Costs and pricing
Part of The full cost of grants, debt and equity for women founders, time included
A women founder funding budget template that exposes cash timing and founder labour
Use this England-focused women founder funding budget template to expose cash timing, founder labour, match funding, fees and route-specific risks.
A useful funding budget separates the cost of seeking money from the activity financed. It also shows when cash leaves the business, not merely the final total.
Copy the fields below into a spreadsheet. The table below is the copy-ready template. Leave unknowns blank and assign an owner and evidence date. Do not fill gaps with an alleged UK average.
What to take away
- A funding budget must show when cash leaves the business, not just the final total.
- Separate the cost of seeking money from the activity being financed.
- Record non-cash terms such as personal obligations, security, dilution and voting rights beside the financial table.
Budget header fields
- route and named provider or competition;
- amount sought and amount expected net of charges;
- decision date, earliest receipt and usable-funds date;
- budget horizon;
- legal borrower, applicant or share issuer;
- personal borrower, guarantor or security, if any; and
- source links and date checked.
Application and transaction rows
| Cost row | Quantity | Unit cost | VAT | Cash date | Eligible or recoverable? | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder research and preparation | Internal record | |||||
| Staff and finance work | Payroll or assumption | |||||
| Accountant, solicitor or adviser | Written quote | |||||
| Platform, arrangement or success fee | Contract | |||||
| Travel, caring or access support | Estimate or quote | |||||
| Filing and administration | Official fee page | |||||
| Post-award reporting and governance | Terms and work plan |
Companies House's fee schedule, updated on 25 September 2026, listed £100 for online incorporation and £50 for the first online confirmation statement in a 12-month payment period. Enter such charges only when the proposed route actually needs them, and recheck at payment.
Application and transaction cost rows
- Founder research and preparationinternal record
- Staff and finance workpayroll or assumption
- Accountant, solicitor or adviserwritten quote
- Platform, arrangement or success feecontract
- Travel, caring or access supportestimate or quote
- Filing and administrationofficial fee page
- Post-award reporting and governanceterms and work plan
Route-specific section
For a grant, add eligible project cost, intervention rate, own contribution, irrecoverable VAT, claim lag, retained amount, evidence duty and recovery risk. Innovate UK's business cost guidance describes labour, overhead and subcontracting fields, but the live competition remains decisive.
Grant, debt or equity fields
Grant
- Eligible project cost
- Yes
- Intervention rate
- Yes
- Own contribution
- Yes
- Irrecoverable VAT
- Yes
- Claim lag
- Yes
- Principal and rate
- No
- Pre-money assumptions
- No
Debt
- Eligible project cost
- No
- Intervention rate
- No
- Own contribution
- No
- Irrecoverable VAT
- No
- Claim lag
- No
- Principal and rate
- Yes
- Pre-money assumptions
- No
Equity
- Eligible project cost
- No
- Intervention rate
- No
- Own contribution
- No
- Irrecoverable VAT
- No
- Claim lag
- No
- Principal and rate
- No
- Pre-money assumptions
- Yes
For women founders, named England and UK routes include the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards. That programme offers grant funding and support to women innovators. Angel Academe is a UK angel network that backs women-led businesses. Amounts and eligibility are set by each competition or network, so check the current call.
For debt, add principal, annual rate, term, repayment schedule, all charges, total interest and downside cash cover. For equity, record pre-money assumptions, new investment, options, expected fully diluted ownership, transaction costs and continuing investor duties. Do not force dilution into the cash-cost column.
Formula and stress cases
Calculate total search cost as external cash plus internal labour plus route-specific finance or transaction cost. Calculate peak cash need month by month. Keep funding received separate from revenue.
Stress cases to run
- Expected timing case
- Delayed or reduced award case
- No funding case
- Professional work exceeds scope case
Run at least three cases: expected timing, a delayed or reduced award, and no funding. Add a fourth where professional work exceeds scope. The no-funding case reveals whether the company can finish commitments already started.
Worked example with illustrative figures only. Grant case: award £50,000 at 70 per cent intervention, so eligible project cost is £71,429 and own contribution is £21,429. Preparation and claim costs are £4,000 external cash and £2,500 founder labour.
First claim of £25,000 arrives in month 4. Payments before that are £18,500 in month 1, £12,000 in month 2 and £12,000 in month 3. Closing cash before the month 4 receipt is minus £42,500, so peak cash need is £42,500.
Debt case: loan £30,000 at an illustrative 8 per cent annual rate, with £3,500 external fees and £2,500 founder labour. Drawdown arrives in month 2. Month 1 payments are £11,500.
Month 2 payments are £8,000 project cost plus £940 first repayment. The low point is £11,500 before drawdown, so peak cash need is £11,500. Total search cost is external cash plus internal labour plus finance cost.
Add controls to the sheet
Give assumptions a status of quoted, contracted, official rate or internal estimate. Use a source date and review date, with an alert before submission or signature. Lock formula cells and have someone who did not build the model check totals, signs and VAT treatment.
Spend to reimbursement stages
- Spend committed
- Paid
- Claimed
- Accepted
- Reimbursed
Create separate columns for spend committed, paid, claimed, accepted and reimbursed. Those stages prevent a founder from mistaking an eligible-looking purchase for cash already approved. Reconcile the sheet to bookkeeping records and keep the supporting invoice, timesheet or contract reference.
Record non-cash terms beside the financial table. Include personal obligations, security, dilution, voting or consent rights, information duties and restrictions on expenditure. A budget that ignores these points can make a damaging route appear inexpensive.
Use comments to note care, travel or access requirements that apply to the people doing the work. Do not embed sensitive health details in a widely shared finance workbook; store only the minimum operational information under appropriate access.
Who signs off the budget
The founder, finance owner and relevant legal or tax reviewer should confirm assumptions, source dates, VAT treatment, personal exposure and stop conditions. Update actuals beside budget throughout the process. This template is an editorial draft, not accounting, tax, legal or investment advice.
Before you act
- Copy the header and cost rows into a spreadsheet.
- Leave unknowns blank and assign an owner and evidence date.
- Add route-specific fields for grant, debt or equity.
- Run at least three funding stress cases.
- Lock formula cells and have totals checked independently.
- Reconcile the sheet to bookkeeping records and keep supporting references.
Common questions
What should a funding budget show beyond the final total?
Separate search cost from the activity financed. Show when cash leaves the business. The header records route, provider, amount sought, decision date, earliest receipt and usable-funds date.
Which stress cases should a founder run?
Use the four cases set out under formula and stress cases. Check whether the company can finish commitments if no funding arrives.
Why keep separate columns for spend stages?
They stop an eligible-looking purchase being treated as cash already approved. Reconcile the sheet to bookkeeping records and keep the supporting invoice, timesheet or contract reference.
