Based on the terms and conditions of a sponsored award, different account types are created to support pre- and post-award needs.
Harvard's Chart of Accounts
When a sponsored award is received and accepted by the Principal Investigator and the University, an account for the award must be established in order to post expenses and income against the award. This account is a 33-digit account code that follows the Chart of Accounts (CoA) format, which is comprised of 7 Segments (Tub, Org, Object, Fund, Activity, Subactivity, and Root) that are used to transact in the Harvard financial systems. The Sponsored CoA Business Rules provides the rules and guidance needed to establish an account string to be used to represent the transactions of a sponsored award in the Harvard General Ledger. For more information, please refer to HCSRA Chart of Accounts page.
Task Logic vs. Year Logic
All accounts are set up using either Task or Year Logic subactivity, based on notice of award terms and conditions related to the carryover or carryforward of funds, and reporting requirements. All accounts are considered to be task logic (0001), unless sponsor requirements meet one of the year logic (0101) criteria. For more information, please refer to HCSRA's Task vs Year Logic page.
Main Account (Type M)
All awards must have a main account. Obligated funds are allocated to the main account based on the notice of award. The main account captures the expense transactions of the award for each budget period. If an award requires separate accounts for each budget period, each period must have a main account. (i.e. year logic). Main accounts are identified as Type M in the Accounts section of an Action Memo.
Part-of Account (Type P)
Within a given budget period, if more than one account is needed to manage an award, the additional accounts are called part-of accounts. Part-of accounts are established to manage discrete tasks due to award restrictions and to discretely capture financial data for reporting purposes. Part-of accounts are identified as Type P in the Accounts section of an Action Memo.
Subagreement Account (Type S)
A subagreement account is a special part-of account. Every subagreement issued by Harvard requires an account to capture the transactions of the agreement. A subagreement account may not appear on its own without the "Main" account being set up. While the subagreement(s) is under negotiation, funds for the subrecipient are held in reserve until the subagreement is fully executed. When the subagreement is fully executed, accounts will be established, and an Action Memo issued. Subagreement accounts are identified as Type S in the Accounts section of an Action Memo.
At-Risk Accounts
At-Risk Accounts are project accounts that allows the PI to initiate spending on a sponsored fund before the University receives and/or accepts an award. Such expenditures incurred are made at the department’s risk and require a back-up account string in the event that the project is not funded. Once the project is funded, the status of the at-risk account will be updated from at-risk to obligated/awarded. For more information, please refer to HSPH's At-Risk Accounts Procedure and HSCRA's At-Risk Accounts page.
Companion Accounts
Companion Accounts are accounts that shares the same sponsored activity and subactivity value with a non-sponsored fund value in the Harvard Chart of Accounts. By transacting to a companion account, users can track and access the related financial expenditures in the GL that are not posted to the sponsored award. Companion accounts are used for University contributions to costs sharing and to capture over-the-cap salary for effort reporting purposes. For more information, please refer to HSCRA's Companion Accounts page.