Example of pre-award/advance account spending

There may be occasions when a PI needs to incur project costs before the official start date of the award. When pre-award spending is allowed by the sponsor, a pre-award or advance account may be requested from SPA.

Example of pre-account spending:

The project is dependent on a specific piece of equipment. The equipment needs to be in place for the project to start. A pre-award account may be requested in order to purchase the equipment.

Charges should not be made to a nonsponsored account and then transferred to the sponsored account when the award is established. Charges must be made to the advance/pre-award account so they receive proper review and oversight.