Free grant finance tool

See where the budget is drifting before the report is due.

Compare period-matched budgeted and actual spending, apply your own review thresholds, and turn material variances into a clear action list.

Custom thresholds
Unlimited categories
No signup required
Exportable summary

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Use budgeted and actual amounts covering the same reporting period. This tool supports monitoring and does not determine allowability or prior-approval requirements.

Budget versus actual

Sample illustration. Four categories compare budgeted and actual spending: Personnel under budget, Fringe Benefits slightly over, Contractual over budget, and Other Direct Costs under budget. Enter your own figures to replace this illustration with your results.

A sample illustration. Enter your own figures below and this becomes your results chart.

Monitoring setup

Your thresholds, your categories, your period.

Set a monitoring threshold and compare budgeted and actual spending by category. Your Notice of Award, funder guidance, and organizational policy determine when explanation or prior approval is required.

Monitoring versus prior approval

A line-item spending variance is not the same as a cumulative rebudgeting calculation or a formal prior-approval determination. Always review your Notice of Award, current terms and conditions, and Grants Management Specialist guidance.

Project context

Optional. These fields only label your export and printed summary. Avoid entering grant numbers, banking information, employee names, or other sensitive identifiers.

Award or project name

Reporting period

As-of date

Budgeted and actual amounts should represent the same period.

Internal monitoring thresholds

Editable planning defaults for your own review. These are not funder approval thresholds.

Review threshold

At or below this is within threshold.

High-priority threshold

Above this is high-priority review.

Within thresholdAbsolute variance at or below 10%
Review recommendedAbove 10% through 25%
High-priority reviewAbove 25%
Unbudgeted spendingBudget of $0 with actual spending

Bring in existing figures

Paste three columns from a spreadsheet, or import a CSV with Category, Budgeted, and Actual. Files are read in your browser and never uploaded.

Every calculation runs in this browser tab. Budget amounts, award names, category names, and explanations stay on this device: they are never sent to a server or an AI service, never included in analytics, and never placed in the page address. Like the rest of this site, the page itself records an anonymous page view.

How should I choose a threshold?

The 10% and 25% defaults are planning aids for internal monitoring. They are not a universal federal rule, and they are not a substitute for your award terms.

Award terms differ by funder, program, and budget period.
Prior approval can depend on cumulative rebudgeting rather than a single line item.
Award size, change of scope, and newly introduced budget categories can each change what is required.
The Notice of Award and the current terms and conditions govern.
Contact your Grants Management Specialist whenever the requirement is uncertain.

Review HRSA's grant-management guidance →https://www.hrsa.gov/grants/manage-your-grant/training/how-to-manage-grant-guide

HRSA guidance applies to HRSA awards. Other funders set their own terms.

From variance to management action

A flagged line item is useful only when someone owns the response.

If grant monitoring depends on disconnected spreadsheets or last-minute explanations, Larsen CHC can help create a clearer financial operating rhythm.

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