Participant payments
A record per payment with the participant ID and receipt, tagged to the Participant line.
Project finance · Research
An expense template for organizing a research study
A single study runs participant payments, a piece of lab equipment, an annual software license, and a conference trip — each with its own paperwork and its own budget line. When those records live across a department card, a personal reimbursement, and a stack of consent forms, reconciling the study at close becomes painful. This template gives you a per-study folder where every expense is a record with an attached receipt and a budget-line tag, plus a documents area for ethics approvals and reimbursement forms.
The problem
Why study expenses get hard to reconcile
Studies mix small, frequent participant payments with large one-off purchases and reimbursements. Without one filing convention, the study's true spend is scattered.
- Participant payment receipts are many and small, so some never get recorded.
- Equipment invoices aren't tied to the study they were bought for.
- Software license renewals slip in without being logged against the budget.
- Travel reimbursement forms live apart from the travel receipts they support.
- Ethics approval documents aren't filed with the study they govern.
The workflow
Organize a study's expenses
Set the budget lines from the protocol, then file each expense and document against the study as it happens.
- 1
Create a study folder
Make one folder per study — e.g. 'Sleep & Memory 2026' — to hold its expenses and documents.
- 2
Define budget lines
List the lines you're tracking: Participant payments, Equipment, Software, Travel, Other.
- 3
Record each expense
Record the payee, amount, date, and budget line for every cost as it occurs.
- 4
Attach the receipt
Attach each receipt or invoice so the expense and its proof stay together.
- 5
File approvals and forms
Keep ethics approvals, consent templates, and reimbursement forms in a study documents folder.
- 6
Review by budget line
Open the folder to see spend grouped by line before a progress review or study close.
Record structure
What to record for each study expense
These fields make a study's spend reviewable line by line at any point.
- Budget line
- Participant payments, Equipment, Software, Travel, or Other — kept consistent for clean line totals.
- Payee
- The participant ID, supplier, vendor, or travel provider.
- Amount
- The payment, invoice, or receipt total and currency.
- Date
- When the cost occurred, so it lands in the right reporting window.
- Study
- Which study the cost belongs to, so multi-study labs stay separated.
- Receipt or invoice
- The supporting document attached to the record.
- Reimbursable flag
- Whether the cost was paid out of pocket and is awaiting reimbursement.
- Note
- Context such as participant session number, equipment serial, or PO reference.
Example setup
An example study folder setup
One way to lay out a single study inside your workspace.
Equipment & software
Equipment invoices and software license receipts, each with a budget-line tag.
Travel
Conference and fieldwork travel receipts, with reimbursable items flagged.
Ethics & forms
IRB/ethics approval, consent templates, and blank reimbursement forms.
Common mistakes
Mistakes to avoid
- Leaving small participant payments unrecorded because there are so many.
- Buying equipment without tagging it to the study budget line.
- Filing reimbursement forms away from the receipts that back them.
- Mixing two studies' expenses in one folder.
- Storing ethics approvals somewhere unrelated to the study they cover.
How it helps
How Cash Workspace helps
Budget-line tags
Tag each expense to a study budget line so participant, equipment, software, and travel spend each total up cleanly.
Receipts attached
Attach the receipt or invoice to every record so each cost has its proof beside it.
A documents folder
Keep ethics approvals and reimbursement forms with the study they belong to, ready for review.
Related
Related research and project templates
Grant project template
Organize grant spend by funded category for the funder report.
Travel receipt tracker
Keep trip receipts organized for reimbursement and review.
Reimbursable expense report
Organize out-of-pocket costs awaiting reimbursement.
Multi-project tracker
Keep several studies' records separate in one workspace.
All finance workflows
Browse the full Cash Workspace workflow library.
FAQ
Research study expense template FAQ
- Can one workspace hold several studies?
- Yes. Give each study its own folder with its own budget lines and documents so participant payments, equipment, and travel never commingle across projects.
- How should I handle participant payments?
- Record each payment as its own record with the participant ID, amount, and receipt attached, tagged to the Participant payments line. Keep the convention consistent so the line total is reliable.
- Does the template manage ethics compliance?
- No. It stores your ethics approvals and consent forms alongside the study so they're easy to find; it does not assess or guarantee compliance. Follow your institution's requirements.
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.
Keep a study's expenses organized end to end
Start a free workspace and file every participant payment, equipment invoice, and travel receipt under one study with its budget line and documents in place.