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Glossary

Funding report

A report produced from a submitted or validated ILR showing what the data earns and how it was calculated.

In full

Funding reports show the funding generated by the submitted data, broken down so that a provider can reconcile the calculation to their own expectations.

They are the bridge between the ILR and the finance ledger, and reconciling them monthly is how funding surprises are avoided at year end.

Where this comes up

diagnostic

Funding dropped this month and nobody can explain why

The funding report for this period shows less than expected, or less than last period. Because every return restates the whole year, a change made this month can move earnings reported in earlier months, so the drop may have nothing to do with this month's delivery.

diagnostic

An aim is on the ILR but generates no funding

The aim validates and appears on the ILR, but generates no earnings. Validation and funding are different tests: a record can be perfectly valid and still not qualify for funding.

diagnostic

An apprentice is on the ILR but is not generating any payments

The apprentice is not funding: they exist on the ILR and look correct, but no earnings are being generated for them. For apprenticeships starting from 1 August 2026 the provider enters the details once, on the ILR, and no payment is made until the employer approves them in their apprenticeship service account. For apprenticeships that started earlier, the ILR and the apprenticeship service must still match, so a difference between them stops payment.

diagnostic

A learner is flagged on a data quality or funding monitoring report

A record meets the criteria of a report that identifies data worth checking. That is a request to investigate, not a statement that the record is wrong. Some flagged records are entirely correct and simply need their evidence to be locatable.

module

From a learner walking in to funding arriving

The full chain: a learner event, the operational action it triggers, the source data it creates, the ILR fields it populates, validation, funding, reports, evidence, performance and audit.

module

Building a funding map for your college

A funding map sets out every stream a college receives, how each is earned, when it reconciles and what data drives it. It is the fastest way for a finance or leadership newcomer to become useful.