How to manage your Club/Society budget

1) Understand the two accounts (where your money is)

• Grant Account

  • Holds the club/society's granted budget and membership fee income (societies only).

  • Used for core activity covered by the annual grant.

  • Grant budgets are approved by Student Activities each year and do not carry over to the next academic year.

  • See how to apply for funding here.

• Function Account

  • Holds money your club raises (events, bake sales, sponsorship).

  • Can be used for anything except alcohol.

  • Money does carry over year-to-year and should benefit members.

• See how to check the money in these accounts here.

2) Set a simple budget & spending plan

1. Treasurer/Chair creates a short budget plan showing:

   • Approved Grant budget and Function account starting balance.

   • Forecasted income (society membership fees, planned fundraising, sponsorship).

   • Forecasted core costs (training, equipment, travel, events).

   • Contingency (reserve for unexpected costs).

2. Get committee sign-off (rest of the club/society's committee) before committing to spending.

3. Confirm any planned spend against the appropriate account (Grant/Function).

4. Confirm any spend with the Student Activities team before spending.

3) Two ways to pay for things — pick the right route

A — Member pays, then claims back (reimbursement)

Use this when a member buys something and the club repays them.

• Get approval from Student Activities first if required.

• Member keeps original receipt(s) and sends them with a reimbursement request.

• This is best for small and/or urgent expenditure.

• See the full reimbursement process here.

B — Student Union pays the supplier

Use this when you want the Union to pay the supplier directly.

• Contact Student Activities and request payment/ordering.

• You must supply a VAT invoice or a direct product link so the Union can place the order or pay the supplier.

• This is best for large and/or non urgent expenditure.

• See the full invoicing process here.

4) Tracking Expenditure

• Treasurer/Chair should request your club/society account statement at least once a month.

• Treasurer/Chair should compare your club/society spend to your approved budget/funtion account to track money left to spend.

• Treasurer/Chair should report on the club/society's finances to the club's committee at their regular committee meetings.

• Any budget concerns or queries must be reported to Student Activities by the Treasurer/Chair as soon as they arise.

• Any income must be paid directly to the Union where possible, such as through bank transfer or a website paymment. If received by club/society committee members, such as through collecting cash at an event, it must be passed to the Union ASAP after being received, so it can be coded to the relevant club/society account.

• Keep copies of receipts/invoices for all expenditure and details of sponsorship agreements.

5) Before you spend — quick checklist

• Have you checked the relevant account balance?

• Has the committee (Treasurer or Chair) approved the spend?

• Has the Student Activities team approved the spend?

• Is this charge allowable from Grant or Function? (Grant = core; Function = fundraising)

• Do you know how payment will be made: reimbursement or Union pay?

• Do you have an invoice or product link? (required for Union payments)

• If member is claiming, do they have the original receipt/proof of payment?

If any answer is “no” — pause and sort it before spending.