Progress Reporting Guidance
Progress Reporting Schedule
The RSMF progress reporting periods are as follows:
- May 2026: for February – April 2026
- August 2026: for May – July 2026
- November 2026: for August – October 2026
- February 2027: for November 2026 – January 2027
- May 2027: for February – April 2027
- August 2027: for May – July 2027
- November 2027: for August – October 2027
- March 2028: for November 2027 – February 2028
Submission
RSMF progress reports should be submitted using the link PIs received by email.
Detailed instructions are provided in the reporting template. Please keep your reports high-level and concise. Where possible, please refer to your project’s original plan or any updated plan outlined in the previous quarter’s progress report.
The first progress report should be submitted in the reporting period corresponding to the project start, e.g. a project starting in October 2026 should submit its first progress report in November 2026. The first instance of the Progress report should focus primarily on metrics and current state of things, and the subsequent instances should comment in changes against that, so it is important to submit the first report timely. The subsequent reports should comment on changes in the previous reporting period.
Please clearly specify the reporting period covered by your report. Please select one of the periods as listed in the reporting schedule in Section 2.1, e.g. “August – October 2026”.
If your project’s progress or spending has not been on track in the previous quarter, please still submit your quarterly progress report on time. You can provide further details about any delays, challenges or changes in the report. Late submission of a quarterly progress report may delay the invoice processing and payment.
If you have any questions about the quarterly progress reporting, please contact the RSMF team at grants@software.ac.uk.
Invoice Submission Guidance
To ensure timely processing and payment of invoices, please follow the requirements below:
Invoice Submission Deadlines
Invoices must be submitted in line with the agreed reporting and invoicing schedule (please refer to reporting schedule for the dates). Please ensure that all invoices are received by the specified submission dates. Late submissions may result in delays to processing and payment.
Supporting Documentation
All invoices must be accompanied by the required supporting documentation. This is particularly important towards the end of the project, as complete audit trail is required to support expenditure claims and project closure activities. Backup information should be provided in the requested format (please see table below) and must clearly demonstrate the expenditure being claimed. Incomplete or incorrectly formatted submissions may be returned for revision.
| Dates | example 01/08/2026 - 30/11/2026 | |
| Directly Incurred | 100% | 80% |
| Staffing | ||
| Travel | ||
| Equipment | ||
| Other Directly Incurred | ||
| DI Subtotal | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Directly Allocated | ||
| Investigators | ||
| Estates Costs | ||
| (Infrastructure) Technicians | ||
| DA Subtotal | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Indirects | ||
| Indirect Costs | ||
| Indirects Subtotal | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Exceptions - costed and invoiced at 100% | 0.00 | |
| Funding total | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Purchase Order (PO) Requirement
The University operates a "No PO, No Pay" policy. As a result, every invoice must clearly display the relevant Purchase Order (PO) number. Invoices submitted without a valid PO number cannot be processed and will be returned to the supplier.
Submission
Invoices and supporting documentation should be submitted electronically to apinvoices@ed.ac.uk and finance@software.ac.uk by the agreed deadline.
Failure to comply with the above requirements may result in delays to invoice approval and payment.