AIMS Grant Management Software vs OmniStar Grants

AIMS Grant Management Software manages the grant lifecycle from application and review through awards, payments, and reporting. Each funding scheme can have its own workflow, and online smartforms support multistage applications and conditional questions. Applicants, administrators, and external reviewers use an online portal to apply, manage, and report on grants. Finance features cover budgets, fund management, commitments, and scheduled payments, including multi-year and multi-fund decisions. Browser-based analytics, dashboards, operational reports, and keyword search help teams work with grant data. Access can be assigned by user, role, or grant programme; the system records time and date stamps and flags conflicts of interest. AIMS is hosted on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, with on-premises and alternative-cloud hosting also available. It states WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and support for assistive technologies and major browsers. The vendor offers professional services, training, and managed grant administration. Annual subscription prices start at £43,000 a year for Foundation, £52,000 a year for Standard, and £63,000 a year for Enterprise; a one-off onboarding and implementation plan starts at £55,000 as a one-time purchase. Pricing depends on scale, complexity, hosting, support, and optional services, not user count.

OmniStar Grants manages grant work from pre-award planning through administration and post-award reporting. It is built for government agencies, charities, universities, research institutions, and foundations, with funders, applicants, and recipients using the platform. Application workflows include SmartForms, eligibility checks, invitation and multi-stage rounds, collaboration, structured reviews, scoring, conflict checks, and digital approvals. Award administration covers contract generation, notifications, milestones, variations, payments, budgeting, and document versioning. Post-award tools handle progress and acquittal reports, outcomes, financial reconciliation, dashboards, reminders, and program closure. Administrators can configure forms, workflows, templates, dashboards, and reports, including drill-down reporting and data exports. Integrations include ABR/ABN, GrantConnect, FMIS, document and records management, ORCID, Microsoft Teams, Europe PMC, and DocuSign, plus REST APIs and webhooks. Listed security controls include role- and record-based access, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, audit logs, and encryption at rest and in transit. OmniStar says it is IRAP and ISO 27001 certified. The cloud service is accessible through devices and browsers; pricing is tailored to internal users and available by quote.