Small business grants planning template: budget, claims and records

What to take away

Run the opportunity test before you commit money, and record pass, question or fail for each scheme rule.
Keep necessary ineligible work visible in the budget, because it still affects affordability.
Decide where invoices, payments and delivery evidence will be stored before the first claim.
Check the grant agreement for retention periods as well as the tax rules.
Preserve the submitted set as read-only files and log every clarification beside it.

Record the applicant facts the claim must match

Record the legal entity, trading age, employee count, relevant financial figures, registered office, trading premises and project location. State which scheme rule each item addresses. Where a condition is unclear, note the question and the person responsible for obtaining clarification.

Applicant and geography checks

Legal entity
Trading age
Employee count
Financial figures
Registered office
Trading premises
Project location

The government finance and support finder is suitable for discovering programmes. Copy the official scheme URL into the record and use that page for the eligibility check. Named England routes include Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants, Made Smarter Adoption and Innovate UK Smart Grants.

Use the opportunity test as a spending gate

A critical fail should stop the application unless the funder confirms a different interpretation in writing. Run the test before money is committed to quotations or advice, and record the result against each scheme rule.

Test	Result	Where the evidence sits
Applicant type	Pass, question or fail	Scheme clause and company record
Business size	Pass, question or fail	Definition and current figures
English location	Pass, question or fail	The exact geographic rule
Project activity	Pass, question or fail	Scope wording and project note
Start and end dates	Pass, question or fail	The scheme timetable
Eligible costs	Pass, question or fail	Cost rule and budget
Business contribution	Pass, question or fail	Cash-flow evidence

Opportunity test decision

Does any test fail?

Yes

stop unless funder confirms in writing

continue with application

A result of question is not a pass. It needs a named person, the exact wording queried and the date the answer is due. A funder clarification can change the recorded answer, but the earlier entry stays in the version history.

Write budget lines that survive a claim

List each item with its supplier basis, net cost, VAT, eligibility status, requested contribution, business contribution and expected payment date. Keep necessary ineligible work visible, because it still affects affordability. Link each line to the quotation behind it.

Budget line items

Item and supplier basis
Net cost
VAT
Eligibility status
Requested contribution
Business contribution
Expected payment date

Copy this blank table into a spreadsheet and fill one row per cost line.

Cost line	Supplier basis	Net cost	VAT	Eligible, ineligible or question	Requested contribution	Business contribution	Expected payment date	Quotation file
[Item]	[Quotation or price list]	[Amount]	[Amount]	[Status and scheme clause]	[Amount]	[Amount]	[Date]	[File name and version]

Splitting net cost from VAT matters because GOV.UK notes that a business may need to work out the VAT it paid on goods it bought, for example when reclaiming VAT. Work out match funding and monthly cash with the grant budget layout.

Keep claim evidence and name its owner

Typical claim evidence includes supplier invoices, bank statements, timesheets, delivery notes, dated photographs and signed claim forms. State where each will be stored, and name the person who will contact the funder if scope or timing changes. Milestones, supplier decisions and dependencies belong in the delivery plan.

Use one row per claim in this schedule.

Claim period	Costs claimed	Evidence to attach	Stored at	Owner	Funder form and date submitted	Payment received
[Period set by the grant agreement]	[Budget lines]	[Invoices, bank statements, timesheets, delivery notes, dated photographs]	[Folder path]	[Named employee]	[Signed claim form and date]	[Date and amount]

For every application answer, name the supporting file, version, owner and reviewer. Record conflicts between evidence and draft wording, and resolve them by correcting the answer, not by selecting a more convenient number. Timesheets and bank statements can hold personal data, so apply UK GDPR through the data protection rules to the claim folder.

Set retention periods before the first payment

Retention periods are set by the grant agreement and by tax rules, so check both. GOV.UK says a limited company must keep records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to. Check the agreement for the period after final payment.

Note the retention period beside each record type in the file, with the date it starts to run. A claim file tidied away too early cannot answer a later question from the funder.

Record type	Retention period set by	Period	Start date	Disposal owner
Supplier invoices and bank statements	[Grant agreement or HMRC tax rules]	[Check both and use the longer]	[Date it starts to run]	[Named employee]
Signed claim forms and funder correspondence	[Grant agreement]	[Period after final payment]	[Date of final payment]	[Named employee]
Submitted application set	[Grant agreement]	[Period stated in the agreement]	[Submission date]	[Named employee]

Log risks and assumptions

Use the log for uncertainties that could alter eligibility, affordability or delivery. Do not list a risk without an action or owner. Separate a fact awaiting evidence from a forecast that cannot be known yet. Before you commit, test the risk scenarios behind each entry.

Risk or assumption	Rule or cost line affected	Evidence	Owner	Review date
Supplier lead time	Delivery milestone	Quotation or written confirmation	Named employee	Dated
Match funding available	Business contribution	Cash-flow evidence	Named employee	Dated

Control versions of the submitted set

Give the budget, narrative and attachments matching version names. Preserve the submitted set as read-only files. If the funder requests clarification, record the question, response, approver and date beside the original application rather than silently replacing it.

The quality gates between application and close-out show where each version needs a sign-off, so the record of who approved what stays complete.

Keep a separate working copy for future revisions so the submitted evidence remains reproducible. Set an internal approval date, as in the ninety-day schedule, and label it differently from the funder's closing time: one is a control that can change with approval, the other a hard external condition.

Before you file

Record each scheme rule and its pass, question or fail result.
Copy the official scheme URL into the record.
Show net cost, VAT and eligibility on every budget line.
Name the supporting file, version, owner and reviewer for each answer.
Note the retention period beside each record type.
Preserve the submitted set as read-only files.
Record who decided, the date, reasons and next review point.

Common questions

What should happen if an opportunity test produces a critical fail?

The application should stop unless the funder confirms a different interpretation in writing. Record the confirmation, with its date, beside the test.

How should the budget treat costs that are not eligible?

Keep necessary ineligible work visible in the budget. It still affects affordability, so list it with the same fields as every other line.

How long should claim records be kept?

Retention periods are set by the grant agreement and by tax rules. Check the agreement for the period after final payment, and check the company-records rule for the six-year period.