TLDR
The problem with emailing audit files isn't the files — it's that there's no record of what was shared, when it was opened, or who else might have received it. An auditor portal solves that by keeping sharing inside a controlled system with automatic expiry and a permanent view log.
Category overview
Auditor and funder portal software for controlled external access
GrantPipe is the operating system for grant-funded nonprofits, spanning eight modules. Use this page to evaluate portal access, then check pricing for what each plan includes.
Where GrantPipe fits
Where GrantPipe fits in the category
GrantPipe's Auditor & Funder Portal is available on the Audit-Ready plan. It is built around the same grant records your team already uses — when you scope a portal session, you're selecting from your live grant data, not uploading files to a separate system.
That means the evidence bundle stays connected to the actual award record, the restricted fund record, and the activity log. When the auditor finishes the review, the portal log becomes part of your permanent compliance documentation alongside the underlying records.
Who this fits
- Nonprofits preparing for annual financial or single audits
- Grant-funded organizations subject to funder compliance monitoring visits
- Finance and development teams that need a controlled, logged way to share evidence
What to verify
- Does the portal limit scope to specific grants, funds, and documents — not the full account?
- Is every document view and download logged with the reviewer's name and timestamp?
- Does access expire automatically, and can it be revoked immediately before expiry?
Not for
- Teams whose only reviewers are internal staff with full account access
- Organizations that don't yet have grant documents in a centralized system
- Teams looking for a funder CRM or grantmaker portal (this category is for grant recipients, not grantmakers)
The access-without-accountability problem
When an auditor or program officer asks to review grant records, the default response is to email files or share a folder. Both approaches have the same underlying flaw: no one can show what was shared, when it was opened, or whether the reviewer's copy was the current version.
That gap matters more than most nonprofits realize. Auditors sampling an organization's internal controls will ask how the team manages access to sensitive financial records. If the answer is 'we emailed a ZIP file,' the follow-up question is about the controls around that decision. A portal with scope controls, automatic expiry, and a view log answers that follow-up before it's asked.
What to verify when evaluating portal software
The portal category has a wide range of implementations. Some products call a shared link a 'portal.' Others provide genuine scope controls with logging. Buyers should test the product against the three questions that auditors and funders will eventually ask.
- Can you restrict the reviewer to specific grants, funds, and documents — not a general org view?
- Is there a permanent, append-only log of every document the reviewer accessed?
- Can you revoke access immediately, and is that revocation itself logged?
Source: AICPA SAS No. 145
Source: U.S. GAO 2024 High Risk Series
- Auditor & Funder portal software
- Software that lets a nonprofit invite an external reviewer — an auditor, a funder program officer, or a board committee member — to a scoped, time-limited portal showing only the grants, funds, and documents the organization selected. Access expires automatically, and every document view is logged in the organization's audit trail.
DEFINITION
Q&A
What should auditor portal software do for nonprofits?
It should let the organization define exactly what the auditor can see, set an expiry date, deliver access through a signed link (no account required), and log every document view with the reviewer's name and a timestamp. If any of those elements are missing, the 'portal' is just a shared folder with extra steps.
Q&A
Why is a dedicated portal better than a shared drive for audit evidence?
Three reasons: scope control (the reviewer only sees what you selected), automatic expiry (the link stops working on the date you set), and a view log (you know what was accessed, when, and by whom). Shared drives offer none of the three by default.
GrantPipe pricing at a glance
Every plan includes a 1-month free trial, unlimited users, and access to the same source-of-truth feature catalog.
Starter
Replacing disconnected grant and donor spreadsheets
Growth
Active reporting teams with recurring deadlines
Audit-Ready
Teams preparing reviewer evidence and accounting outputs
Enterprise
Complex grant-funded teams that need custom terms
Compare the workflow against what you use now.
Use the shortlist and comparison pages below to narrow the field, then start a free trial to test the workflow against your current process.
Frequently asked