GrantsNow

GrantsNow is a cloud-based grants administration system for universities and research organisations coordinating research funding. It is best suited to research offices that need connected pre-award, post-award, compliance and contract processes; institutions should weigh its broad scope against custom pricing and implementation effort.

Overview

GrantsNow combines funding discovery and proposal preparation with award administration, ethics, due diligence and contracts. For research teams handling those responsibilities across disconnected systems, the breadth offers a way to bring workflows and records together. A team needing only one narrow function may find the platform broader than necessary.

Founded in 2009, GrantsNow is delivered through the web. The maker offers a free demo and says its team can help with implementation and system integration, making a demo a sensible way for institutions to assess process fit.

Key features

Funding discovery and proposal preparation

The Opportunity Scanner searches funding calls from sources such as UKRI, Horizon and Grants.gov. The funder scanner covers more than 200 global funders and adds filters, alerts and automatic conversion of call data into funder templates. This can help research offices track varied sponsors and move opportunities into proposal work, though the usefulness depends on whether the coverage and templates suit the institution.

Proposal forms and approval workflows can be configured, with optional peer review steps and alerts for outstanding items. Costing supports multiple budget scenarios, full economic costing models including FEC and Horizon, proposal recalculation and automated overheads. These tools suit institutions with varied costing and review requirements; configurable steps are less compelling for teams with simple, uniform processes.

Awards, compliance and contracts

Post-award work includes award setup, budget and milestone tracking, change workflows, compliance monitoring, audit trails and ERP-integrated reporting. Proposal reports, KPIs and status tracking give research offices ways to follow work across stages, while post-award reporting supports oversight after funding is secured.

Ethics and due diligence processes use custom forms, automated approvals, collaboration and centralised risk, compliance, governance and document management. The ethics module addresses regulatory frameworks including UK GDPR and the Human Tissue Act 2004, alongside guidance from the Health Research Authority and UK Research Integrity Office. These capabilities are relevant to organisations managing formal review and compliance obligations.

The Contracts module handles creation, negotiation, execution and renewal, with tracking and reminders. Digital signatures are supported through DocuSign or another third-party application. The module lists access controls, encryption and audit trails for sensitive contract data. Pre-award security controls include version history, login tracking, role-based page access and delegated proposal sharing.

Integrations

GrantsNow describes integrations with Oracle ERP, Oracle HR and Finance, Oracle Grants Management Cloud, Unit4, TechnologyOne and SAP, among other systems. That range may suit institutions seeking to connect grant administration with existing finance or research infrastructure, but the relevant integrations should be assessed during implementation planning.

Pricing

GrantsNow uses a paid model with custom pricing. There is no stated free plan or trial duration; the maker offers a free demo instead. This makes it a procurement conversation rather than a self-serve purchase, so institutions should request pricing and establish how implementation and integrations fit their needs before committing.

Platforms

GrantsNow is a cloud-based web platform, which suits institutional teams accessing grant workflows through a browser. No other platform is part of its stated offering.

Who it's for

GrantsNow is aimed at research professionals, particularly universities and research organisations managing proposals, awards, compliance and contracts. It is most relevant where several of those functions need coordinated workflows and reporting. Individual grant seekers or teams seeking only a single specialised tool are less likely to benefit from its institutional breadth.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Covers funding discovery through post-award administration and contracts, reducing the need to coordinate every stage through separate grant tools.
• Pros: Configurable proposal workflows, costing scenarios and compliance processes can accommodate institutional review requirements.
• Pros: Integrations with major finance and enterprise systems can support connection to existing institutional infrastructure.
• Cons: Custom pricing means institutions must engage the maker to understand cost before comparing budgets.
• Cons: Its broad institutional scope may be unnecessary for teams that need only a focused grants function.
• Cons: Digital signing relies on DocuSign or another third-party application rather than being described as a standalone signature service.

Alternatives

Research Administration Software is a useful category comparison for institutions considering the wider range of research administration tools.

OneRamp ERA Suite is another paid option, with Android, iOS and web platforms; contact the company for pricing.

OpenClinica may suit teams prioritising clinical research data capture: it has a free plan and trial, and its Launch plan costs $750 a month, billed monthly with no annual contract, for 150 participants and three sites with EDC only and email notifications only.

Cayuse Award Management is another paid award-management option for institutions comparing award-focused systems.

InfoEd Global is a paid research administration alternative available on web, Windows and self-hosted platforms.

Kuali Curriculum Management is another paid option, with pricing available through a personalised demo.

Pure Award Management is a paid award-management alternative with web and API platforms.

CommunityForce is a paid web-based awards management platform with custom pricing.

eProtocol is a paid alternative available on web and self-hosted platforms.

Verdict

Research offices at universities and research organisations should consider GrantsNow when they want one system to coordinate funding discovery, proposals, awards, compliance and contracts. Its lifecycle coverage and configurable workflows are the main reasons to choose it; custom pricing, implementation needs and the possibility of excess scope are reasons for smaller or single-function teams to look elsewhere.