The quick answer
Run the Revenue to Release from Use Restriction search. For each grant, Revenue to Be Released is the expenses already charged to it that no release has covered yet. Then enter a Release from Restriction transaction with two lines on your release account for that amount: a debit tagged With Donor Restrictions and a credit tagged Without Donor Restrictions, both with the same Grant and Program. Save it and rerun the search. Revenue to Be Released for the grant should now be 0.00. In this example the grant has 30,500.00 of expenses and 12,000.00 already released, so the release is 18,500.00.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and organization names are fictional. Use your own grants, accounts and amounts when following the steps.
Before you start
Riverbend Literacy Alliance got an 80,000.00 grant from the Hollis Family Foundation for its summer reading camps. The donor restricted it to that purpose, so the money stays restricted until the alliance spends it on the camps. Each time qualifying expenses come in, the accountant releases the matching amount.
This assumes a NetSuite nonprofit configuration where Restriction, Program and Grant are line-level custom segments with GL impact, with values for your grants and programs and both With Donor Restrictions and Without Donor Restrictions. You also need an account designated for releases, marked Release from Restriction in its Applies To list. Here that's 4950 Net Assets Released from Restrictions. An income account without the designation isn't enough. This example uses the Administrator role; a custom role needs access to the search, the transaction, the segments, and the account and period.
The release search can only match expenses to funding when the tags line up. The gift's revenue line is tagged With Donor Restrictions, and the program expenses are tagged Without Donor Restrictions with the same Grant and Program. A matching tag doesn't make an expense allowable, though. The spending still has to satisfy the donor's restriction under your grant policy.
Where the search and transaction live depends on your setup. The nonprofit role center has them under NFP Financial Center > Financial. In this account the search is under Reports > Saved Searches and the transaction under Transactions > Financial. If you use the Grant Management SuiteApp instead, its menus and terms differ.
01. Review the restricted gift
Open invoice INV2217 for Hollis Family Foundation, the transaction this account uses to record the pledged gift. It totals 80,000.00. On the Items subtab, scroll the line to the right. It's tagged Restriction With Donor Restrictions, Grant Summer Reading Camps 2026 and Program Youth Reading.
Your account might record gifts on a cash sale or another transaction. The line tagging is what matters, and only posting transactions count as funding in the search, so a pledge or sales order alone won't show up.
02. Find the amount eligible for release
Go to Reports > Saved Searches > Revenue to Release from Use Restriction. The Summer Reading Camps 2026 row shows Total Funding 80,000.00, Revenue Already Released 12,000.00 from an earlier release, and Total Expenses 30,500.00. Revenue to Be Released is 18,500.00, the expenses no release has covered yet. The other two grants show 0.00.
Scroll right. Revenue Available for Release is 68,000.00, the 80,000.00 funding less the 12,000.00 already released. That's what the grant still has restricted, not an amount to release now.
In this configuration, Revenue to Be Released is Total Expenses minus Revenue Already Released, and Revenue Available for Release is Total Funding minus Restricted for Future Use minus Revenue Already Released. Check the formulas in your account's copy of the search. A negative Revenue to Be Released often means more was released than spent, but a reversed expense, a credit, a missing tag or a duplicate release can cause it too, so look at the transactions before you correct anything.
03. Enter the release
Go to Transactions > Financial > Release from Restriction. Leave Date 09/30/2026 and Posting Period Sep 2026. The period has to be open, and the release belongs in the period the restriction was satisfied. In Memo, type Release Summer Reading Camps 2026 expenses through Sep 2026, so the entry can be traced back to the expenses behind it.
On the first line, choose Account 4950 Net Assets Released from Restrictions, enter Debit 18500, choose Restriction With Donor Restrictions, Grant Summer Reading Camps 2026 and Program Youth Reading, and click Add.
On the second line, choose the same account, enter Credit 18500, choose Restriction Without Donor Restrictions and the same Grant and Program, and click Add. Total Debit and Total Credit both read 18,500.00. Click Save.
If you use Time Restriction, match it on both lines too.
04. Check the saved release
Release 39 opens with the confirmation Transaction successfully Saved. The Lines subtab shows the debit of 18,500.00 With Donor Restrictions and the credit of 18,500.00 Without Donor Restrictions, both on 4950 and both for Summer Reading Camps 2026 and Youth Reading.
The entry doesn't change total net assets or the 4950 balance overall. It moves 18,500.00 from the with-donor-restrictions class to the without-donor-restrictions class, so the restriction columns on the Statement of Activities change. If your account routes this transaction for approval, it doesn't post, and the search doesn't count it, until it's approved. The GL Impact subtab shows what actually posted.
05. Confirm the grant is released
Run Revenue to Release from Use Restriction again. For Summer Reading Camps 2026, Revenue Already Released is now 30,500.00, the same as Total Expenses, and Revenue to Be Released is 0.00. The other two grants haven't changed.
Check the result
- Revenue to Be Released for the grant is 0.00.
- Revenue Already Released equals Total Expenses for the grant.
- Revenue Available for Release dropped by exactly the amount released.
- The other grants didn't change.
To see the effect on the statements, run the Statement of Activity for the period with Restriction as the column. If 4950 is a custom account, check that your report layout includes it. The release moves activity from With Donor Restrictions to Without Donor Restrictions. Report names and menus depend on your edition and role.
Common questions
What is the Release from Restriction transaction?
It's a two-line entry that reclassifies restricted revenue once the donor's restriction is satisfied. Both lines use the same release account, grant and program. The debit is tagged With Donor Restrictions and the credit Without Donor Restrictions, so the amount moves between net asset classes without changing the total.
How do I know how much restricted grant revenue to release?
Run Revenue to Release from Use Restriction and read Revenue to Be Released for the grant. Here the grant has 30,500.00 of expenses and 12,000.00 already released, so 18,500.00 is ready to release.
Why is Revenue to Be Released negative?
More has been released than the search can match to expenses. That's often an over-release, but a reversed expense, a credit, a missing or wrong tag, or a duplicate release does the same thing. Look at the grant's transactions before you post anything to fix it.
Which account and segments go on a release entry?
Use your designated Release from Restriction account on both lines, 4950 Net Assets Released from Restrictions here. Debit it With Donor Restrictions and credit it Without Donor Restrictions, with the same Grant and Program on both lines, plus Time Restriction if you use it.
Why don't my grant expenses show up in the release report?
The search only matches expenses that are posted and tagged Without Donor Restrictions with the same Grant and Program as the funding. An expense with a missing or different Grant or Program tag won't count, even if it was spent on the grant. Fix the tags on the expense lines and rerun the search.
Why is Revenue Available for Release wrong?
In some versions of the search, a line with no debit amount makes the formula return nothing, so the column comes out wrong. Open the search's Results formulas and default each amount to zero, for example NVL({debitamount},0) or NVL({creditamount},0), whichever the formula uses. Test it on a debit line and a credit line.
What's the difference between a use restriction and a time restriction release?
A use restriction is satisfied when you spend the money on the donor's purpose, which is what this search tracks. A time restriction is released when the restricted period arrives, from the Revenue to Release from Time Restriction search. Releasing one doesn't release the other on the same funds.