Money Matters
Introduction
Welcome Money Matters. This document is designed for club and society treasurers and
others that are interested, and will guide you through everything you need to know about your
club or society's finances.
No matter what type of club/society you are involved with, money is always involved money which belongs to the club as a whole not to the individuals concerned. The person
who looks after the financial affairs of the club, the Treasurer, wants to do what is in the best
interest of the present and future club members.
The Treasurer can receive real satisfaction from handling the Club money effectively. Like
any other group activity, there are a few rules and procedures to follow. That's what this
Factsheet is about - how to handle the financial affairs of your club in a businesslike way.
Objectives
By the time you've finished reading these pages, you should feel confident in knowing:
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The ways in which you can generate money
How your executive team can spend your club or society's money
How to order goods or services, and reclaim money spent on behalf of the
club/society
How to budget for the future
What your Committee ID card is and how to use it
Record transactions and monitor your accounts
The Treasurer's Role
The trustees of Worcester Students’ Union are responsible for ensuring that the Union’s
money and resources are used to represent and further the interests of Worcester students.
Clubs/Societies are an integral part of the Union therefore their finances are subject to
regulations and procedures to ensure that their money is spent correctly and that all
transactions are recorded accurately. This ensures transparency and accountability to the
membership of your club/society and the entire Union.
Overall responsibility lies with the Trustees of the Union, but the Treasurer of each club and
society is delegated the responsibility for ensuring transparency and accountability for their
individual club or society. The regulations and procedures are not designed to hinder Society
activity. However, it is essential that you follow the financial procedures laid out in this
booklet for a few simple reasons:1. WSU is bound by the 1994 Education Act. This means that the Union can only use
its resources to further its charitable objectives, laid out in its Constitution. In very simple
terms the Union can only use its resources to represent and further the interests of Worcester
students.
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2. These regulations are in place not only to ensure that both your members money
but any money that is given by the Union is spent correctly but so that the Sabbatical
Officers, as elected Trustees of the Union, can prove it is spent correctly to internal and
external auditors. The Sabbatical Officers have a responsibility to the Union’s membership all Worcester students, to run the Union and use its resources in a transparent manner.
Trustees must ensure that transactions are recorded accurately so members can scrutinise
them. This is identical to your responsibility as a treasurer to the members of your Society.
3. The Union is subject to an external audit on an annual basis and many of the
regulations relating to how you run your club/society finances have been set by the Union,
the Inland Revenue and other legislative bodies.
Responsibilities
As a club or society treasurer you are responsible for running the accounts of your
club/society. You will be in charge of:
 Liaising with and maintaining a working relationship with all SU staff, VP Student
Experience, and relevant University Staff
 Maintaining an up to date knowledge of the society’s financial situation by keeping
detailed records
 Signing all forms for payments, money requests and orders
 Keeping your executive committee informed of your club or society's financial
position
 Work with the chair and liaise with the incoming committee to produce an annual
budget
 Attending specific, relevant training sessions
 Ensuring all members have paid up
 Ensuring your club or society does not get into debt
 Be included in the planning of all events
 Ensure all monies are paid into the account as soon as possible after receipt
 Produce a statement of Accounts at the AGM
IMPORTANT
Do not be afraid to say no to your committee if you don’t think your society can
afford something
Rules and Regulations
The way that you can use your club or society's money is governed not only by your
constitution and Union, but also rules that come from the University and from British law.
Keeping these in mind, your club or society's money cannot be used for:
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Political activity that can't be considered educational (e.g. supporting a trade union
strike)
Anything outside the general aims of your club or society
Any illegal activity
Making a donation to an outside body
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If you are unsure about a particular way that you're looking to spend club or society money,
email h.chenneour-cocking@worc.ac.uk or b.hooper@worc.ac.uk and she/he will advise you
appropriately.
Charity Collections
The Students’ Union is a registered charity and therefore is not permitted to raise funds for
any other charity except via RAG.
In order to collect money for charity The RAG Society will provide you with the advice and
you need to help carry out fundraising activities, whilst also ensuring that your activities are
legal. We can then also get a better idea of how much money students are collecting for
charity so we can shout about our achievements!
Fundraising proceeds on behalf of another charity must be raised under the banner of RAG
and paid directly into the RAG Bank account via the Finance Office. The Finance Office will
require the following information:
The name of charity the funds have been raised for
The name of the Club / Society organising the event raising the funds
Instructions (payee name / contact name / address) of where to send the proceeds to
Record Keeping
All transactions must be recorded in your Club/Society book. The book can be obtained from
SU reception. The book is divided into columns to record the date, details of the transaction,
amount paid out, amount paid in and the balance held in the account.
Types of Money
How are Funds Generated?
There are various ways in which your club or society can generate funds, and these will fall
under different categories, explained below. Some ways you might generate money would be:
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Grants/budgets
Membership fees
Sponsorship
Fundraising
Event surplus
Other surplus from your activities
Types of Money
Your club/society's money is divided into two sections:
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Grant Money
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Given to you by Worcester Students Union
You submit a budget at the end of Semester 2 to apply for a budget for the following
year
Used for budgeted projects, according to the allocation details
Own Money (Private)
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Membership subscriptions
Sponsorship please NB, some companies might be inappropriate for sponsorship, if
you are unsure e-mail phil.roberts@worc.ac.uk
Event surplus
Any other money you generate
The money is split up into two types of account, as you'll see in the 'Your Accounts' section
later on. Money in each category must be used to benefit the club/society as a whole.
Membership Fees
Setting Society subscription fees.
As treasurer you will need to support your committee in setting annual subscription fees for
the membership of your club/society. All affiliated clubs/societies are required to charge the
minimum £1 subscription to all members; however each society should charge a realistic
subscription which reflects the activities it aims to undertake. This can only be assessed by
compiling a budget of all expected expenditure and income.
Members can either join online, this is the preferred method, or at the Sports and Activities
fair. All membership fees will be collected by the SU and your account will be credited by
them. You must not collect membership fees in any other way.
Before anyone can join a club or society they will have to join #TEAMWORC. The cost of
this is in addition to your club/society membership.
Budgets
At the end of Semester 2 you will be sent a Budget Application Pack. This will be for you to
complete in order to apply for funds for the following academic year, and therefore will
preferably involve both incoming and outgoing committees.
You will be requesting money for your planned projects for the next year, and for items that
your club or society can benefit from in the long term. Sports Clubs must make equipment
requests on a separate form to the budget, and should submit both at the same time.
Any money allocated to those projects or items will be put into your grant accounts (as
mentioned on the previous page), and must be used by the end of the year it's allocated for.
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Bank Accounts
Clubs and societies may not open external bank accounts
Any society officer found to have opened an external bank account will be subject to the
Union and University disciplinary procedures and the Society may be immediately deratified.
WSU will not accept any liability for Societies who operate an external bank account
FORMS
Paying Money In (Yellow)
Paying money in is fantastically easy. Simply take the money or cheque to the Finance Office
If you are receiving a cheque, the cheque should be payable to WSU (Worcester Students'
Union). Write your club details on the back of the cheque.
Clubs and Societies Paid Out Form (GREEN) Petty Cash
up to £100
This is the most frequently used form and is used to withdraw money from your account. It is
typically used when a member has purchased something for the club/ society and needs to be
reimbursed, or when an individual needs to be paid (for example after providing dance
lessons).
Where members incur expenses that should be funded by the club or society an expense
claim can be made using a Clubs and Societies Paid Out Form. These forms are available
from the student Union Reception.
All claims must be:
Supported by receipts or other relevant evidence
Signed as authorised by the Club or Society Treasurer* and one other Committee member
Checked to ensure that there are sufficient funds to pay.
*Where the Treasurer is making a claim the Club or Society Chair must authorise.
Once the expense form has been completed and authorised the Treasurer can obtain
reimbursement from the Finance Office. If the amount is over £100 either the VP Student
Experience or the Sports and Societies Co-ordinator must sign before taking the form to the
Finance Office.
Expenses will not be reimbursed if there are insufficient funds available in the club / society
account.
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Important: You must have receipts when claiming money from your account. No receipt =
No payment. This is to ensure the safety of your club/ society's accounts and to make sure
nobody claims money for something that was never paid for.
Expenses over £100
Anything over £100 will need to be agreed in writing prior to the transaction taking place, by
either the VP Student Experience, or the Sports and Societies Co-ordinator or in extreme
circumstances The Chief Executive.
Purchase Order
A Purchase Order Requisition is used to place an order with a company, which the Union
then orders directly for you. This is typically used to buy merchandise or where there are
large quantities of money involved. All goods and services should be requested on a Purchase
Order.
Sales Invoice
A Sales Invoice Requisition is used to ask a company or external body to pay you money,
typically when they have sponsored you. If you're just paying in cash or a cheque that you
already have, you don't need a sales invoice, just take the deposit to the finance office. (See
Paying Money In, above)
Credit Card
If your society wishes to make an online purchase, please ask the Finance Office to do so on
your behalf, as they can pay on credit card (which is infinitely more secure and less
susceptible to scams). The forms must be completed.
Committee ID Cards
You will need an ID card to access the finances of the club. This card entitles you to use the
following Union facilities:
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Services at SU Reception: Booking rooms, photocopying & printing,
Collecting money from the SU
Access to the Club/Society finance book
There will be two cards produced for two officers of each club for the academic year. These
cards are only valid for Worcester Society/ Club Use and if lost or stolen must be reported to
the Worcester Students Union.
You will need to bring this card with you when withdrawing money.
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Please note these cards are simply Identification cards. If you do pay for goods/services
please claim the money back by submitting a request form attaching any receipts or
documentation relating to the payment.
These are available from the beginning of Semester 1.
The End of the Year
The End of the Year (April-June)
This is the time for the AGM a simple report needs to be presented showing all the
income received and expenditure incurred for the year.
We understand that as it’s the end of the year AGMs have been held and new treasurers will
only just be getting to grips with the job when all of these things are required. Therefore it is
best if the outgoing treasurer and the new treasurer use these requirements as part of their
handover, as a way for the outgoing treasurer to show the new treasurer how to handle their
society’s accounts. It is the responsibility of the outgoing treasurer to make sure that the
books are up-to-date and that the new treasurer is well informed when taking up the position.
The Audit
In August every year, you must submit your accounts for audit. This is a complete account of
the society’s income and expenditure for this academic year. It should be simple if good
accounts are kept, if not it will take longer as you have to go through and figure out your
society’s income and outgoings.
VAT
Frequently the question of VAT arises. The simple answer to a complex problem is. A club
cannot claim back VAT from HMRC. This means that whenever a price for something is
requested you must make sure that it includes VAT. So for example if the quote for shorts is
£10.00 per pair ex vat they will cost you £12.00 per pair. Some companies may say you don’t
need to worry about VAT as you can reclaim it ignore them they do not know your VAT
status and you cannot claim it back. If in doubt seek advice from the Finance Office.
Insurance
The Students’ Union has various polices.As part of the general policy all kit and equipment is
insured but losses caused by normal usage and wear and tear are not covered. Theft from
unattended vehicles is also not covered.
The items insured need to be itemised and so it is vital that we have updated inventories of all
equipment, together with replacement values. If an item is not listed it is not insured. If an
item is listed for £100 but the replacement costs £500 then the maximum claim on insurance
is £100. There is an excess on the policy whereby the first £50 of any claim will not be paid.
Platinum Personal Accident Policy
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The Platinum Personal Accident Policy provides a fixed benefit to students when they are
injured whilst participating in sports club activities. The list of benefits is available on the
website
http://www.endsleighbusiness.co.uk/Student/Documents/BUCS/BUCSPlatinumKeyFacts270310v1.pdf
Group Personal Accident Policy
The Group Personal Accident Policy provides a fixed benefit to students if they are injured
whilst participating in activities organised by the Union, this includes activities organised by
societies provided the SU know about them.
Done!
That's it! You've reached the end of the Managing Your Money. By now you should know all
about how to spend your club/society's money, what you can spend it on, accessing your
accounts and all the other business that goes along with being a treasurer.
Important:
You will probably have at least one question that's come out of you reading the
pages. Please do email it to the VP Student Experience or the Sports & Societies
Coordinator or Finance manager( b.hooper@worc.ac.uk), not only so that your
question can be answered, but so that we can update this Document for future
treasurers. Many thanks
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