Turn a pile of receipts into a grant expense sheet

What it reads from each receipt

For each photo, Grantkeeper reads the date, the vendor, the total, the tax and what was bought, then files it under the grant and budget line you name. The IRS lists the same basics for expense records: who was paid, the amount, the date, what was bought, and proof of payment, which may take a second document such as a card statement. Card numbers are left out of the sheet.

A folded, faded or cut-off receipt goes on a short list for a better photo instead of getting a guessed number. A split purchase, like one store run for two programs, becomes two lines using the split you give.

The sheet and the report

The spreadsheet lives in your files and opens in Excel or Google Sheets: one row per receipt, totals by budget line, and spent versus budget for each grant. At report time, Grantkeeper reads it next to the award budget and points out lines running over or under, which feeds the grant report draft.

Keep the original receipts. For federal awards, 2 CFR 200.334 asks recipients to keep financial records and supporting documents for three years from the date the final financial report is submitted, and some funders ask for longer.

Who sends the photos

Anyone who spends grant money can send receipts, as long as the photos reach Grantkeeper through your chat or your files. Many directors forward photos from staff once a week. Say which grant and line they belong to in the same text, and Grantkeeper keeps a short list of receipts still waiting for a budget line, so nothing sits unsorted until report time.

Snap the receipt before it goes in a pocket. A photo the same day is much easier to read than one from the bottom of a folder.