Raffles Consulting Services
Build an EDGE approved cost ledger that connects the Letter of Offer, invoices, payments, deliverables and final claim.
An EDGE approved cost ledger should be opened when the Letter of Offer is accepted, not assembled after the project ends. EDGE support is reimbursed after completion and full payment, and the current process uses a single final claim. A ledger that connects every approved line to its invoice, payment and deliverable reduces the risk of discovering an evidence gap at closeout.
Freeze the approved baseline
Save the accepted Letter of Offer, approved proposal, supplier quotation, project period and stated deliverables. Enter every approved cost line exactly as authorised, with supplier, description, amount and support basis. Keep this baseline read-only and record later differences in separate columns.
Do not start with the supplier invoice because it may group or rename work. The approved record controls the reconciliation. If the Letter of Offer identifies a named supplier or specific package, use the same spelling and references throughout the ledger.
Give every line a durable identifier
Assign a short identifier such as software-01, consultancy-02 or equipment-03. Carry it into internal purchase orders, invoice review notes, payment records and deliverable folders. The identifier is a company control, not a change to the agency’s documents.
For bundled approved costs, create child rows that add back to the authorised total. Record the allocation method and reviewer. Never use the same invoice amount in more than one row without an explicit, non-duplicative split.
Separate invoice and payment evidence
Capture invoice number, invoice date, billed amount, taxes, credit notes and the approved line matched. In separate fields, record payer, bank reference, payment date, amount and source document. An invoice proves a charge; it does not prove that the applicant paid it.
The official EDGE FAQ says the applicant must pay and claim its own project costs, subject to a stated interbilling exception for internationalisation activity. Review payer names and group-company arrangements before payment, rather than trying to explain an avoidable mismatch later.
Link money to completed work
For each line, name the deliverable, acceptance owner, acceptance date and stored evidence. Useful evidence can include configured outputs, signed reports, test records, training attendance, deployment records and completion documents. A paid invoice without an accepted deliverable leaves the company with a commercial problem as well as a claim risk.
Define acceptance before the supplier says the work is finished. The criteria should follow the approved scope and the company’s operating need. Keep defect records and retest results where relevant. Do not describe a proposal, screenshot or vendor demonstration as completed implementation.
Control differences as they happen
Add variance columns for amount, timing, quantity, supplier description and deliverable. Assign each difference an owner and status. Small wording differences can still hide a scope change, while a lower invoice may simply reflect an agreed discount. The ledger should explain the commercial fact without guessing how the claim will be assessed.
If the project needs a material change, check the current rules before committing. The EDGE project-change boundary guide explains why a supplier or scope change cannot be treated as an informal ledger update. Preserve agency correspondence and the official decision.
Prepare the single final claim
The current FAQ states that a claim is submitted after the project is completed and fully paid, with no additional claims after the final submission. Use the ledger to confirm that every intended line is ready, every credit note is included and every required result is complete. Do not submit early merely to meet an internal reporting date.
Reconcile the total approved, total invoiced, total paid and total claimed amounts. Explain exclusions and unsupported costs. Have the project owner approve deliverables and finance approve the payment trail. Then lock the claim version and retain the calculation submitted.
Verify the official receipt
Save the claim acknowledgement and reference from the official portal. If a page times out or becomes quiet, check the current record before retrying. A second click can create confusion even where the underlying action succeeded.
Record follow-up requests, responses and final disbursement against the same ledger. Reconcile the amount received with the official outcome and accounting entry. The EDGE single final claim guide covers the broader closeout sequence.
Retain a management record
Keep the ledger with the accepted Letter of Offer, supplier contract, evidence, invoices, payment records, claim receipt and outcome. Restrict access to sensitive commercial and bank documents. The public project summary should not expose confidential evidence.
After closure, compare planned results with actual operating results and record remaining subscriptions or maintenance. Grant reimbursement is not the final measure of value. Management should be able to see what changed, what it cost and who now owns the capability.
Design a finance-to-project handoff
Agree who enters invoices, who verifies payment and who accepts deliverables. Finance should not infer technical completion from an invoice, while a project manager should not infer applicant payment from a supplier receipt. Set a regular reconciliation date and require both owners to clear exceptions. Keep the working ledger in one controlled location with version history, rather than circulating several spreadsheets by email.
When a staff member leaves or changes role, hand over open cost lines, missing evidence, supplier disputes and approaching dates. The new owner should confirm access to the Letter of Offer, bank evidence and project records. A documented handoff protects the claim from employee turnover and gives management an early view of costs that are paid but not yet accepted, or delivered but not yet invoiced.
Opening the EDGE approved cost ledger at acceptance gives project and finance teams one shared record. By claim time, the evidence should already reconcile instead of depending on a rushed search through email and bank statements.