Grant Reporting Template (Free Excel Download)

What goes in a grant financial report?

A grant financial report usually shows what you were approved to spend, what you have spent so far and in the current period, and what remains, by budget category. It often also covers cost share or match, and for federal awards, cash drawn down and the federal share of expenditures. Funders set the form and the schedule, so follow the report format in your award terms. The free template gives you a clean internal version to build from.

Section A of the free template compares budget and actual by category:

• Approved budget. The amount approved for each category. Copy it from your award or your latest approved budget.
• Spent in earlier periods and this period. Keep the two separate so each report shows only what changed since the last one.
• Cumulative spent and Remaining. Calculated for you. Remaining is the approved budget minus what you have spent.
• Percent of budget spent. A quick check on pace. Compare it with how far through the award period you are.
• Notes. Explain variances while you remember them, such as an invoice that arrives next quarter.

The categories match the SF-424A budget categories, so a report built from a budget in that format lines up line for line. For federal reporting rules in context, see federal grants vs state grants.

What is the SF-425 Federal Financial Report?

The SF-425 is a standard federal form that recipients use to report the financial status of an award. Section 10 covers cash receipts, cash disbursements and cash on hand, the total federal funds authorized, the federal share of expenditures and unliquidated obligations, and the unobligated balance of federal funds. Not every federal agency or award uses it, and agencies can set their own reporting rules, so use the form your award terms call for.

Section B of the template follows these lines of the form:

• 10a. Cash receipts. Federal money you have received.
• 10b. Cash disbursements. Federal money you have paid out.
• 10c. Cash on hand. Line a minus line b.
• 10d. Total Federal funds authorized. The award, including approved amendments.
• 10e. Federal share of expenditures. From your records.
• 10f. Federal share of unliquidated obligations. Committed but not yet paid.
• 10g. Total Federal share. Line e plus line f.
• 10h. Unobligated balance of Federal funds. Line d minus line g.

Source: the Grants.gov form instructions for the Federal Financial Report, version 2.0 (OMB 4040-0014), read on 2026-10-11, and the SF-425 page on Grants.gov. The form has more lines than these, including program income and indirect expense. The instructions we read were an older version of the form, so check that your agency's current form uses the same lines. The template does not replace the form.

How do I track grant reporting deadlines?

Enter every report the day you receive the award letter: the report name, the period it covers, the due date, an owner and a status. Copy the due dates into a shared calendar with reminders at 30, 14 and 3 days. Many funders also have a final report and a closeout deadline that arrives after the award period ends, so add those too. The template includes a deadline list for this.

For tracking applications and awards together, use the grant tracking spreadsheet template.

How to set up the template

1. Download and open the template. Download the CSV and open it in Excel or import it into Google Sheets.
2. Enter the approved budget. In Section A, replace the example numbers with the approved amount for each category from your award.
3. Enter spending for the period. Fill in what was spent in earlier periods and in this reporting period. Cumulative spent, remaining and percent spent calculate themselves.
4. Add cost share if required. Record the required match and the amount documented so far. Delete the row if no match is required.
5. Complete the federal cash summary. If your award uses the SF-425, enter lines 10a, 10b, 10d, 10e and 10f from your records. Lines 10c, 10g and 10h calculate.
6. List every reporting deadline. In Section C, add each report with its period, due date and owner, then copy the dates to a shared calendar.

When you manage more than one award

The free CSV covers one award and one period at a time, with no drop-downs, dashboard or checks. If you want those, Palavir, the company behind FindGrants, sells an Excel workbook for managing awards on Etsy. Details below come from the listing and from a review of the workbook.

More questions

Related free templates

• Grant tracking spreadsheet template
• Grant budget template
• Nonprofit chart of accounts template