How to solve the problem with manual grant tracking?

In the world of government agencies, nonprofits, and public research institutions, grants are the lifeblood of progress. Yet, for too long, the vital work of grant management has been held hostage by a patchwork of outdated tools. From endless spreadsheets and buried email threads to disconnected financial systems, the “managed chaos” of manual grant tracking has become the norm.

But what if this chaos wasn’t just a minor inconvenience? What if it was a significant drain on your team’s time, budget, and ability to deliver on your mission?

This guide is for program managers, finance directors, and grant administrative leaders who are ready to move beyond the limitations of manual processes. We’ll explore the hidden risks of this old way of working and reveal how a modern, integrated grant management system can transform your operations, bringing clarity, efficiency, and full control back to your team.

The Problem of Disconnected Tools

Many government agencies, nonprofits, and research institutions still rely on a patchwork of spreadsheets, emails, and disconnected systems to manage grants. While it may “work,” it creates hidden risks that drain resources.

  • The Inefficiency of Data Silos
    When every grant lives in its own spreadsheet, communication happens in email, and finance data is stored elsewhere, it creates data silos. Version control issues, duplicate entry, and conflicting data waste hours of staff time.
  • The High Cost of Manual Reconciliation
    Reconciling grant budgets with core financial systems is time-consuming and error-prone. Even small mistakes can snowball into compliance issues, audit failures, or delays in reporting.
  • A Breakdown in Collaboration
    When coordination depends on email threads and phone calls, departments like finance, legal, and program delivery struggle to stay aligned. Bottlenecks and delays become inevitable, frustrating both teams and applicants.

According to the UK National Audit Office, inefficient grant management practices cost taxpayers up to £1.9 billion annually—proof that “spreadsheet chaos” isn’t just inconvenient, it’s costly.

The Solution: The Power of an Integrated System

The answer isn’t just “more spreadsheets”—it’s a unified, purpose-built grant management platform that solves these problems by design.

  • Eliminate Manual Reconciliation: Stop the tedious work of reconciling budgets by hand. An integrated grant management system syncs directly with core financial systems like SAP and Oracle, ensuring budget accuracy and creating a complete, auditable financial trail with zero manual entry.
  • Achieve Complete Visibility: No more silos. A single, central dashboard gives stakeholders real-time visibility across the entire grant lifecycle—from applications to reporting. Status meetings become faster, and oversight becomes clearer, allowing you to manage multiple grants from a single screen.
  • Streamline Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Break down communication barriers. Teams can work together in one place, assigning tasks, tracking progress, and ensuring accountability with transparent workflows designed for the public sector.

Related: 5 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your Grant Management Process

From the Old Way to the New Way – how does the grant management transformation look like?

  • Before: The Program Manager’s Nightmare
    Imagine a program manager racing against a deadline. An urgent report is due, but the data is scattered across three spreadsheets and emails from multiple departments. Hours are lost consolidating numbers—and a minor error forces them to start over. The stress is high, and every detail feels like a potential risk to the grant.
  • After: The Program Manager’s Success
    Now, that same program manager uses a modern, integrated platform. The report is due in an hour, yet all the data is available on a single dashboard. With a few clicks, they generate an accurate, real-time report, ready to submit. Confidence replaces stress, and they can focus on strategic decisions that drive program impact.
Conclusion

Disconnected tools and spreadsheets aren’t built for the scale, compliance, and scrutiny of today’s public sector grants. An integrated system solves this by bringing your entire process into a single, unified platform. This isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a fundamental change that gives your team the efficiency, security, and confidence it needs to focus on what matters most – delivering successful grant programs to the communities you serve.

Ready to see how a modern grant management software can transform your organisation?

Schedule a Demo.

Frequently asked questions:

Why is relying on spreadsheets and disconnected tools risky for managing public sector grants, and what inefficiencies does it create? 

  • Manual tracking creates a web of issues, from data silos and version control chaos to the increased risk of human error. It also makes audits significantly more difficult and forces staff to spend valuable time on budget reconciliation instead of on programme delivery. 

How can integrated grant management software improve efficiency? 

  • A unified system centralises all grant data, automates workflows, and provides real-time dashboards. Your teams can track applications, budgets, and outcomes in one place, which eliminates duplicate work and a flood of unnecessary emails. 

Can your grant management software integrate with existing financial and accounting systems? 

  • Yes, our grant management software provides APIs and pre-built connectors for popular systems and government financial tools. This ensures accurate budget tracking and creates an auditable financial trail without any manual reconciliation. 

How does your grant software support collaboration across multiple departments? 

  • Integrated grant management solutions like ours allow cross-departmental teams – from finance to legal and programme managers – to work in a single platform. Features like task assignment, progress tracking, and role-based access controls keep everyone aligned while protecting sensitive data. 

What reporting and analytics capabilities your grants management systems offer? 

  • Our system provides real-time dashboards, configurable reports, and data visualisation tools. This enables decision-makers to track performance, measure outcomes, and make more informed funding decisions, and all at a glance. 

Is your cloud-based grant management software secure for public sector use? 

  • Yes. Our grant management software uses encrypted data storage, secure transmission (TLS), role-based access controls, and comply with key standards like ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials. We offer regional hosting options to meet specific jurisdictional and regulatory requirements. 

How does your grant software help reduce compliance and audit risks? 

  • By automatically logging every action, tracking budget changes, and maintaining a complete audit trail, integrated grant management system like ours make it far easier to demonstrate the proper use of public funds and meet regulatory requirements with confidence. 

Can your grant management software improve the experience for both applicants and staff? 

  • Absolutely. Our solution’s digital portal streamlines the application process for applicants, reducing errors and providing clear guidance. Your staff on the other hand can benefit from simplified workflows, automated reminders, and consolidated communication, which helps to reduce frustration and delays. 

How quickly can an organisation implement your grant management platform? 

  • Implementation timelines vary by organisation size, but a modern grant management system like ours offers phased deployment options. Your team can start with a single programme and then scale up, ensuring you achieve quick wins while minimising disruption. 
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5 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your Grant Management Process

Governments and public sector organisations worldwide are tasked with managing billions in grant funding to deliver critical services and drive innovation. While a grant management system that “just works” might seem sufficient, inefficiencies in the grant management process are a silent drain on public funds and trust.

If your organisation still relies on outdated methods, here are five data-driven signs that it’s time for a smarter, more efficient solution.

1. Manual Processes are Hiding a Significant Cost

The administrative burden of grant management is a global challenge. While direct costs can be hard to quantify, research shows that digital transformation is the key to unlocking massive productivity gains. The UK government, for example, has estimated that over £45 billion per year in savings and productivity benefits could be achieved through the full digitalisation of its public services (Source: The State of Digital Government Review, GOV.UK). If your team is still managing grants with paper, spreadsheets, and endless email chains, your organisation is missing out on a huge opportunity for efficiency and financial savings.

2. You’re Struggling to Mitigate Fraud and Misuse

A primary duty of any public body is to protect taxpayer money. Yet, fraud and corruption remain a significant risk. According to the United Nations, the global cost of corruption is estimated at $2.6 trillion, representing at least 5% of global GDP (Source: UN, World Economic Forum). A recent report from the UK’s National Audit Office highlighted the public sector’s ongoing struggle with fraud, noting that public bodies across the UK lost between £55 billion and £81 billion to fraud and error in 2023-24. If your grant management software lacks robust, real-time controls and auditable logs, it’s a vulnerable target for financial loss. A digital solution provides immutable audit logs for every action, ensuring an unalterable record that makes it easier to track funds and secure compliance.

3. Your Reporting Lacks Transparency and Actionable Insight

In an era of increasing public scrutiny, stakeholders and citizens demand transparency. But how can you prove the impact of a grant if you can’t access real-time performance data? While many governments are making strides, a recent survey found that only 6% of public sector organisations worldwide have fully integrated digital transformation (Source: SolarWinds). This means most are still struggling to gain visibility. A modern grant management software provides powerful reporting and data visualisation tools, allowing you to track outcomes, demonstrate the value of your projects, and make better, data-driven decisions.

4. Poor User Experience Is Harming Your Stakeholder Relationships

In the digital age, citizens expect the same seamless experience from government services as they get from private companies. However, a review of UK public services noted a drop in satisfaction over the last decade (Source: The State of Digital Government Review, GOV.UK). A confusing or difficult grant application process can frustrate applicants and deter them from participating in your programmes. A new digital grant management system with an intuitive and accessible online portal can transform this experience, making it easier for every stakeholder – from applicants to evaluators – to engage with your service.

5. Data Security is a Persistent Risk

Protecting sensitive data is a global priority, and the public sector is a prime target for cyber threats. While some organisations rely on outdated legacy systems to manage data, a modern solution provides purpose-built security from the ground up. Features like end-to-end encryption for data at rest and in transit, role-based access control, and adherence to international standards like ISO 27001 ensure that your sensitive information is always protected from unauthorised access and cyberattacks.

Is It Time to Modernise?

If any of these signs resonate, it’s a clear indication that your current grant management process is no longer sufficient. By adopting a purpose-built solution, your organisation can drive efficiency, mitigate risk, and ensure that every pound, dollar, or euro spent delivers maximum impact.

To learn more about how a purpose-built solution can transform your grant process, visit our Grant Management Software page and get a free demo.

Frequently asked questions:

 

How can a grant management solution help automate grant tracking and reporting?

Our Grant Management Software automates grant tracking and reporting to enhance transparency by documenting all grant activity throughout the lifecycle, with changes captured in immutable logs. The solution also provides real-time reports and a reporting data scheme specifically for creating dashboards on the status of each grant scheme. These features are a part of the core, out-of-the-box functionality. The system allows for real-time dashboards to show the status of applications, such as incomplete, submitted, or approved.

Where can I find grant management solution with robust compliance features and built-in audit trails?

Our Grant Management solution provides robust compliance features and built-in audit trails as a core, standard function. All grant activity is documented with changes captured in immutable logs, ensuring transparency and auditability. The solution is ISO 27001 certified , and the hosted environment also meets this certification. It is also compliant with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Records are encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES 256). The system also features a comprehensive user roles and access control framework to enforce permissions.

What vendors offer highly configurable grant management systems for government agencies?

Our Grant Management Software is a highly configurable system designed for government agencies. It is delivered as an out-of-the-box solution, with configurable modules that cover the full grant lifecycle. The system allows users to easily add and maintain grant schemes, forms, document templates, and processes without requiring IT or supplier involvement. The extensive configurability allows users to adapt and evolve the system as requirements change, without incurring additional IT or supplier costs. The solution also provides a forms designer and configurable scheme templates as standard functionality.