*Note: the following information on invoicing does NOT apply to Farmer/Rancher grant recipients.**
Western SARE grants are issued as cost reimbursable subawards. This means the subrecipient (grant recipient) will invoice Western SARE/MSU for allowable project costs incurred. Per the terms of the Subaward Agreement, Western SARE/MSU subrecipients shall submit invoices not more often than monthly and not less frequently than quarterly for allowable costs incurred.
Invoicing Instructions
Invoices must meet the requirements of the Agreement Terms and Conditions. Invoices that do not meet these requirements will be returned to the subrecipient for necessary corrections.
All invoices submitted to Western SARE must include the following:
- Reference to the MSU Subaward ID (see the Subaward Agreement; begins with G, e.g., G123-25-W1234)
- Include the current and complete invoice period, e.g., 1/1/2025 – 1/31/2025. Note: bill through dates will not be accepted.
- Include cumulative costs by specific budget category. Note: categories such as “other” or “current” will NOT be accepted without backup documentation
- Signature, date and certified as to truth and accuracy. Invoices MUST include a certification, signed by an authorized official, which reads as follows (must be verbatim): "By signing this report, I certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that the report is true, complete, and accurate, and the expenditures, disbursements and cash receipts are for the purposes and objectives set forth in the terms and conditions of the Federal award. I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent information, or the omission of any material fact, may subject me to criminal, civil or administrative penalties for fraud, false statements, false claims or otherwise. (U.S. Code Title 18, Section 1001 and Title 31, Sections 3729–3730 and 3801–3812)."
All invoices must be emailed to:
Please note: 10% of total award budget is held pending receipt and approval of the final report. Therefore, if an interim invoice exceeds 90% of the award budget, a partial payment of up to 90% of the budget will be made with the remainder paid with the final invoice.
Additional Invoicing Requirements
- Ensure current and cumulative costs add up correctly.
- If the budget includes IDC recovery (most do!), be sure to charge IDCs consistently and at the correct percentage on EVERY invoice. When IDC recovery is excluded or is too high or low, it causes processing delays as follow up is needed.
- Ensure there are NO gaps between the billing periods. If there are gaps, please include a note when remitting the invoice informing Western SARE there were no project expenses during the gap period.
- Note: the first invoice billing period should align with the project start date listed on the Subaward Agreement
- Invoice regularly (monthly or at a minimum, quarterly)
- Irregular invoicing can be an indication no progress is being made on the project.
- Invoice by budget categories that align with the approved project budget.
- Invoice expenditures will be compared to the approved project budget found in Attachment 5 of the Subaward Agreement.
- If the subrecipient cannot invoice by specific budget categories, e.g., salaries, benefits, supplies, contracted services, etc., Western SARE will request backup documentation, e.g., a detail transaction report, in order to determine whether spending is in alignment with the approved budget. Providing such backup with invoice submission will expedite review.
- Indicate whether the invoice is “interim” or “final”. Final invoices MUST be marked “final”.
- Follow all invoicing instructions.
Invoice Payment Delays
Payment of invoices may be delayed for any of the following reasons:
- The invoice does not follow the instructions noted above and in the Subaward Agreement (Attachment 6).
- A progress or final report has not been submitted.
- Progress reports are due annually each year the project is ongoing (see Reporting Expectations above and in the Subaward Agreement Attachment 4A)
- A final report is due no later than 60 days from the project end date.
- An interim or final report was submitted, however, revisions were requested and not addressed – the PI should address these in a timely manner.
- Backup documentation was requested but not provided.
- Cumulative costs indicate over-spending in one or more budget category in excess of 10% of the total budget and/or a new budget category has been introduced.
- Re-budgeting among budget categories in excess of 10% of the overall award amount and/or introducing a new budget category requires Western SARE pre-approval (see Requesting Project Modifications).
- Invoice payment may be delayed until a re-budget request has been submitted to and approved by Western SARE.
- The invoice was sent to the incorrect contact.
Special Note on IDC recovery on Invoices:
If, on the final invoice, cumulative IDC recovery is more than one dollar ($1) UNDER the budgeted amount, the subrecipient must indicate via email they are foregoing IDC recovery in the amount under assessed.
Invoices wherein the cumulative IDC recovery EXCEEDS the budgeted amount will NOT be accepted or approved for payment. Please contact subawards@montana.edu if you have questions about this policy.
For your convenience, a standard invoice template [please update with revised template (Excel)] is provided. Institutions may choose to use this template or their own so long as all invoicing requirements are met.
An excellent example of an acceptable invoice can be found here.