Direct comparison
PMS vs ASAP vs G5: Grant Payment Systems
Compare HHS PMS, Treasury ASAP, and ED's G5 -- who operates each, which agencies use them, and how drawdown and reporting differ.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | PMS (HHS Payment Management Services) | ASAP (Treasury) | G5 (Dept. of Education) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operated by | HHS Program Support Center, Division of Payment Management (pms.psc.gov) | U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service | U.S. Department of Education |
| Typical grant-making agencies | Most HHS operating divisions: NIH, CDC, HRSA, SAMHSA, ACF, AHRQ, and others; also used by a number of non-HHS federal agencies as a shared payment-services provider | Non-HHS civilian agencies -- DOJ, Dept. of the Interior, USDA (e.g. NIFA), and roughly 68 federal program agencies overall as of FY2023 | U.S. Department of Education only -- both discretionary grants and formula/state-administered programs |
| What the system actually covers | Payment/cash-management only -- receives drawdown requests, transmits payment, records disbursement against subaccounts; award terms and reporting live in the awarding agency's own grants-management system | Payment/cash-management only -- recipients draw from pre-authorized accounts an agency sets up; award management and financial reporting (e.g. via an agency's own system such as JustGrants) happen separately | Full award lifecycle in one system -- planning, obligating, authorizing, disbursing, expenditure reporting, and closeout, not payment alone |
| How a recipient draws funds | Recipient submits a payment request against its PMS subaccount for the specific award; funds are transmitted via Federal Reserve/Treasury to the recipient's bank account | Recipient logs in to its ASAP profile and requests a drawdown against an account the funding agency pre-authorized | Recipient submits a drawdown request in G5 (or G6, the platform ED began transitioning to from August 2023) against its authorized grant award |
| Access / enrollment | PMS account setup by the awarding HHS agency; recipient designates authorized users | Enrollment credentials issued via the recipient's SAM.gov E-Biz Point of Contact after the awarding agency sets up the account | Recipient requests G5/G6 access directly through the Department of Education |
| Reporting tied to the system | SF-425 Federal Financial Report submitted through PMS for most awards using the system | Expenditure/financial reporting is handled through the awarding agency's separate grants system, not ASAP itself | Expenditure reporting is built into G5 alongside the drawdown function itself |
| Governing cash-management rule | 2 CFR 200.305 -- minimize the time between drawdown and disbursement for program purposes | 2 CFR 200.305 -- same Uniform Guidance requirement applies regardless of payment system | 2 CFR 200.305 -- same Uniform Guidance requirement applies regardless of payment system |
| One recipient, multiple systems? | Yes -- an institution with NIH, CDC, and HRSA awards uses one PMS relationship across all of them | Yes -- one ASAP profile can be used to draw from every enrolled agency funding that recipient | Applies only to Dept. of Education awards; an institution with both NIH and ED funding still needs a separate PMS relationship for the NIH award |
Common questions
FAQ
Does HRSA or SAMHSA use G5?+
No. This is a common point of confusion because G5's name is sometimes conflated with other federal grant systems. HRSA and SAMHSA are HHS operating divisions and use the HHS Payment Management System (PMS), the same system used by NIH, CDC, and ACF. G5 belongs exclusively to the Department of Education and has no connection to HHS payment processing.
Can a research administrator choose which system to use?+
No. The payment system is determined entirely by which federal agency made the award. A university with awards from NIH, DOJ, and the Department of Education will end up using PMS, ASAP, and G5 respectively for those three awards, with no ability to consolidate them into one system.
Is G5 being retired?+
The Department of Education began transitioning recipients from G5 to a newer platform, G6, starting in August 2023, described as a streamlined successor rather than a change in which agency operates the system. Recipients should confirm with their program office which platform currently applies to their award.
Do PMS and ASAP replace the SF-425 Federal Financial Report?+
No. PMS and ASAP handle the cash drawdown; the SF-425 is the separate standard federal financial reporting form required under 2 CFR 200. PMS integrates SF-425 submission directly into its own portal for many HHS awards; ASAP does not -- FFR reporting for ASAP-linked awards happens through the awarding agency's own grants-management system.
What happens if a recipient draws down funds faster than it disburses them?+
All three systems operate under the same 2 CFR 200.305 cash-management standard, which requires minimizing the time between drawdown and actual disbursement for program purposes. Holding federal cash longer than necessary before spending it can trigger interest-liability findings or audit scrutiny under the Cash Management Improvement Act framework, regardless of which of the three systems processed the drawdown.
