaward dates
  • Correct assessment and calculation of F&A costs
  • Costs are allocable, allowable, reasonable, and follow budget categories
  • Cost sharing (if required) has been contributed/reported/supported on at least an annual basis (more frequently if required by the Prime Sponsor)
  • Invoices are timely
  • The required subcontractor services are completed, and special reports are submitted
  • Duplicate subrecipient invoices are not submitted for payment

For more information about subrecipient monitoring and invoice review, please see the webpage on Subcontract Requisition/ PO Internal Processes.