Liquidation period
The window after a period of performance ends in which a recipient may pay off obligations already incurred. Federal awards commonly allow 120 days. Nothing new may be obligated in it — it is for settling, not for spending.
Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.
Also called Liquidation window
In detail
The window exists because invoices arrive after work is done. Without it, every award would end with a scramble to pay for things that had not yet been billed.
Its length is set by the award and by the agency, and missing it converts an ordinary payable into an unallowable one. It runs at the same time as the closeout reporting deadlines, which is why the end of an award is busier than the start.
Against a no-cost extension
An extension moves the end of the period of performance so that new work and new obligations are still possible. A liquidation period changes nothing about the end date: the award is over, and only payment of existing obligations remains. Asking for the wrong one is a common and expensive mistake, and neither is a field on an opportunity record.
How GrantTrove stores it
- We hold the application window — `open_at`, `deadline_at`, `deadline_type`, `deadline_note` — and nothing about award administration.
- Where a notice states an anticipated award or start date, it stays in the notice. We do not derive award dates from application dates.
Common questions
How long is the liquidation period?
Commonly 120 days on federal awards, but the award document is what governs.
Can I buy equipment during it?
No. Only obligations already incurred in the period of performance may be paid.
Do you show it on a record?
No. It is an award term, not something a notice publishes.