University of Lincoln Students' Union Finance Guide

WelcomeHello, congratulations on being elected into your committee volunteering position of treasurer.

We have made a couple of changes this year from the feedback that has been given from the previous financial year. We listened and as such have increased the staffing at drop-ins for Activities so that we can see more of you but also so that we can work with you more closely.

Being the Treasurer comes with great responsibility as you are the key finance contact for you committee. You will be required to monitor you income and expenditure, support the budgeting function of you activity and work closely alongside your fellow committee members to support them with their decision making and forecasting for you activity.

We have put this reference guide together for you to cover some of the main and general administration that you will be required to do. It is important that you understand our policies and procedures as we have designed them with you in mind.

May I wish you every success through the coming year and should you require any support please feel free to contact my team and I and will gladly assist you.

Regards

Dean HowardFinance Controller

Drop In Sessions

If you ever require details regarding your accounts, need to make purchases that you want to be present for, or just have a general enquiry that you would like answered, the Finance department

run two Drop In Sessions a week.

Tuesday 14:00-16:00 Thursday 10:00-12:00

Contentsthe treasurer’s role Page 5

accounts Page 6

development fund Page 7

Department & Nominal Codes Page 8

budgeting Page 9

forms Page 10

purchase request Page 11

quotes Page 12

Transport booking form Page 16

Cheque Request Form Page 18

SU Expense Claim form Page 20

Till Button Request form Page 22

Donation Form Page 24

VAT Page 26

sponsorship Page 27

Payment for Coaches Page 28

referees, Payment for Guest Speakers Page 29

Fundraising for Activities Page 30

fundraising Student Led ProjectsPage 31

Glossary Page 32

ContactsFinancial ControllerDean Howard Tel: 01522 886338 Email: [email protected]

Activities Officer Hayley Jayne WillkinsonTel: 01522 886434Email: [email protected]

Accounts AssistantFaye HandleyTel: 01522 837693Email: [email protected]

Finance Operational Support StaffCallum Johnstone Tel: 01522 837678Email: [email protected]

Activities Co-ordinator Tracey Revill Tel: 01522 886460 Email: [email protected]

Treasurers are responsible and accountable for the further development and sustainability of your Activity. Through suitable expenditure, budgeting and forecasting and good communication you will you be able to support this. Don’t worry though we are here to help you every step along the way. It is important that they understand the financial processes thoroughly and will be required to sign an acceptance form outlining your adherence and acceptance of these processes whilst being a Treasurer.

All Treasurers will undergo thorough Finance training prior to any financial activity being authorised. Once training has been completed, Treasurers will be required to provide a sample signature which will be verified when making any purchases or claims. The Treasurer will then be authorised to proceed with this position/role.

The role also provides the opportunity to apply strategic thinking, develop communication skills and overseeing and overseeing the finance function.

If you are unsure of aspect to do with the finances of you Activity then please do not hesitate to contact the finance team who will be able to provide clarity/guidance.

Some Key Things to remember:

• You are only authorised to gain quotes, all requests to purchase will be authorised and finalised by the Finance Department• All expenditure must be signed off by the treasurer• Unauthorised expenditure will not be accepted by the Union and the purchaser will become personally liable.• All purchases must be addressed to the Students’ Union• Only acceptable expenditure will be authorised; alcohol and tobacco would be declined• You must monitor your expenditure is in line with your available funds

Preferred payment method is via BACS. Please note these are scheduled and are not made on an individual basis. ULSU will not pay for goods upfront; the finance department will negotiate payment terms with the supplier.

The Treasurer’s Role

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AccountsEach week the Finance Department will run an activity report that details the income and expenditure against your Membership and Self Raised Funds Department. These are not bank accounts but the method to which we record you financial transactions. Activity report will be available for collection form your pigeon holes located in reception. Please ensure you check each statement thoroughly. If you would like further clarity or have a query regarding your activity report, please email [email protected] or attend a drop ensuring you bring with you your records you will be keeping to monitor your transactional activity.

1. Membership Department

• This account is made up of money paid in by activity members when they join your Club or Society.

• Please use this account for any expenditure which would further benefit and meet the objectives of your Club or Society, this is called Primary Activity e.g. facility hiring for training or a competition entry fee.

You have two accounts to manage and

monitor:

2. Self Raised Funds Department

• This account is made up of money that your club or society raise, i.e through fundraising or for a specific purpose through a till button request.

• Please use this account for any expenditure which is not towards the aims or objectives of the Club or Society, this is called Secondary Activity e.g. a social event or an end of year dinner.

• Any Donations made to your Club or Society will be credited to this account.

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Development Fund All Activities can apply for development funding through their respective committees and be granted or denied through a vote by the committee, once this has been approved it would then be submitted to the executive board for final approval. It is only then that the fund can be accessed for use.

Development fund money that is approved, does not sit within either of your accounts. It remains in the development fund pot. If you are approved for money from the fund, when completing a purchase order form, instead of writing in a department code you would put development fund. This will then be signed off internally by the Activities officer.

to apply:Please complete a Development Fund form which can be found on www.lincolnsu.com/activities. Activities must submit the form by 12 noon on Thursday, 1 week prior to Council. If received on time the application will then be presented to committee for approval.

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Department & Nominal CodesYou have two Accounts for your activity. These accounts will be represented by two separate numbers which are called your Department Codes. These will be available from a notice board in reception but will more than likely be the same as the previous year.

Department CodesThese are needed when filling out forms as it allows us to know which account you wish to make payments

from, for your activity. They are noted on the top of your monthly balances as well.

Nominal codes: These are four digit codes that you will use on request forms which will be shown later used to inform us of what it is that you are requesting payment for. There are a variety of codes, some examples are as follows:

4037- Public transport4072-Kit4084-Hire of Facilities

A nominal code allows us to breakdown the expenditure into a category and type. Please note if the incorrect nominal code is used this may be revised by finance once processed.

*A Full list of Nominal codes can be found online or in SU reception on the notice board.

* You can choose to split code a request when you do not have sufficient funds in one department to purchase the services or goods and is in line with the account guidelines.

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BudgetingAs a treasurer it is your responsibility to ensure the on-going sustainability of your Activity. Budgeting will assist you in making decisions on the financial Activity for the year and to also plan to run the Activities you need to do throughout the year. It is your job to also ensure your Activity doesn’t run out of money and risk having to close down.

How to budget

It is best to budget from the offset of the financial year, don’t leave it until you are budgeting because your funds are or near the point of being depleted. Budgeting requires forecasting; for example you need to first calculate your expected income for the year. Main sources of income for Activities are through:

- Membership- Sponsorship- Generating Self Raised Funds

Try to make accurate predictions for these funds. Membership may be capped to a certain number per activity or you may want to find out historical membership numbers to calculate a reliable figure. Once you have forecasted you then need to look at you expenditure. Activities main expenditures may include:

- Affiliation- Transportations- Coaches/Guest Speakers- Hiring Facilities

It is best to look at your Activities diary for the year to work out when these costs are going to come in.

Doing this will quickly show you if you have enough funds to cover all your expenditure. By doing this it will highlight at what point in the year other sources may need to be found. It will also help you set targets. You may find that you are £100 short for covering all your costs; if you know this you may want your committee to appoint someone to run an event to carry out some self raised activity – it is much better to set a target to reach than just hoping the amount will be achieved, this will also help you to decide what the best for of fundraising activity will be.

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FormsThere are various forms which need to be completed when ordering any goods which you can download from the website www.lincolnsu.com/forms or collect from the Students’ Union Reception.

• All completed forms should be submitted to Students’ Union Reception in advance where possible.

• The Treasurer must always sign the appropriate form to authorise the expenditure, failure to do this is not acceptable and will prevent the request from being processed.

• Submitted forms will be returned to you should they not fall in line with the club or society aims and objectives e.g. alcohol and tobacco

• You will receive an email from SU Finance to let you know that your request has been processed successfully or detail any problems delaying the request.

• You will be notified when you can collect any goods purchased and will be required to complete a Goods Received Notification Form to acknowledge receipt and note any discrepancies.

Purchase Request form.

• Complete a Purchase Request form for goods and services that you would like to purchase. • Please do not confirm any order for goods or services with a supplier as you are not authorised to spend without prior permission from SU Finance.

• Any invoices which are received by SU Finance prior to authorisation will be forwarded to the individual who will be liable for the amount due.

• You must attach to the form x1 detailed quote from the supplier for orders requested which are £500 or under in total and x2 detailed quotes from different suppliers for orders £500 and above.

• All sections must be completed on the form. Please provide as much information as you can on the goods or services being requested.

All goods must be delivered to the SU Office, it is not acceptable for goods to be delivered to your home address. The Students Address is; University of Lincoln Students’ Union, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS.

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Key Areas for completing the formsDetails: The name of the supplier and contact details are important to process the order

Item: What you are purchasing. Try and be as detailed as possible, so the correct thing is ordered

Department and Nominal Code: This is where you put which account you are

paying for the goods out of which is the department Code. The Nominal code is as on the previous slide what it is you want to purchase

Price: Unit cost, Delivery, VAT, Total Order Cost

Signature: This is where you sign to confirm that you are happy for your club to purchase these items. Without your signature no purchase will be made.

quotes

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Left is an example of a quotation. They can come in a variety of designs, but as treasurer there are a couple of things regarding quotes from suppliers that you must check.

1. The quote MUST be addressed to the Students Union and not to yourself. The Students Union are the ones who are actually making payment and so if the quote is not addressed to us we cannot do this.

2. Certain companies will give you an invoice when they quote you your price. It is essential that all invoices are handed into the Students Union otherwise payment will not be able to be made, when the goods are received. NB you cannot authorise the completion of a purchase you are only authorised to approve requests. It is advised to make this clear to suppliers that you are not authorised to make this commitment and the Finance Department will send through a purchase order once authorised as our commitment to the order.

Quotes

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Quotes that you submit with purchase orders can also come in many different varieties. Many companies will give you official quotes, however some will give you emailed quotes or they may be online like the one on the left. They are all valid as long as they cover some criteria:

1. The quote must state who the supplier is and the company address, and what the item is that is being ordered, quantity and pricing.

2. The price of the Item wanting to be purchased must also be shown on the quote

Transport booking form

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• Complete a Transport Booking form when you need to hire transport for an event i.e. coach or taxi hire.

• This form is not to be used for any BUCS Fixtures. See BUCS Guidelines on 29.

• You must attach x2 quotes from 2 different suppliers to a completed form 10 days prior to the event.

• One of the quotes you receive must be from Hodsons Coach Company Ltd.

• It is advisable to arrange collection and drop offs for your Club or Society at the Engine Shed, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS.

Cheque Request Form

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*New this year

• Complete a cheque request form when you require payments to be made by cheque to the supplier

• Like the other forms, try and be as detailed as possible when filling out the form so that we know what or who is being paid.

SU Expense Claim form

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*New this year

• Complete a SU Expense Claim form for expenses you have incurred when purchasing items for your activity.

• There is no longer a separate form for money being claimed back that is below a certain amount, all claims are to be requested using this form

• Please ensure that you request a VAT itemised receipt when purchasing any items and attach to the form for submission.

• The receipt must be within 28 days of purchasing the items.

• Failure to provide the correct receipt will mean that the claimant will not be reimbursed.

• If the claim is successful, the claimants bank account detailed on the form will be credited with the amount requested. This can take 10-15 days to process.

• Please make sure that the claimant’s bank details are correct and eligible to read to help SU Finance process the claim, and avoid delays in payments.

Till Button Request form

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• You can request a till button to be set up on the till located at the Students’ Union reception by completing a Till Button Request form.

• Till buttons are requested in order for you to raise money to purchase goods or services i.e. kit or vehicle hire.

• You must submit this form along with a Trip/Event Application form so that the Activities department are aware of the purpose of your till button.

• Please allow 5 days for your till button to be made live and ready to use.

• When choosing what price to set your till button, make sure you factor in things such as VAT costs and the number of people that will be paying so that the total amount collected will cover the cost of the trip or item.

Donation Form

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• A donation form should be completed when you have received money from a third party with no conditions as to what can be purchased using it.

• You need to bring any donations in to the Students’ Union Reception with the completed form detailing the exact amount of money being donated to you.

• Your donation will be checked by SU Finance and if totalling amounts are the same, deposited into your Self Raised Account.

• SU Finance will discuss with you any discrepancies found when calculating the amount of the Donation being made.

VATThe Students’ Union is VATregistered with HMRC. This means there are certain compliancesthat must be met.

The Finance Department are responsible for producing accurate VAT returns to HMRC and will review and apply correction or exemptions to qualifying transactions.

Whilst this can be a confusing area of finance there are some basic rules:

• Under sporting exemptions membership fees for recognised sports will be exempt from VAT.

• Society membership will incur VAT. Unfortunately there is no exemption and VAT must be charged. Please therefore note if your membership price is £100 you will receive £83.33 and the remainder paid over to HMRC.

Some of your activities may be fall under some exemptions:• Some Activities may fall within the Scope of a “Cultural Exemption” meaning that the event would be exempt from VAT. The Finance Controller will approach societies that activities may fall within this exemption.

• Trips may be exempt if the following conditions are met. The trip price is inclusive of travel and entry and no profit is made. This is called TOMS (Tour Operators Margin Scheme).

• Donations made to your club and society are VAT exempt – remember a donation is freely given so if anything has been given in return then this is not a donation.

• Sponsorship is liable for VAT.

• Ticket income for events will incur VAT.

• VAT will be applied to kit purchases

The list above is not exhaustive and is only given as a guide. Should you have a specific VAT code/treatment enquiry

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You are encouraged to seek and secure sponsorship to help facilitate and sustain your Club or Societies development and progression.

Sponsorship is money, goods or services received with stipulations e.g. in return for a service like marketing or advertising.

All Clubs and societies must notify the Activities Office of any plans to seek potential additional sponsorship before organisations are approached.

• Once you have sourced Sponsorship, you and the company who are supplying the sponsorship will need to complete a University of Lincoln Students’ Union Sponsorship Agreement form.

• Please submit the signed Sponsorship Agreement to the reception who will forward your request onto Membership Services.

• The agreement will be submitted to the Union’s President and Chief Executive Officer for approval.

• Once approved, SU Finance will raise an invoice to request the sponsorship from the company.

Clubs and Societies are not permitted to finalise any sponsorship agreement without prior authorisation by the Students’ Union. Any Club or Society that receives money from a third party or ‘secret’ sponsor will be brought up on a disciplinary.

Further Information on Sponsorship can be found from www.lincolnsu.com/forms under the Sponsorship Guidelines document.

sponsorship

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Payment for CoachesYour Activity may require the payment for referees and coaches each month. Please insure that the appropriate payroll form and coaching plans for lessons are attached and submitted by the 4th of each month. Payment is then made on the 25th of the month or the earliest date prior if this falls on a weekend or bank holiday.

Unless your Coach can satisfy that they are self-employed stator deductions will be made on their behalf. To satisfy that your coach is self-employed they will need to forward to the Finance Controller their Unique Tax Reference (UTR) and the reference number provided by the online Employment Status Indicator (ESI) which will be checked and verified. If this information is provided your coach may invoice for payment and will be paid through payroll but we will not make their statutory deductions.

In order to make payment to your coach they will need to complete a payroll form each month signed by them and the treasurer of the activity. These are available from reception. Please ensure you clarify if this is the first time your coach has submitted a request as the form is slightly different and we will also require them to sign an additional form. These should then be returned to the SU reception.

Please be advised that you will need to complete a coaching agreement form before you can use a coach. These are available from reception and should you need assistance or any information clarifying please speak with a member of the activities team who will be happy to help.

• Trips may be exempt if the following conditions are met. The trip price is inclusive of travel and entry and no profit is made. This is called TOMS (Tour Operators Margin Scheme).

• Donations made to your club and society are VAT exempt – remember a donation is freely given so if anything has been given in return then this is not a donation.

• Sponsorship is liable for VAT.

• Ticket income for events will incur VAT.

• VAT will be applied to kit purchases

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RefereesAll referees will be paid via cheque. Please note that if this is a BUCS match referee then the Union will cover the cost of this. You will need to email the activities office the name of you referee and the date and venue of the fixture. They will then complete the relevant cheque request form and approve this. Finance will then process the requests and you will be able to collect these from reception.

Should you require a cheque for a referee to cover non BUCS related costs the Activity can request this by completing the cheque request form and signed by your treasurer. This will be processed by finance and made available for collection from the SU reception.

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Guest speakers may request reimbursement for transport or

hospitality (a meal). The original receipts should be attached the SU

Expenses claim form, completed by the guest and signed and submitted by your treasurer. Funds will then be

transferred via BACS to the guests designated bank account.

Payment for Guest Speakers

Please ensure that you have available funds before committing to covering your

expenses. It can also be advisable to set limits. Generally the SU will not purchase

or reimburse for alcohol. One small exception is if your guest was to have one

or two alcoholic drinks with a meal if you chose to take them out afterwards. This will be reimbursed however only for the Guest; members cannot be reimbursed

for the purchase of alcohol.

Fundraising for Activities Fundraising is an important element for all Activities both for external organisations and for your own fundraising.

When fundraising for another charity please ensure:

- You have written permission from the Charity you are raising funds for

- You have permission from the Students Union to raise funds on that charities behalf

- You must advertise that you are raising funds for the selected charity

- You should record the fundraising activity e.g. what you did and how much you raised; you should then contact the charity directly and arrange paying the funds into their bank account.

- You may need to complete fundraising forms for the charity and submit these to them, please ensure that a copy is also received by the Unions Finance Department so this can be filed with our records

- If you are using the money donated for anything apart from giving it all to the designated charity e.g. if you are going to take any of the funds to cover the cost of fundraising then this must be clearly advertised when collecting.

Raising funds for your own Activity

Fundraising may be held through ticketed events, selling cupcakes or completing sponsored events such as an all-night cycle. More than not the activity will incur VAT on the income for fundraising as normally a service is given in return. It you are given money or goods for not doing anything in return then this is a donation and can be paid in at reception which will be added to your account – these don’t incur VAT.

It is best to carry out visual activities where people can come and talk to you and make a donation if they wish, if you are planning an event to raise funds please ensure that you put together a budget of planned income and against the planned expenditure to ensure you make more than you spend!

If you have any queries relating to fundraising for another charity please contact the Activities department who will be able to help you.

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fundraising StudentLed Projects Student led projects should follow the same rules as activities fundraising for external charities.

Please also note that the Union allocates an amount of money to support student led projects each year. Applications for grant funding can be found and submitted via the volunteering office. The applications are received and reviewed by the executive team who will approve or decline the application.

Please be advised that the Students Union is a charity and as such cannot expend funds supporting another charity e.g. the SU cannot use any of its funds to help another. Likely expenditure to be approved is for awareness purposes so printing costs may qualify for grant funding from the SU.

In order to ensure legal compliance the Students Union will authorise all purchases for Student Led Projects that are made from Union funds.Further information can be obtained from the volunteering office.

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glossaryInvoice A document issued by a seller to a buyer listing the goods or services supplied. This is a legal document and formally is a summons for monies.Quote A document to evidence the goods or services that the buyer would like to purchase from the seller.

VAT itemised receipt A receipt detailing the goods or services that have been purchased. This receipt should have the date, the company’s name/logo, the cost and VAT of each item.

Approved Drivers To become an approved driver, please liaise with our Activities Co-ordinator who will guide you through the paperwork and agree an action plan.

If you are wishing to use a personal car, the driver is required to complete a Private Car Usage form so that our Activities department know that they have the required legal documents for insurance purposes to be a designated driver.

Hodson Coach Company ltd this is the Unions preferred supplier and our transport supplier for all BUCS fixtures. Any transport bookings will need to be quoted for from Hodsons’ as well any others you choose. Whilst you do not have to go with Hodson as a preferred supplier they will be committed to working with you as flexibly as possible.

Website: www.hodsoncoaches.co.ukTelephone Number: 01522 706 030Email: [email protected]

Donation Money provided to an individual where there is no stipulations as to what should be purchased with it.

Sponsorship Money provided to an individual where there are certain stipulations as to what should be purchased with it i.e for an event.

Purchase order A purchase order refers to a specific number provided to the seller by the buyer to confirm the purchase of the goods or services.

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