Nine months in, the grant didn’t cover the delivery costs and reserves were paying the difference.
The contract was signed on the award letter and a delivery budget built once, in a spreadsheet.
By month nine the shortfall was real money, and it came out of unrestricted reserves that had been held back for something else.
Or read on to see how it works.
How a funded contract quietly starts costing more than it brings in
- Award letter arrives
- Delivery costed once
- Contract signed on that
- Spend runs ahead quietly
- Reserves cover the gap
- Funder asks where money went
Nothing in that chain is careless, and every step looked reasonable on the day.
The award was costed before the staffing settled and before the venue hire moved. Nobody put the two back alongside each other until the year was nearly over.
The questions a chief executive cannot answer nine months in
Nine months in, these are the questions that decide whether the contract is still viable.
- Which awards are covering their own delivery costs today?
- How much unrestricted money has this contract used so far?
- Which salaries are mapped to which grant this month?
- What has actually been spent against this award to date?
- Could you evidence that split for a funder this week?
That makes everything downstream harder.
What the same contract looks like when the numbers arrive monthly
Same month. From live numbers. With the reasoning.
You would have known by month two that the delivery budget and the award had parted company.
- Day 1award costed against delivery
- Spend tracked by award
- Reserve exposure visible monthly
- Board sees it early
- Contract varied, not absorbed
That is early enough to go back to the funder, vary the delivery, or say no to the next one.
Ninety days to know what each award is actually covering
The first ninety days put every funding stream next to what it costs to deliver.
- Before day one
Records in hand without you chasing
We deal with your current accountant or bookkeeper, collect the records and agree the plan.
- Day 30
Every award reconciled to income received
Awards matched line by line against what has been received and what has been spent.
- Day 60
Restricted money visible every month
Fund tracking, claims and the evidence checklist run to a timetable instead of a scramble.
- Day 90
The board pack lands before the meeting
Monthly figures on each award, its delivery cost, and what reserves are currently carrying.
The review is a fixed fee, credited in full if you proceed
Sixty minutes with Gavin on your own records: funding flow, restricted-fund visibility, the evidence checklist, board reporting and the claims timetable.
It is a working review of your funding evidence.
You leave with the priority actions for the next ninety days, whether or not you take it any further.
Capacity is capped at four new clients a month, and the handover from your current accountant is managed at no separate charge.
Who this works for, and who it will not suit
It is worth being plain about both sides before anyone spends an hour.
This fits if
- You are a registered CIC, charity or community organisation with grant or contract income.
- You run more than one funding stream and they have started overlapping.
- A funder has asked for evidence you could not produce quickly.
- The chief executive is doing the finance as well as running the organisation.
- The board asks questions you cannot answer inside the meeting.
This will not fit if
- You run a cash business or work that depends on CIS construction.
- You want records presented in a way that is not accurate.
- You cannot or will not complete anti-money-laundering checks.
- You are looking for a filing service once a year and nothing more.
- Nobody in the organisation can explain what it actually needs.
Two minutes. If it fits, you’ll book the review with Gavin.
Before the next contract, someone should check whether the award covers it
- Show what each award covers
- Track restricted money monthly
- Answer the funder the same week
- Give the board real figures
That is the point of monthly numbers: the decision is still open while you have them.
Think your numbers should be answering this?
Check your funding evidenceIt takes two minutes and tells you whether there is anything to talk about.
See if your finance function fits your size / structure
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