Glossary of Terms

ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments are electronic payments directed by a network from one financial institution to another through a secured system. ACH is one of the two payment methods offered by ASAP. Select ACH for next business-day settlement. If same-day ACH settlement is desired, the ACH payments must be requested before 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time.

The Agency Location Code (ALC) is the federal agency and region from which you are requesting funds in ASAP. The ALC for the Department of Justice is 15040001.

Alternate Grant Award Administrator is one of the six foundational JustGrants entity user roles. This role provides support to the Grant Award Administrator. They can initiate but not submit programmatic-related award requirements including GAMs. 

The Annual Programmatic Desk Review (APDR) is conducted on all Funded Awards and consists of seven questions that grantees must answer. APDRs take place within the Funded Award in JustGrants.

An Applicant is a registered user who works on or applies for grants through Grants.gov for their entity. In JustGrants, the Application Submitter is the user role tasked with completing and submitting applications on behalf of the entity. 

An Application is comprised of the specific set of forms, documents, and attachments submitted to a federal grant opportunity.

Application Deadlines are the dates by which an application must be created in Grants.gov and JustGrants. DOJ encourages applicants to register several weeks before the application submission deadline. Also see Application Period.

The Application Period is detailed in the funding opportunity announcement (FOA), also known as the solicitation document. The application deadlines are designated by the grant-making agency for submission of the grant application to Grants.gov and JustGrants.  A grace period may be created at the grant-making agency's discretion to extend the application submission period.

The Application Review Process generally consists of the following steps:

• Application Review for Basic Minimum Requirements (BMR) and completeness
• Programmatic Review to determine consistency with program or legislative requirements and, for competitive discretionary solicitations, a Peer Review
• Financial Review provides determination of reasonable, necessary, and allowable costs
• Award Decisions
• Final Approved Award

The Application Submission portion of the Grants Lifecycle involves completing and submitting web-based forms as well as the attachments that are required from the published solicitation. Applicants have two application submission deadlines: one for Grants.gov and one for JustGrants. 

Application Submission is a two-part process. First, an applicant must complete an abbreviated application in Grants.gov. Upon validation and successful submission in Grants.gov, the applicant will receive confirmation emails from Grants.gov. Next, the application is “ingested” into JustGrants. Once JustGrants receives the abbreviated application from Grants.gov, the applicant will receive notifications to log in, onboard critical users, and complete the more detailed application. After an application is successfully submitted in JustGrants, it will move forward for application review and award consideration. 

Application Submitter is one of the six foundational JustGrants entity user roles. This role is tasked with completing and submitting applications on behalf of the entity, including Entity Assurances and Certifications. 

Entities must complete Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) Account Enrollment in order to manage their award. The enrollment process starts when the POC receives the enrollment invitation in the form of two emails with credentials to login to ISIM. After changing the password, completing security questions, and accepting the ASAP terms, the POC logs in to ASAP.gov with their new password and assigns all user roles. The POC can fill all of the roles, assign multiple roles to one person, or assign each role to a different person. The Head of Organization (HOO) approves the user roles. The Financial Official (FO) enters banking data for receiving payments. The Authorizing Official (AO) adds the entity short name and Payment Requestor information. Once the banking validation occurs, the federal agency creates the account, authorizes funding, and sends notification that the account has been created.

User roles in Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP):

• Initial Point of Contact
• Point of Contact (POC)
• Head of Organization (HOO)
• Financial Official (FO)
• Authorizing Official (AO)
• Payment Requester
• Inquirer Only

All roles require assignment during the enrollment process.

The Authorized Organization Representatives (AOR) are the people who submit applications for the organization. The E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC), the person registering with SAM, assigns the AOR. In Grants.gov there are two AOR core roles: Standard and Expanded.

Authorized Representative is one of the six foundational JustGrants entity user roles. This role must possess the legal authority to accept awards. This action binds the entity to the award terms and conditions. 

The Authorizing Official (AO) is one of the user roles in Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP). The AO adds Payment Requestors and Inquirer Only users.

The Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) is the shared services payment system used by the Department of the Treasury that replaces the Grants Payment Request System (GPRS) for grant payments. Federal agencies enroll recipient organizations, authorize their payments, and manage their accounts. Recipient organizations then request payments from these pre-authorized accounts.

An Award is financial assistance that provides support or stimulation to accomplish a public purpose. Awards include grants by the federal government to an eligible recipient.

Accepting or declining an award can only be done through JustGrants. When the Authorized Representative(s) log(s) into their account, they can view awards that need to be accepted. The Application Submitter, the Authorized Representative and the Entity Administrator receive email notification to sign and accept their award. The system-generated award notification email is saved in JustGrants for audit purposes and becomes part of the history of the award.

Grantees are urged to accept their award within 45 calendar days. Upon accepting an award, the Entity Administrator must assign a Financial Manager and a Grant Administrator. 

Award Closeout is the end of the grant process. The Grant Award Administrator leads the efforts in completing Closeout. To complete a closeout, entities must submit final financial, performance, and other reports required under the grant, and meet award conditions, within 120 days after the grant award expires or is terminated.

Closeouts are automatically generated in JustGrants one day after the grant end date or automatically if an award is declined. Closeouts are automatically submitted 121 days after the end date of the grant.