How to be a Treasurer

How to be a Treasurer Congratulations, this is a role of responsibility and trust, but make sure you enjoy your time in this position. Being on a society committee is exciting and rewarding, but can be tough. It takes time, commitment, dedication, and above all, an enjoyment in what you’re doing… especially as you are the Treasurer. Being a treasurer isn’t just about handling money, it means knowing how your finances stand at any one time, understanding where you can get additional funding from, and planning accordingly. *** Viv Miller, works specifically to co-ordinate societies’ finances and transport [email protected] Paula Parks is the Union’s Director of Finance [email protected] If you ever have any queries or need assistance regarding your society’s finances, please do not hesitate to contact them. *** This document covers:   

The main responsibilities of a society Treasurer Tips Skills you will develop during your time in the position

Main responsibilities 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Attend Society Officer Training and Society AGM Learn and understand the Students’ Union financial system Apply for the annual grant and extra funding from the Union as necessary Keep track of all income/expenditure Keep the committee and members informed of the society’s financial situation Organise fundraising or sponsorship for your group Countersign every claims form and transport form

1. Attend Society Officer Training and Society AGM At the start of the academic year the President, Secretary and Treasurer must attend compulsory Society Officer Training held by the Activities Officer. This training will give you important information that you will need to know to run a successful society and will allow you to get to know members of staff that will be able to help you throughout the year.

They must also attend the annual societies AGM where the Societies Executive Committee will be elected. The training and AGM is compulsory and if you do not attend you will not be able to apply for grants. Treasurers will receive additional, specific training from Paula, our Director of Finance.

2. Learn and understand the Students’ Union Financial System As a treasurer it is your responsibility to gain access to the financial system and to regularly check the income and expenditure. You will receive an email at the beginning of October with the Subject “Society Statements available online”. Please read this email and the attachment carefully and reply to the email (do not start a new email in response). The email will basically ask you to send a chosen password. You will then be sent an email with your usercode. This will enable you to successfully access your accounts. Accounts can be viewed on any ISS computer under the start menu and departmental software. Some terms and explanations to assist you: Balance brought forward – this is the balance from the previous year (end of July). If it is negative the income you have is positive balance (confusing, I know!) Total income – this is the balance brought forward plus the income for the year Members balance carried forward at XX/XX/XX – this is the balance brought forward plus the income for the year minus the expenditure. Member’s account – where membership fees go. This can be spent on anything that benefits its members, and any balance in this account is carried forward. Initial Grants and Special Grants – can be spent on anything that you have applied for on the application (so include any related costs). NB this does not pay for social events and food.

3. Apply for the annual grant and extra funding from the Union as necessary Initial Grant Application This grant is distributed at the start of the academic year. If your application is successful, your society will be awarded a set amount of money per paying member of your society at a certain date (end-ish of October). The initial grant application should outline your society’s plans and general expenditures throughout the year (ie. Room hires, teachers, travel costs, equipment/supplies costs. This should be emailed to the Activities Officer before the deadline (usually early October) Grants will be allocated at the first Society Exec meeting. Special Grant Application This grant supports societies funding activities that fall outside of their general annual expenditures, such as hosting one-off events, attending conferences, inviting guest speakers or investing in longlasting equipment.

This special grant application is to be used to further benefit your society members throughout the year. You must be a fully ratified society to apply for this project grant. It can be used to apply for most projects or equipment (which will remain the property of the Students’ Union) with the following exceptions;   

Social functions (balls, evening socials) Food and drink Clothing

The application can be submitted (emailed to the Activities Officer) at any point throughout the year, and they are considered by the Societies Executive Committee in the monthly meetings. All decisions are at the discretion of Societies Executive, and may be rejected, partially funded or queried. The form that needs to be filled out can be found under Society Documents. You will need to provide as much information as possible: a breakdown of costs, how many members will benefit, if you are receiving money from another source as well (ticket costs, fundraising, sponsorship etc). If you receive any Special Grant, after the event, you will need to provide an A4 report of how you used the money, who was affected by the project and the positive impact you had. **PLEASE NOTE: Any Grant money left unspent will be removed from the society account at the end of the academic year.

4. Keep track of all income/expenditure There is a lot of information regarding finances in the officer training guide. Use this as a main port of call whenever queries arise. There are several forms that you need to familiarise yourself with: Claims form 

 





This can be used to pay a student for expenditure or to pay an invoice directly to a company. The account name will either be the student’s name (reimbursing with receipt) or the company name (with invoice). The account number is 8 digits in length, the sort code 6 digits. A cheque can be paid to a person or company if they refuse to give bank details. Write the person’s name/company name next to the account details and include their address for us to post it out for you. We try not to pay by cheque as bacs is more secure, quicker and can’t get lost in the post. Include the student/company’s email address so that a bacs remittance (document confirming payment) can be sent to them when the money has been paid. By using the student’s Newcastle email address it is easier to track them as a member of the society. Claims forms can be processed once the society has 15 members with the president, secretary and treasurer paid members. All students should be paid members of the society to put in claims. This is not only for insurance purposes, but to make sure members receive the benefits that they pay for.

It may be an idea for you to send a generic email around to the committee/members asking for any expenditure costs so that you have a record. Expenditure should be claimed back within a month (however this is not fixed). Sponsorship Form  

 

Sponsorship indicates that somebody is giving you money with conditions or to be used with the society. A sponsorship form needs to be completed and handed into Viv with evidence of the agreement – this can be the email communication between your society and the company that you have sponsorship with. Make sure your society is aware of the terms and conditions of the sponsorship as companies can refuse to pay if the conditions are broken by the society. If the sponsorship is from the university or a school a PO number will be required. Your sponsorship contact should be able to get this. Clubs and Societies are not permitted to receive sponsorship from bars or clubs. If you chose to do this, you will be unable to apply for any grants.

Paying in slip 

  

Anyone can pay cash or cheques into the society account as long as it is not money for sponsorship. This can be done at the Cash Officer, level 2, Monday to Wednesday or in the Finance Office Thursday and Friday. Keep a record of what you have paid in If a large sum of money needs to be transferred between your bank account and the society account you can email Viv to discuss this on [email protected] Put a clear description on the form to explain to the treasurer and future treasurer what the payment relates to (this will be good for future treasurers to budget)

Vehicle booking form  

This needs to be signed by a treasurer to authorise the booking to go ahead. Any vehicle that is booked will have a commitment on your account as soon as the hire company has confirmed booking. This will appear as a PIPO with the description “Vehicle Hire XX/XX/XX X days and will give an estimated cost of vehicle and insurance.

5. Keep the committee and members informed of the society’s financial situation It may be an idea to check at the end of each month the total income and total expenditure for records (which you can pass onto the committee).

6. Organise fundraising or sponsorship for your group External sponsorship is a great way of gaining both extra revenue and extra resources for your

Please do not sign any agreement with an external body without checking with us first! society.

A sponsorship proposal can be sent off to companies, you should follow these with a phone call. What to write in a sponsorship proposal: 1. What your society is about and what you do 2. What the company would gain from sponsorship from your society (publicity, reaching to a student audience of potentially thousands etc) 3. How much you are expecting from the company (workshops, space, commitment) 4. How much this will cost the company - don’t be unrealistic, expect to barter 5. Your contact details

7. Countersign every claims form and transport form Make sure your signature is the same as in the officer signature list, if you change it you need to come in to change it in the Activities Centre.

If you have any questions contact the Activities Officer: [email protected] 0191 239 3964