Exporting Data to Excel and CSV

GrantLink has two main ways to export data to a spreadsheet:

1. Ask the Assistant in chat for a data export, and then download it as an .xlsx or .csv file.
2. Download a budget versus actual workbook directly from a grant's budget matrix or from Grants > Budget vs actual.

Each export shows GrantLink data at the time you download it. Downloading a file doesn't change GrantLink or QuickBooks.

Before you start

Check the following items before you export:

• You're signed in to the correct organization.
• QuickBooks has synced recently enough for the period you're reporting.
• You've reviewed the allocations, budget lines, receipts, and other GrantLink records that the export includes.
• You know the grant, funder, initiative, date range, and level of detail you need.
• To export through chat, you're a Member or Admin of the organization. The Viewer role is read-only and can't open chat.

Export data through chat

1. In the sidebar, select Chats > New chat.
2. Ask for the data you need and say which records it should cover. Say "Excel" or "CSV" if you prefer one format.
3. Before you download, check the export card. It shows the file name and the number of rows, columns, and filters.
4. Select Download .xlsx or Download .csv.

The Excel file has one worksheet named Export. Currency, number, and percent values stay as numbers in Excel, so you can total or chart them. The CSV file contains the values as GrantLink displays them. For example, an amount looks like USD 1,250.00, a percent looks like 12.5%, and a date looks like 03/31/2026. To stop spreadsheet programs from running text as a formula, GrantLink adds an apostrophe before CSV headers and text cells that start like a formula. It doesn't change numeric values. CSV text that you copy from a table in chat gets the same protection. Both file names end with the download date.

Chat can export the following kinds of data:

• Grant summaries, budget versus actual by budget line, and grant spending by QuickBooks class
• Transaction detail, allocations, and unallocated transactions
• Funders, initiative spending, reporting deadlines, and fund receipts
• A custom export with the columns you ask for, when GrantLink has that data

Write a precise request

Include these details in your request:

• Scope: The organization, grant, funder, or initiative
• Period: Exact start and end dates, a fiscal year, or all time
• Rows and columns: Transaction detail or totals, and the columns you need, such as date, vendor, account, grant, budget line, amount, or allocation status
• Filters: For example, only approved allocations, or only unallocated expenses over an amount

For example:

Export transaction detail for the Community Health grant from January 1 through March 31. Include transaction date, vendor, account, budget line, allocated amount, and allocation status.

A broad request such as "export everything" doesn't include every GrantLink record or attachment. Check the filters and columns on the export card, and revise your request if anything is missing.

Download budget versus actual workbooks

Use these workbooks when you need the budget matrix layout instead of a list of rows.

One grant

1. Open the grant and select Budget.
2. If the matrix shows Include committed, decide whether Actual should include outstanding commitments.
3. Select Export to Excel.

GrantLink names the workbook after the grant, for example Community-Health-budget-vs-actual.xlsx, and the sheet is named Budget vs Actual. The top of the sheet says whether Actual includes outstanding commitments. The sheet shows Budget, Actual, and Variance for each budget period and in total. When the grant has commitments, the sheet also has Committed columns. Actual amounts with no date, or with a date outside the budget periods, appear in Undated and Outside schedule columns when they aren't zero. Posted indirect costs and uncategorized allocations appear on their own rows when they exist.

All grants

1. Open Grants > Budget vs actual.
2. Choose By month or By fund. The By fund option appears only when you have more than one grant.
3. If the page shows Include committed, decide whether Actual should include outstanding commitments.
4. Select Excel.

The By fund view downloads all-funds-budget-vs-actual.xlsx with an All Funds BvA sheet. The sheet has one column group for each grant, and it also shows awarded revenue, amounts received, total expenses, and a net balance. The By month view downloads All-funds-by-month-budget-vs-actual.xlsx, which combines all grants by month. Changing a downloaded workbook doesn't update GrantLink.

Other spreadsheet exports

GrantLink also has these exports:

• Grants > Restricted funds: Select Export to download a workbook of restricted fund balances for the selected fiscal year. Select Releases, and then Export, to download restriction releases for a period you choose.
• Settings > Activity log: Admins and Members can select Export to request the activity history as CSV or Excel. Requested files are listed under Settings > Exports.

Fill a funder's Excel template

A funder template isn't the same as a data export. Use a template when a grant's reporting obligation requires the funder's own Excel workbook or PDF form. Filling a template doesn't require a Professional, Enterprise, or agency plan.

1. Open the grant, select Reporting > Templates, and select Add template.
2. Choose an .xlsx or .xlsm workbook, or a fillable PDF form, of 3 MB or less. Save an old .xls workbook in a newer format first.
3. Open Reporting > Obligations, select the obligation, and select Prepare in chat or Prepare new report.
4. In chat, check the period, due date, and template, and answer any questions about missing information.
5. Review the prepared copy's field evidence and warnings, select Mark reviewed, and then select Download copy.

GrantLink keeps your template with the grant and fills a new copy without changing the template. To remove an old template, select Remove template next to it in the same Templates section. Missing fields stay blank. Marking the copy reviewed doesn't submit or certify the form, but you can't download the copy until you do it.

GrantLink can't fill password-protected workbooks, XFA forms, or scanned PDFs. Ask the funder for an unprotected workbook or a fillable PDF. In the downloaded copy, check formulas, formatting, hidden sheets, missing fields, and the funder's instructions. GrantLink never adds signatures.

Check the download

Before you share an export, follow these steps:

1. Compare its scope and filters with your request.
2. Reconcile totals to the matching GrantLink page and, when appropriate, to QuickBooks.
3. Look for uncategorized, unallocated, undated, or outside-schedule amounts.
4. Confirm that dates and numbers opened correctly in your spreadsheet program.
5. Remove columns the recipient doesn't need.

Exports can contain vendor names, transaction detail, grant terms, and your internal coding decisions. A downloaded file isn't protected by GrantLink permissions, so store and send it under your organization's data handling policy.

GrantLink records each chat export in its activity history, with the export type, row count, filters, and export time. If GrantLink can't record that entry, the download still works. Keep the delivered file and your review notes when the export is part of a formal report.

Special cases

• An export with no rows can mean that the filters are too narrow, that the period has no matching data, or that recent data hasn't synced yet.
• Chat can export only data from your active organization. It can't export another organization's data.
• A later sync or allocation change doesn't update a file you already downloaded, so export the data again.
• A chat export has one sheet with a general layout. Use a budget versus actual workbook or a funder template when the workbook layout matters.
• The dashboard has no button to download its charts.