Disbursements and Payments

After grant agreements are signed, it's time to pay your grantees. The disbursements system helps you schedule, track, and manage all your grant payments in one place.

Why Use the Disbursements System?

Never miss a payment — See all upcoming payments across all grants
Track what you've paid — Complete history of every disbursement
Forecast your cash flow — Visual burn-down charts show spending over time
Stay organised — Filter and export payment data for your finance team
Automatic calculations — Generate payment schedules instantly

Viewing Disbursements

Fund-Level View

To see disbursements for a specific fund:

Go to your fund
Switch to Manage & Monitor view
Click the Disbursements tab

Two Ways to View Your Payments

Table View
The default view shows all payments in a table with:

Recipient name and organisation
Project name
Amount
Scheduled date
Status
Payment method

Monthly View
Click to switch to a calendar-style view that shows:

Payments grouped by month
Total due each month
Easy visual planning

Burn-Down Chart

A visual chart shows your cumulative payments over time. This helps you:

See how quickly you're spending your fund
Forecast when funds will be fully disbursed
Identify months with high payment volumes

Setting Up a Payment Schedule

When you create a grant agreement, you'll set up how payments will be made.

Using the Schedule Generator

In the agreement's Payment Schedule step, click Generate Schedule
Choose your payment frequency:
- Monthly — Equal payments each month
- Quarterly — Payments every three months
- Annually — Once per year
- Single — One payment for the full amount
- Custom — Specify your own dates
Choose when payments happen:
- Start of period — Payment at the beginning
- End of period — Payment at the end
Set the start and end dates
Review the generated schedule
Click Save Schedule

The system automatically calculates equal instalments that add up to the grant amount.

Custom Payment Dates

If you need irregular payment dates (e.g. milestone-based payments):

Choose Custom frequency
Add individual payment dates
Set the amount for each payment
Ensure the total matches the grant amount

Payment Statuses

Each disbursement moves through these statuses:

Status	What it means	Can edit?
Pending	Created but not yet scheduled for payment	Yes
Scheduled	Ready to be paid on the scheduled date	Yes
Paid	Payment has been processed	No (locked)
Cancelled	Payment was cancelled	No
Failed	Payment attempt failed	No

Important: Once a payment is marked as Paid, it cannot be edited or deleted. This preserves your audit trail.

Recording a Payment

When you actually pay a grantee:

Find the disbursement in your list
Click to update its status
Change status to Paid
The processed date is automatically recorded

Recording Payment Details

You can track:

Payment method — BACS, CHAPS, Cheque, or Cash
Payment reference — Your internal reference number
Notes — Any additional information

Creating Manual Payments

If you need to add a payment outside the regular schedule:

Click Create Disbursement
Select the grant
Enter the amount
Set the scheduled date
Choose the payment method
Save

Use this for:

Additional payments (e.g. approved underspend)
Corrections
Milestone payments not in the original schedule

Modifying Payment Schedules

Editing Future Payments

You can edit any payment that's still Pending or Scheduled:

Change the amount
Change the date
Cancel the payment

Regenerating a Schedule

If you need to completely redo a payment schedule:

Click Generate Schedule
Configure the new schedule
Click Save Schedule

Note: This replaces all Pending and Scheduled payments. Payments already marked as Paid are preserved.

Exporting Payment Data

For your finance team or auditors, export your disbursement data:

Apply any filters you need (by status, date, etc.)
Click Export to CSV

The export includes:

Fund ID
Grant ID
Recipient name
Amount
Scheduled date
Processed date (if paid)
Status
Payment method

Filtering Disbursements

Find specific payments by filtering:

By status — Show only pending, scheduled, or paid
By date range — Payments due in a specific period
By payment method — BACS, CHAPS, etc.
By grant — Payments for a specific grantee

Tips for Managing Payments

Review upcoming payments weekly

Check the Monthly View each week to see what's due soon. This prevents surprises.

Mark payments as Paid promptly

Update statuses as soon as payments are processed. This keeps your records accurate and helps with cash flow tracking.

Use the burn-down chart for reporting

The visual chart is great for board reports or funder updates — it shows at a glance how your fund is being distributed.

Export regularly for reconciliation

Your finance team can match the CSV export against bank statements to ensure everything reconciles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pay more than the grant amount?
The system will warn you if payments exceed the awarded amount. You can proceed if there's a valid reason (like approved additional funding).

What if a payment fails?
Mark it as Failed and create a new disbursement to retry. The original record is preserved for your audit trail.

Can I change a payment after marking it as Paid?
No. Paid payments are locked to maintain accurate records. If you made an error, add a note and create a correcting entry if needed.

How do I handle returned payments?
Mark the original as Failed, add a note explaining the return, and create a new disbursement for the retry.

Can grantees see their payment schedule?
Yes, if you've set this up in the agreement. They can see scheduled dates and amounts in their agreement view.

Does this integrate with accounting software?
Use the CSV export to import into your accounting system. For Salesforce users, disbursement data can sync with your CRM.