How do I show a funder how I spent a grant?

Tag every grant-funded expense to the award and attach its receipt, then export the grant folder when a report is due. You'll have a documented list of what the funds bought without reconstructing it from memory.

What if I'm running two grants at the same time?

Give each grant its own folder and its own tag, then tag each expense to the specific award it was paid from. The two never share a folder, so their spending stays separate and reportable.

Does Cash Workspace calculate how much of my grant is left?

You record the award amount and tag each funded expense, and you can keep a running note comparing the two. Cash Workspace organizes those records for review but does not compute balances or totals for you.

Cash Workspace

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Freelance finance · Funded work

Record a grant and how you spent it

A grant or stipend often comes with a quiet obligation: show how the money was used. If your funded purchases are mixed in with everything else, a spend report becomes a stressful archaeology project. Cash Workspace lets you record each award and tag every expense paid from it — receipts attached — inside a grant folder, so the funded spending is documented and easy to pull together.

Start a free workspace Potentially-deductible expense folder

The problem

Why grant spending gets hard to report

Grant money usually arrives as one lump sum, then leaves in dozens of small purchases over months. Without a tag linking each purchase back to the award, you can't show what the funds bought.

An equipment purchase paid from a grant looks identical to a self-funded one in your expense list.
The award letter, the budget, and the receipts live in three different places.
When a funder asks for a spend report, you can't quickly total what the grant actually covered.
Two grants run at once and their expenses get tangled together.
A receipt for a grant-funded item is missing, leaving a gap in the report.

The workflow

Track a grant from award to spend report

Set the award up once, then tag spending to it as it happens so the report writes itself.

1
Record the award
Create a record for the grant with the funder, the amount awarded, the award date, and any spending period or restrictions noted.
2
Create a grant folder
Open a folder named for the grant to hold the award letter, the budget, and every funded receipt.
3
Tag each funded expense
When you spend grant money, record the expense and tag it to that specific grant so it's traceable back to the award.
4
Attach the receipt
Attach the receipt or invoice for each funded purchase to its expense record so proof and entry stay together.
5
Review against the budget
Periodically compare your tagged grant spending against the award amount and any line-item budget you noted.
6
Export for reporting
When a report is due, pull the grant folder and its tagged expenses into an accountant-ready export.

Record structure

What to record for a grant and its spending

These fields keep the award and every funded purchase tied together for a clean report.

Grant name: A short, consistent name used as the tag on every funded expense.
Funder: The organization or program that issued the grant or stipend.
Amount awarded: The total funds granted and currency, as your reporting baseline.
Award date: When the funds were received or the award began.
Spending period: Any window or restriction on when and how the funds may be used, noted from the award terms.
Expense tag: The grant name applied to each funded expense so spending traces back to the award.
Expense amount and category: What each funded purchase cost and its product expense category.
Receipt: The receipt or invoice attached to each funded expense.
Award documents: The award letter and budget filed in the grant folder.

Example setup

An example grant folder

One way to lay out a single grant and the spending tied to it.

Award documents

The award letter, the agreed budget, and any funder reporting template.

Funded expenses

Every expense tagged to the grant, each with its receipt attached and a category.

Spend tracking

A note comparing total tagged spending to the award amount and budget lines.

Reports filed

Copies of any spend reports or exports you've already sent the funder.

Common mistakes

Mistakes to avoid

Spending grant money without tagging the expense back to the award.
Letting two grants share one folder, so their spending blurs together.
Storing the award letter separately from the receipts it's supposed to back up.
Skipping receipts on funded purchases, leaving holes in the spend report.
Ignoring the spending period, then realizing funds were used outside the allowed window.

How it helps

How Cash Workspace helps

One folder per award

Keep each grant's letter, budget, and funded receipts in a single folder so a spend report is a quick gather, not a search.

Tagged funded spending

Tag every grant-funded expense to its award so you can filter all spending tied to one grant.

Accountant-ready exports

Export a grant's tagged expenses and attached receipts when a funder or accountant needs a documented summary.

Deductible expense folder

Organize potentially-deductible spending with receipts attached.

Per-project cost folder

Keep costs for a single funded project together.

Multiple income streams

Keep grant funds separate from client income.

Receipt organizer

Attach and organize receipts so none go missing.

All finance workflows

Browse the full Cash Workspace workflow library.

FAQ

Grant and stipend records FAQ

How do I show a funder how I spent a grant?: Tag every grant-funded expense to the award and attach its receipt, then export the grant folder when a report is due. You'll have a documented list of what the funds bought without reconstructing it from memory.
What if I'm running two grants at the same time?: Give each grant its own folder and its own tag, then tag each expense to the specific award it was paid from. The two never share a folder, so their spending stays separate and reportable.
Does Cash Workspace calculate how much of my grant is left?: You record the award amount and tag each funded expense, and you can keep a running note comparing the two. Cash Workspace organizes those records for review but does not compute balances or totals for you.

Organizing help — not tax, accounting, or legal guidance

Cash Workspace is a free workspace for organizing invoices, expenses, receipts, clients, and documents. This page is organizing guidance only — not tax, accounting, legal, or bookkeeping guidance. Cash Workspace does not connect to your bank, does not scan or read your receipts for you, and does not move or collect payments. Whether an expense is deductible depends on your situation, so confirm it with a qualified accountant or tax professional.

Document every funded purchase

Start a free workspace, record each grant, and tag the expenses paid from it with receipts attached, so your funded spending is documented and ready whenever a report is due.