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Free grant reimbursement request template

A reimbursement grant pays you back after you spend. This free Excel form shows each budget line's approved amount, what you asked for before, this request and what is left, all worked out from a simple expense log. No email needed, no macros.

Download the template (.xlsx, 25 KB) Works in Excel and Google Sheets

Opens in Protected View? Click Enable Editing so the totals calculate.

Published 2026-10-31 · Last updated 2026-10-31

This page and the template are not legal or tax advice. Your grant agreement comes first.

What is a reimbursement grant?

With a reimbursement grant, you pay the costs first. Then you send the funder a request showing what you spent, by budget line, with the records behind it. The funder checks it and pays you back. In a cost reimbursement grant you are paid your actual allowable costs, up to the approved budget. Some contracts instead pay a fixed rate for each unit of service.

Federal awards are a special case. Under 2 CFR 200.305(b), a recipient with the right written procedures and financial systems must be paid in advance. Reimbursement is the preferred method when those standards are not met, when the agency sets it as a specific condition, when the recipient asks for it, and for construction. When a federal agency or pass-through entity pays by reimbursement, it must pay within 30 calendar days of receiving the request, unless it reasonably believes the request is improper. Some federal programs use the SF-270, Request for Advance or Reimbursement; others use an online payment system. Your award says which.

What reimbursement means for cash flow

You carry the cost of the program until the money arrives. That gap is longer than the funder's payment time. It runs from the day you pay a cost, through the end of the billing period, the days it takes you to prepare the request, and the funder's review.

In the template's example, the first quarterly request was sent April 10 and paid 42 days later. Wages paid at the end of January were not repaid until late May, almost four months later. The second request was paid in 49 days, $600 short because the funder disallowed one cost.

  • Plan for the full gap. Budget cash for the billing period plus your preparation time plus the funder's payment time.
  • Bill as often as the agreement allows. Monthly requests shrink the gap compared with quarterly ones.
  • Ask about an advance. Some funders will advance part of the grant. For federal awards, 2 CFR 200.305(b)(4) allows a working capital advance when reimbursement is not feasible because a recipient lacks working capital.
  • Price a line of credit honestly. On federal awards, interest on borrowed money is unallowable, other than financing for capital assets (2 CFR 200.449(a)), so the cost of borrowing comes from your other funds.
  • Track what is outstanding. The Requests tab shows each request, what came in, how many days it took and what is still owed.

What's in the reimbursement request form

Three tabs, plus a "Start here" tab with instructions. The example rows are made up and marked EXAMPLE.

Request

The form you send: organization, funder, grant number, request number and period at the top, then one row per budget line, a total, and a signed certification. For a federal subaward it also includes the certification wording from 2 CFR 200.415(b).

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Request tab: each column, an example value and where it comes from
Column Example Where it comes from
Budget line Personnel Your approved budget lines, in the funder’s words
Approved budget $60,000.00 You type it
Previous requests (less disallowed) $30,000.00 Expenses on earlier request numbers, minus any the funder disallowed
This request $10,000.00 Expenses with this request number
Total to date $40,000.00 Previous plus this request
Remaining $20,000.00 Budget minus total to date
% used 67% Total to date as a share of budget
Check (blank) Says "Over budget" if the line is over

Expense log

One row per expense: date paid, payee, description, budget line, amount, receipt, the request number it goes on, and whether the funder disallowed it. An expense with no request number has not been claimed yet. The budget line must come from the list, and the Request tab warns about expenses dated outside the request period or matching no budget line.

Requests

Each request you have sent: amount requested, amount disallowed, date sent, amount received, date received, days to payment, what is still outstanding, and how long you have been waiting. Mark a request Settled when nothing more is coming, and the waiting count stops.

How to fill in a grant reimbursement request

  1. List your approved budget lines and amounts on the Request tab, in the funder's own words.
  2. Log each expense as you pay it, with its budget line and where the receipt is.
  3. When you bill, give each expense in the period this request's number. Give an expense one number only, so nothing is billed twice.
  4. Enter the same number at the top of the Request tab. Check the totals, and look for any line that says Over budget.
  5. Sign the certification, save as PDF, attach the backup your agreement asks for, and send it.
  6. Log it on the Requests tab, then record the payment when it arrives.
  7. If the funder disallows a cost, type Yes in its Disallowed column. It drops out of "Previous requests" on the next request and comes off what the funder owes.

Why requests get held up

  • Costs dated outside the request period or the grant period.
  • A line over its approved amount without the funder's approval.
  • Missing receipts, or payroll charged without time records.
  • Totals that don't match the ledger, or a cost claimed twice.
  • No signature, or the wrong person signed.

Reimbursement requests in FundMesa

On FundMesa Team and above, a reimbursement request starts from the expenses you already track on the grant. Pick the period and FundMesa groups them by budget category and shows budget, previous requests, this request, total to date and remaining. An expense can be claimed on only one request. The request downloads as a PDF with a certification, and you record each payment, including partial payments and costs the funder disallows.

FundMesa is free for 30 days with no credit card. The live demo needs no signup.

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Free grant financial report template

Frequently asked

What is a reimbursement grant?

A grant that pays you back after you spend. You pay the costs first, then send the funder a reimbursement request with backup, and the funder pays the approved amount. The opposite is an advance, where the funder pays before you spend.

What is a cost reimbursement grant?

One that pays your actual allowable costs, up to the approved budget, rather than a fixed amount or a set rate per unit of service. Each request shows what you spent by budget line and the records that prove it.

How long does grant reimbursement take?

It depends on the funder and the agreement, so ask before you sign. Federal awards paid by reimbursement have a 30-day rule in 2 CFR 200.305(b)(3), described above.

What should I attach to a grant reimbursement request form?

Whatever the agreement asks for. Common backup includes receipts or invoices, proof of payment, payroll records for staff time, and a general ledger report for the period. Keep the same documents on file even when the funder does not ask for them.

Is this reimbursement request template free?

Yes. No email or signup is needed to download it, and you can copy, change and share it. It has no macros. If your funder has its own form, use theirs and use this file to work out the numbers.

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