Funding in Dapple is switched off until an Organisation Administrator turns it on in Settings → General → Funding. Once it's on, you check the organisation's payment methods, create a fund for a project and — if you track an overall pot — create an organisation budget for funds to draw from. Funding works the same way on every plan. A fund has one currency and a total, and awards from it can never add up to more than that total.
Funding is only available on Growth plans and above.
How do I turn on Funding in Dapple?
Open Settings → General → Funding.
Switch Funding to On.
Only Organisation Administrators can do this. If you can't see the Funding section, Funding isn't available on your current plan.
Which payment methods does Dapple set up for me?
Dapple adds six payment methods to start with:
Bank transfer (BACS)
Faster Payment
International transfer
Cheque
PayPal
Other
Rename, reorder or add your own in the same Funding settings. The list is shared by every team, so use names your finance team recognises. Choosing a method doesn't move money — it records how each payment was made.
Which payment schedule templates are available?
Schedule templates split an award into payments in one click. Every team uses the same templates.
Template | What it creates |
Single payment | One payment for the full award |
Two payments (50/50) | Two payments of half the award each |
Quarterly (4 × 25%) | Four payments of a quarter of the award each |
Milestones | Payments released when milestones you name are reached |
Organisation Administrators can edit these templates or add their own in organisation settings.
How do I create a fund for a project?
Open Funding → Funds → New fund.
Enter a name — for example, "Community Arts Fund 2026".
Choose the project.
Choose the currency.
Enter the total.
Optional: choose a budget under Take it from.
Save.
You can also create a fund from the project's own Funding settings.
Fund rule | What it means |
One currency per fund | The currency can't change once the fund has an award. There's no currency conversion. |
Total can't drop below what's awarded | You can't lower a fund's total below the amount already awarded from it. |
Two-person sign-off is on by default | The person who approves a payment can't also record it as paid. Turn this off in the fund's settings if your process doesn't need it. |
How do I set up an organisation budget?
A budget is an optional, organisation-wide pot of money for a date range, such as a financial year. Funds draw from it, so you can see how much of your overall grants money is committed.
Open Funding → Budgets.
Create a budget with a name, a date range, a currency and a total — for example, "Grants budget 2026/27", 29 Nov 2026 – 30 Nov 2027, £500,000.
When you create a fund, choose this budget under Take it from.
Only Organisation Administrators create and edit budgets. A budget only holds funds in its own currency. If its funds add up to more than the budget total, Dapple warns you and marks the budget Over budget — it doesn't stop you.
Do I need a budget, or is a fund enough?
A fund on its own works when… | Add a budget when… |
You run one grant programme, or each programme is tracked separately | You report against one annual grants pot spread across several projects |
Nobody needs an organisation-wide total | Finance wants to see committed and remaining money across all teams |
Best practice
Name funds after the round and year, such as "Community Arts Fund 2026".
Double-check the currency before you award — it locks once the fund has an award.
Agree payment method names with your finance team before your first payment run.
Add your own schedule template if you use the same instalment pattern every round.
Name the fund's approvers before you award, so payments don't stall when they fall due.