Pre-award expenditures and at-risk accounts both indicate expenses incurred before the start date of a given award.

At-Risk accounts, also known as Advance Accounts, allow PIs and departments to record and track expenditures and minimize the need for cost transfers. Since these expenses are incurred prior to the receipt or acceptance of an award and without notifying the sponsor, the department assumes full responsibility for the expenses in the event that a project is not funded or accepted.

Pre-Award expenditures, however, are allowable, allocable and reasonable in accordance with the principles of the Uniform Guidance 2CFR 200. These expenses are agreed upon with the sponsor in advance, ensuring that Harvard departments don’t incur any of the pre-award costs.

The time period for each of these GMAS requests also differs; Sponsors set guidelines to determine the timeline for a pre-award expenditure –typically includes expenses incurred 90 prior to the start date of the award. While, the timeline for an advance account is set by the Harvard department, in which case the usual time frame ranges from 120 days to a year.

Please reference this job aid for more information on this topic and for clarification on common misconceptions regarding both types of GMAS requests.