Quick Start: 15-Minute Grant Setup & Budget Burn Check

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for Quick Start: 15-Minute Grant Setup & Budget Burn Check within SmartERP.

Rapid step-by-step walkthrough of creating a donor grant, configuring an 80/20 activity budget, and executing a real-time hard-stop budget check.

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2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: smarterp_ngo_grants, smarterp_humanitarian, smarterp_fund_accounting
• Security Groups:
  • Grant Officer (Technical ID: smarterp_ngo.group_grant_user)
  • Finance Director (NGO) (Technical ID: smarterp_ngo.group_grant_manager)
  • Field Relief Distribution Officer (Technical ID: smarterp_ngo.group_field_officer)
• Master Data Dependencies: Donor profiles (USAID, EU, UN, FCDO), multi-currency grant agreements, restricted fund accounts, ACSO 80/20 cost allocation categories, and beneficiary rosters.

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the NGO & Grants app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open NGO & Grants → Grants & Projects → Donor Agreements / Budget Burn / Relief Distributions.

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Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Grant Agreement Reference (Mandatory): Official donor contract number and co-funding arrangement
   • Funding Currency & Budget (Mandatory): Donor currency (USD/EUR) and restricted ETB counterpart account
   • Start & End Dates (Mandatory): Contractual grant operational window and closeout timeline
   • ACSO Cost Ratio Classification (Mandatory): Operational program expenditure vs. administrative overhead allocation
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Co-Funding Share (Optional): Percentage split across multiple donors or institutional match
   • Target Beneficiary Woreda / Kebele (Optional): Geographic location of humanitarian intervention
   • Relief Item Voucher (Model 20) (Optional): Distribution schedule for emergency food or non-food items (NFI)
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

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Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Draft Agreement → Approved / Funded → Active Implementation → Budget Burn Monitored → Grant Closed).
• Ledger & System Impact: Expenditures debit grant-restricted project accounts and credit vendor payables/cash; foreign currency conversions record realized and unrealized FX variance.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

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Objective & Prerequisites#

This guide demonstrates setting up a donor grant and executing a budget-controlled transaction in 15 minutes:

1. Register a multi-year donor grant agreement.
2. Structure project activity budget lines tagged with ACSO 80/20 categories.
3. Submit a purchase requisition and observe automated real-time budget availability verification.
4. Execute an expense posting and verify live budget burn tracking.

Prerequisites: Access to NGO Grants, Accounting, and Purchasing modules.

Step 1: Create Donor Grant Agreement (3 Minutes)#

1. Navigate to NGO Grants > Grants > Grant Agreements and click New.
2. Enter grant parameters:
   • Grant Reference: GRANT-USAID-2026-081.
   • Donor Agency: USAID Ethiopia Mission.
   • Project Title: Resilient Livelihoods & Food Security in Somali Region.
   • Total Grant Envelope: $1,500,000.00 USD (Base Currency).
   • Local Currency Equivalent: 195,000,000.00 ETB (at 130 ETB/USD).
   • Grant Duration: 2026-10-01 to 2028-09-30 (24 Months).
3. Click Confirm Grant Agreement.

Step 2: Configure 80/20 Budget Lines (4 Minutes)#

1. Under the grant, switch to the Budget Matrix tab.
2. Add budget lines:
   • Line 1: Drought-Tolerant Seed Kits for Beneficiaries | Amount: 800,000 USD | Tag: Program (80%).
   • Line 2: Woreda Field Team Salaries & Mobility | Amount: 450,000 USD | Tag: Program (80%).
   • Line 3: Central Project Coordination & Audit | Amount: 250,000 USD | Tag: Admin (20%).
3. The system validates:
   • Total Program: 83.33% | Total Admin: 16.67%.
   • Displays green ACSO 80/20 Compliant badge.
4. Click Lock & Activate Budget.

Step 3: Purchase Requisition & Hard-Stop Check (4 Minutes)#

1. Open NGO Grants > Procurement > Purchase Requisitions and click New.
2. Select Project: Resilient Livelihoods.
3. Link Budget Line: Drought-Tolerant Seed Kits.
4. Enter requisition line:
   • Item: Certified Teff and Sorghum Seed Kits.
   • Requested Amount: 50,000 USD (6,500,000 ETB).
5. Click Check Real-Time Budget Availability:
   • The engine validates: Total Budget: $800,000 | Committed: $0 | Remaining: $800,000.
   • Budget status displays green Funds Available.
6. If the request was for $850,000, the system would trigger an immediate Hard-Stop Budget Exceeded Block, preventing requisition submission.

Step 4: Post Expense & Verify Burn Dashboard (4 Minutes)#

1. Approve the purchase requisition and generate the Purchase Order.
2. Receive seeds into central warehouse via Model 19 GRN.
3. Validate vendor invoice:
   • Post payment of 6,500,000 ETB from restricted USAID project bank account.
4. Navigate to NGO Grants > Analytics > Live Budget Burn Cockpit:
   • The dashboard updates in real time: Line burn rate increases to 6.25%, overall grant burn reaches 3.33%, with ACSO ratio intact at 83.3% Program / 16.7% Admin.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • NGO: Calculate ACSO 80/20 cost ratio compliance (smarterp_ngo.ir_cron_acso_ratio): Runs weekly to flag any operational overhead drift above 20% limit
  • Grants: Reconcile foreign currency funding variance (smarterp_ngo.ir_cron_fx_reconcile): Runs monthly to revalue restricted foreign currency bank accounts
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • ACSO Statutory Annual Financial Statement (80/20 Rule)
  • Donor Financial Expenditure Report (Multi-Currency)
  • Beneficiary Relief Distribution Voucher (Model 20 SIV)
  • Time-and-Effort Personnel Timesheet Allocation Summary
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#