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How to claim and submit reports for the Seed Sourcing Grant

Published 14 October 2025

Applies to England

If you’re a Seed Sourcing Grant (SSG) agreement holder, use this guide for claiming your approved items and submitting a report.

When to claim and submit reports

You must submit your end of year claim and report by 11.55pm on the following dates:

• financial year 2025 to 2026: Friday 27 March 2026
• financial year 2026 to 2027: Saturday 27 March 2027
• financial year 2027 to 2028: Monday 27 March 2028

You must submit a claim at the end of the financial year (or end of your project if that is sooner).

You can also submit 2 additional claims, on dates of your choosing, each financial year. We recommend you submit additional claims if you anticipate claiming for lots of invoices and receipts.  

You must submit a progress report with each additional claim. Read how to complete your report. 

Unspent budget cannot be moved to the next financial year.

Before you claim

You must have:

• received all items you’re claiming for
• completed all work you’re claiming for
• paid the total amount (not just deposits) of each cost
• registered your seed stands or orchards, where appropriate (final claims only)

Claim for multiple items together and include everything purchased to date where possible.

Register your stands or orchards before your final claim

You must register seed stands or orchards on the Register of UK Basic Material before your final claim, if your project involves:

• managing a seed stand or orchard that is not yet on the Register of UK Basic Material
• identifying new seed stands
• planting a new seed stand or orchard, where the planting occurs within your funding period

Provide the Basic Material ID in your report. If you’ve registered the stand or orchard but do not have a Basic Material ID yet, send us any correspondence you’ve had from the Forest Reproductive Material team, to show it has been registered.

The SSG information pack contains more details on registering your stands or orchards.

How to make a claim

Step 1: Gather your documents

Collect all invoices, receipts and records of staff time for items or activities you want to claim. Learn more about what evidence you need to provide.

Step 2: Complete your paperwork

Use the claim form, report template and spending tracker on the how to make a claim page. You’ll need to:

• add all costs to your spending tracker
• complete and sign your claim form
• prepare your report

Learn more about how to complete the spending tracker, claim form and report.

Step 3: Submit your claim

Email the following documents to SSG@forestrycommission.gov.uk:

• report
• claim form
• spending tracker (in Excel format), with any internal staff costs detailed in the timesheet tab
• all invoices and receipts
• bank statements (for purchases not in pounds sterling)
• supplier creation form or supplier amendment form (if needed)

We will email to confirm we’ve received your claim and contact you if we have questions.

Do not invoice the Forestry Commission to request payment for your claim. A claim can only be paid following receipt of a claim form and supporting evidence.

How to complete your report

End of year and end of project reports

You must submit an:

• end of year report by 27 March of each financial year
• end of project report with your project’s final claim

Use the report template on the how to make a claim page.

In your reports you should also include:

• photos of completed activities where applicable
• maps or other evidence of work completed if you have conducted a desk study

Our technical reviewers cannot provide feedback on all reports, but we will contact you if we have any comments or questions.

Progress reports

You must submit a progress report with each additional claim made during the financial year.

Progress reports should include:

• a description of progress made to date towards project activities and milestones as set out in your grant agreement
• evidence that the work has been carried out as described in the grant agreement and claim form, for example, reports from a desk study, photographs or videos

Evidence you need to provide

You must provide evidence for every item or activity you claim, regardless of cost.

Detail all costs in your spending tracker and link these to the relevant item reference in your finance spreadsheet. Find the item reference in Column B of your finance spreadsheet.

We may reject all or part of your claim if you cannot provide valid evidence.

All invoices, receipts and timesheets must be dated within your funding period and within the financial year in which you are claiming.

Claiming spend between 28 to 31 March

If you expect to incur costs between 28 to 31 March in a given financial year:

• include an estimate of these when you submit your end of year claim for that financial year
• submit evidence of expenditure to support these costs as soon as possible after the claim deadline

You cannot claim for these costs in the following financial year

Invoice and receipt requirements

Your invoices must show:

• invoice date
• grant recipient organisation name (as shown in your agreement)
• supplier’s name and address
• cost and clear description of each item
• date(s) when the work was carried out (if invoice is for a service)
• VAT amounts (where applicable)
• total amount owed

For information on what invoices should include, read invoicing and taking payment from customers.

Your receipts must show:

• payment date
• supplier’s name and address
• cost and clear description of each item
• confirmation of payment
• VAT amounts (where applicable)

Pro forma invoices, quotes, purchase orders or purchases made in cash will not be accepted.

If your claim includes invoices in a foreign currency, you must provide evidence of the amount paid in pounds sterling. This can be a bank statement, with confidential details removed.

Name your invoice and receipt documents clearly. For example, ‘001-InvoicingCompany-05July25’.

What to include in your spending tracker

Use the invoices and receipts tab of your spending tracker to detail all your invoices and receipts.

For each cost, provide:

• item reference for the relevant item in your finance spreadsheet
• name of the document containing the invoice or receipt (include page number if multiple invoices in one document)
• a brief description of item purchased (for example, ‘data analysis’)
• total cost
• amount you’re claiming for
• details of VAT claimed
• invoice date

If an invoice relates to more than one item reference on your finance spreadsheet, list each item separately.

If an invoice includes items that are not part of your SSG project, explain which items you’re claiming for.

VAT information

If you can recover VAT on a cost, claim the amount excluding VAT.

If you cannot recover VAT on a cost, claim the amount including VAT.

If you can partly recover VAT on a cost, claim the amount including only the irrecoverable VAT and explain the rate applied in ‘additional details’ on your spending tracker.

Claiming travel and subsistence (T&S)

Ensure any T&S is carried out in the most economical and sustainable way possible.

You must explain how T&S relates to the funded activities in your report.

If partners or contractors incur T&S costs, they should invoice you for these costs.

Internal staff T&S

For internal staff, submit either:

1. Receipts and details of mileage.
2. Internal evidence of staff T&S.

1. Receipts and details of mileage

List each receipt and mileage claim in the invoices and receipts tab of your spending tracker.

If you’re claiming for mileage, include:

• a short explanation of the purpose of the journey in the Item description column
• the date of the journey in the Invoice date column
• the rate per mile and distance in the Additional details column

2. Internal evidence of staff T&S

If you are providing internal evidence of T&S:

• submit a download or screenshot from your organisation’s finance system, instead of individual receipts
• ensure any evidence includes the cost, date, a brief description of the item, and a job/account code (or similar) to show costs have been made under your SSG project
• list each item in the invoices and receipts tab of your spending tracker, for example, if your expense reports are produced monthly, add one line for each monthly report

We will approve any internal evidence of T&S on a case-by-case basis, so keep copies of receipts.

Internal recharge

Internal recharges are costs that cannot be evidenced through invoices or receipts.

You can submit evidence of an internal recharge if you have been charged by another department within your organisation for an item or service relating to your project.

Provide evidence from an internal system and detail:

• the item or service charged for
• date of purchase or use
• cost and job/account code (or similar) to show costs have been made under your SSG project
• rate and total amount charged

If you cannot show evidence from an internal system, submit an email from the relevant department confirming the same details listed.

Contact us if you’re not sure whether your evidence is acceptable.

We accept internal recharge evidence at our discretion.

Subscription costs

If you have purchased a subscription or licence:

• claim for this in the financial year in which the invoice/receipt is dated
• include the dates covered by the subscription or licence in the Additional details tab of your spending tracker

You can only claim for the time covered by your funding agreement. If the period of the subscription or license extends beyond the end of your funding agreement, you must only claim for the period covered by your funding agreement.

Claiming internal staff time

Use the timesheet tab in your spending tracker to claim for internal staff time.

Timesheets are for internal staff only. Invoices must be submitted for external contractors’ time.

For each person, provide the:

• item reference for the relevant item in your finance spreadsheet
• dates when work was carried out
• team member’s name and job role
• brief description of work carried out (for example, ‘thinning of small leaved lime stand’)
• rate of pay (daily or hourly)
• number of days or hours worked
• total cost
• amount you’re claiming for

You should include a separate line for each activity carried out by a member of staff. For example, ‘Grafting of wild cherry’ and ‘Scion collection for beech’.

How to complete your claim form

Section 1: Claimant details

The claimant must:

• be the lead applicant or project representative
• sign section 3 of the claim form

Contact us if you would like to add an additional project representative to your project to sign future claims.

The grant recipient organisation must match the:

• grant recipient on your agreement
• business or individual name on your supplier creation form or supplier record

Only the grant recipient organisation can receive claim payments.

Section 2: Claim details

Check that your claim amount does not exceed the maximum grant amount in your agreement.

If you’ve made claims earlier in the financial year, ensure the total of all claims stays within your budget for that financial year.

Section 3: Declaration

Provide either a digital or handwritten signature. We cannot accept typed names in the signature box.

Setting up payment details

New suppliers

Complete a supplier creation form if this is your first payment from the Forestry Commission. We will email you a supplier creation form after you have signed your grant agreement.

The business or organisation name on the supplier creation form must match the grant recipient stated in your grant agreement. The address you provide must also match the registered address for your company/organisation (check Companies House or The Charity Commission).

Existing suppliers

If your bank details or organisation information has changed since your last Forestry Commission payment, email SSG@forestrycommission.gov.uk for a supplier amendment form.

Payment to a different organisation

If payment needs to go to a different organisation than named in your agreement, contact the SSG team.

After your claim

When you’ll receive payment

We aim to make payments within 22 working days of receiving a completed claim.

It may take longer at the end of the financial year. Delays may occur if your claim is incomplete or has errors.

Record keeping

Keep all paperwork (invoices, receipts, accounting records) for 7 years from the end of your funding period.

Changes to your project

You must inform us as soon as possible if:

• you would like to make significant changes to your project
• you would like to reallocate budget between items
• you no longer plan to proceed with your project

All significant changes need Forestry Commission approval in advance.

If a cost increases slightly, it does not need approval in advance of claiming, but payment will be at our discretion.

Contact us

Contact the SSG team if you need help with:

• submitting your claim or supporting evidence
• correcting a mistake after you’ve submitted a claim
• making a change to your project

Email us at SSG@forestrycommission.gov.uk.

All the forms you need are on the how to make a claim page.

The SSG is now closed for applications. Read more about the SSG.