Grants Management Survival Kit
GRANTS MANAGEMENT CHECKLIST
Congratulations on the approval of your new grant! The Grants Management Survival Kit is an
aide to help you with setting up your new grant (including private, public, entitlement/allocation or
continuation grants) on the district (MUNIS) accounting system and effectively managing it
throughout the grant term.
The Kit includes the following Grants Management Checklist and BPS Grant Forms. Please notify
the Grants Office if you have questions or need assistance. Send an email to:
karenwatts@bpsma.org or call 508-894-4366.
UPON APPROVAL OF YOUR GRANT:
 Complete the New Grant Fund Form and attach copies of your grant budget form, award
letter and first Payment Notice (if Massachusetts Department of Education grant).
 Complete the MUNIS Grant Coding Sheet assigning your grant budget line items,
accordingly.
The completed New Grant Fund Form along with the MUNIS Grant Coding Sheet should
be sent to the Grants Accountant (in the Crosby Administration Building) who will then
provide you with a printout of your grant budget as set-up on the MUNIS accounting
system with designated organization and object codes.
 Complete an Indirect Cost Requisition Form for your one percent (1%) Indirect Cost
payment. Submit the completed form to the Grants Office. Do Not Process this
Requisition as a Purchase Order.
ONGOING THROUGHOUT THE GRANT PERIOD:
 Keep detailed records of your grant expenditures and reconcile regularly with the MUNIS
accounting system. See the sample MS Excel Grant Tracking Spreadsheet.
 Complete a Requisition Form, as needed, to purchase supplies and contractual services.
 Review weekly/bi-weekly Payroll Distribution Sheets and notify the Grants Accountant of
any necessary adjustments via the Payroll History Change Form.
 For Massachusetts Department of Education grants, submit monthly Requests for Funds
on the “Active Grants” MS Excel Spreadsheet on the Central Office Public Drive. See the
folder labeled “Grants Office.” Submit your requests No Later than the 15th of each
month. Refer to the current grant status on Department of Education Grants Payment
System at: http://doegrants.wji.com.
Enter the following on the “Active Grants” spreadsheet: Funds Paid to Date, Funds
Expended, Monthly Allocation (refer to Payment Notices), Funds Request, and Justification
(a brief narrative, if request exceeds (adjusted) Monthly Allocation.
NO LATER THAN MAY 15TH:
 Request an update of health insurance expenses for your grant-paid staff via the Request
for Insurance Information Form and Cover Letter (see sample). This form and an
accompanying cover letter should be sent to the Grants Accountant. The Grants
Accountant will get the updated information from City Hall and return it to you to update
your records. Allow sufficient time for City Hall to prepare this information.
 Review your weekly and biweekly payroll distribution sheets and compare amounts to your
grant records to ensure they are accurate.

Anticipate future salary expenditures for the remainder of the grant and estimate the
anticipated MTRS expense, and include it in your records. Make certain to anticipate the
impact of additional payroll expense with pay rate increases designated in the BEA
contract.

Anticipate how the remainder of each grant line item will be spent and identify those that
you will not completely spend down. Note: Have a contingency plan to spend remaining
funds. Example: Your summer or after-school program does not have the number of
participants anticipated.

If your grant is from the Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE) and you
determine that you need to adjust the expense categories to match your anticipated
expenses, you may need to complete a budget Amendment Form (AM1).
An Amendment Form (AM1) is required when:
1. there is any significant change in program objectives; or
2. there is any increase or decrease in the total amount of the grant; or
3. an increase in a line of the budget exceeds $100 or 10% of the line (whichever is
greater), or exceeds $10,000
 Complete the Amendment Form (AM1), as soon as possible, with the revised budget
pages attached. Amendments should be submitted to the DOE no later than 30 days
before the conclusion of the grant project: May 31st for grants ending June 30th and
July 31st for grants ending August 31st. The maximum number of amendments to any
grant may not exceed two. Exceptions to this limit may be allowed based on sufficient
justification as determined by the appropriate and responsible approving authority in the
Department.

It is recommended that you contact your DOE Program Officer to discuss the need for an
amendment. Contact the Grants Office if you have questions or need assistance.

Send the amendment form to your DOE contact person. NCLB and Perkins
amendments must be submitted electronically by the Grants Office. When the
amendment form is signed by the DOE and returned to you, please send a copy to the
Grants Office and to the Grants Accountant.
 Submit (signed) Requisitions to Financial Services no later than June 1st for DOE
grants ending June 30th; no later than August 1st for DOE grants ending, August
31st.
 Check with Financial Services on any Purchase Orders that have not been completed.
 Contact the Grants Accountant for an appointment to reconcile your grant records to
MUNIS and correct any discrepancies. Make all journal adjustments needed to match
your records to MUNIS.
SIXTY (60) DAYS AFTER THE GRANT END DATE (OR AS REQUIRED BY GRANTOR):
The Massachusetts Department of Education requires the submission of Final Reports (FR1)
Form 60 days after the close of its grants. Grants that close on June 30 require Final Reports
by August 31, and those with an August 31 end date require Final Reports by October 31.
Please be mindful of the following steps in completing your Final Report (FR1):
 Reconcile your grant records with MUNIS reports provided by the Grants Accountant, at
the Central Office. Submit your Final Report with copies of the reconciled MUNIS reports
to the Executive Director of Financial Services at Central for approval and signature. The
signature on the Final Reports should be from the Executive Director of Financial
Services, the preparer should be your name.


If you amended your budget, use the amended budget amounts as the basis for the
expended funds.
Remember, you cannot overspend any line item by more than 10% or $10,000,
whichever is smaller. Be sure to check this before you send it to the Executive
Director of Financial Services.
Using the reconciled figures complete the Final Report form. If there is Massachusetts
Teachers Retirement taken from your grant funds an MTRS Final Report Form must also
be completed and sent in as part of the Final Report.
 Send your Final Report to the appropriate address at the DOE as indicated on the Final
Report form. DO NOT WAIT FOR THE CHECK FOR UNEXPENDED FUNDS.
 If there are unexpended funds, complete a Requisition Form for a check made payable to
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the unexpended funds with an attached signed
copy of the Final Report. Include the eleven digit DOE Grant number. The Object Code
that should be used on this requisition is 484009 for Unexpended Funds. If your
requisitions are processed through Accounts Payable, they will request that City Hall return
the check to them, so they can send a copy of the Final Report with the check to DOE.
Please be sure you notify Accounts Payable to expect the Purchase Order.
 If there are additional funds due to the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System
(MTRS), follow the same procedures outlined above except that a copy of the MTRS Final
Report, with any additional amount due, must be sent directly to the MTRS not the
Department of Education (DOE). Use the object code for MTRS assigned from your
grant.
 Keep a copy of your signed Final Report (and MTRS Final Report, if applicable) with
accompanying financial records on file for seven (7) years, and send a copy of the Final
Report, MUNIS Report, Payment Notices, Amendment Report, and final Purchase Order
(blue copy) for unexpended funds to the Grants Accountant.
 Forward a copy of the signed Final Report to the Grants Office. Please do so no later
than September1st for grants that close June 30th and no later than November 1st
for grants that close August 31st.
Please notify the Grants Office if you have questions or need assistance. Send an email to:
karenwatts@bpsma.org or call 508-894-4366.