Should a county grant authority run its grants in spreadsheets or in grant management software?
Short answerOnce a board scores and votes, payments must match approvals, or decisions can be requested under a public records law, grant management software is safer and faster than spreadsheets and email.
Many public grant programs start in spreadsheets: an application form, a shared folder, a tracking sheet and a long email thread. That works for a pilot round. It gets harder when a board has to score and vote, payments have to match approvals, and any decision may be requested under a public records law.
We moved a Pennsylvania county grant authority from that setup to Granted, consolidating 388 historical awards into one record. The table compares the two approaches on the work a grant office actually does, from the first application to the last report.
Side by side.
| Criterion | Spreadsheets and email | Granted |
|---|---|---|
| Applications | A PDF or online form, with files emailed or saved to a shared folder. | A public application page and applicant portal; no account needed to start, and drafts can be finished later. |
| Board review | Scores collected by email or in a shared sheet every reviewer can see. | A review desk with 1 to 5 scores, fund or deny votes and written assessments; other votes stay hidden until you vote. |
| Board packets | Assembled by hand from the application, scores and attachments. | One PDF per application, with the application, review summary and attachments merged in. |
| Decisions | Recorded in minutes and a tracking sheet, then emailed to applicants one by one. | A majority recommendation, confirmed by staff, with applicants emailed the outcome automatically. |
| Payments | Checked against approvals by hand. | A payment ledger per award that refuses payments before approval or above the award. |
| Grantee reports | Requested and followed up by email. | Scheduled interim and final reports, signed electronically, with up to 20 attachments each. |
| Audit trail and records requests | Spread across files, inboxes and saved versions. | An activity log written by the database, plus CSV exports for board reporting and Right-to-Know requests. |
| Past awards | Kept in old workbooks, often one per year or program. | Imported into one record and shown in each organization’s funding history. |
| Cost and setup | Little or no software cost; staff time grows with every round. | From $18,000 per year, with setup, data migration, training and support included. |
The right fit depends on the work.
Choose spreadsheets and email when
You run one small round a year, staff make the decisions without a voting board, and records requests are rare.
Choose Granted when
A board scores and votes, you track payments and grantee reports, or you need a complete record for audits and Right-to-Know requests.
Mijane Technologies makes Granted.
Common questions.
When should a grant program stop using spreadsheets?
When a board scores and votes on applications, when payments and reports need tracking against each award, or when you need a complete record for audits and public records requests.
Can we move our old grant spreadsheets into Granted?
Yes. Granted imports historical awards from spreadsheets; for one Pennsylvania county grant authority that meant 388 past awards in one record, shown in each organization’s funding history.
Is grant management software worth it for a small grant program?
It depends on the work, not the size. A small program with a voting board, payments and grantee reports carries the same record-keeping load as a large one.
How long does it take to move from spreadsheets to Granted?
It depends on how many programs and past awards you bring over. Our team configures Granted, imports your history and trains your staff and board.
See Granted with your own grants.
Book a demo and we’ll walk you through Granted, set up around the programs you run today.