Free Excel template · Excel for nonprofits

Free Excel grant budget vs actual template

For program and grant managers who report spending to a funder. Enter the approved budget for each line and actual spending by quarter; the template totals spending to date, shows what remains, compares the share spent with the share of the grant period that has passed, and flags lines that are running ahead of or behind pace, so you can ask about a budget change before the final report, not after.

cellwise-grant-budget-vs-actual-template.xlsxExcel workbook · 4.7 KB · works in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice · no signup

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This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J
1	Grant budget vs actual
2	Grant	Youth Literacy Program
3	Grant start	Jan 1, 2026
4	Grant end	Dec 31, 2026
5	Report through	Sep 30, 2026
6	Share of grant period elapsed	0.748
7	Pace tolerance (+/-)	0.1
8
9	Budget line	Approved budget	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Spent to date	Remaining	% spent	Pace
10	Personnel	42000	10500	10500	10200		31200	10800	0.743	On pace
11	Fringe benefits	8400	2100	2100	2040		6240	2160	0.743	On pace
12	Program supplies	6500	900	2300	1450		4650	1850	0.715	On pace
13	Books for participants	9000	0	1200	6700		7900	1100	0.878	Ahead of pace
14	Travel	2400	150	300	200		650	1750	0.271	Behind pace
15	Evaluation consultant	5000	0	0	2500		2500	2500	0.5	Behind pace
16	Indirect costs	7000	1700	1750	1800		5250	1750	0.75	On pace
17	Total	80300	15350	18150	24890	0	58390	21910	0.727	On pace
18
19	Lines off pace	3
20	Which lines	Books for participants, Travel, Evaluation consultant

How the formulas work

How much of the grant period has passed

B6=ROUND((B5-B3+1)/(B4-B3+1),3)

Dates are day numbers, so subtracting gives days. The +1 counts both the first and last day. Reporting through September 30 on a calendar-year grant means 273 of 365 days, or 74.8% of the period, have passed. That is the benchmark every line is compared with.

Spent to date and remaining

H10=B10-G10

G10 adds the four quarters with SUM, so empty future quarters simply count as nothing. Remaining is the approved budget minus spending to date. A negative Remaining means the line is overspent and may need a budget modification under your funder's rules.

Is each line on pace?

J10=IF(I10>$B$6+$B$7,"Ahead of pace",IF(I10<$B$6-$B$7,"Behind pace","On pace"))

Compares % spent with % of time elapsed, give or take the tolerance in B7 (10 points in the sample). Books (87.8%) is ahead of pace, while Travel (27.1%) and the evaluation consultant (50%) are behind. Behind is not always bad (an invoice can be late), but it is what funders ask about.

List the lines to explain in the report

B20=IFERROR(TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,FILTER(A10:A16,J10:J16<>"On pace")),"None")

FILTER keeps the line names whose Pace is anything other than On pace and TEXTJOIN joins them, giving you the list of variances to explain in your narrative. Needs Excel 2021, Microsoft 365 or Google Sheets.

Make it yours

Some spending is lumpy (a consultant paid at the end, books bought once). Add a note column so the pace flag is read with context.
Funders set their own rules on how far a line can move before you need approval. Keep a copy of the grant agreement's budget terms next to this sheet.
Make a copy of the sheet for each grant (right-click the tab > Move or Copy > Create a copy) and keep a summary sheet that links to each Spent to date total.
Reconcile the quarterly numbers with your accounting system before each report. This sheet is a working view, not the books of record.

FAQ

How do I make a budget vs actual report in Excel?

List each budget line with the approved amount, add a column for actual spending, and subtract to get the variance. Divide actual by budget for % spent. For a grant, compare % spent with the share of the grant period that has passed to see whether spending is on pace.

What does "behind pace" mean on a grant budget?

It means a line has spent less of its budget than the share of time that has passed, by more than the tolerance you set. It can signal a delayed activity, or money that may need to be moved or returned, depending on the funder's rules.

Can I track several grants in one workbook?

Yes. Keep one sheet per grant with this layout, then add a summary sheet that pulls each grant's totals with references like ='Grant A'!G17.

Functions used

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Updated November 2, 2026