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Branch / Group Finance Guidelines

Expenditure continued...

Payments to individuals

Further help....

Purchases of £500 and less which are paid for by cheque, must be signed by two branch/group signatories. For anything over £500, one of these signatures must be from the Head Office signatory list. Please let the Branch Finance and Admin Officer know

if you need this and allow at least one working week.

Purchases from other NAS departments such as publications (25% discount! for branches/groups!), training, conferences places, etc. These should be recorded in the same way as any other purchase, however, paying for them is slightly different. Check in your finance guidelines for more information. For fundraising merchandise, each branch gets a £30 allowance each year, ask your Senior Branch Engagement Officer for an order form.

 

Payments to other charities or local groups - The charity commission has specific rules that we have to abide by when using funds in this way so it is important that you speak to your Branch Development Officer before you make any plans to do this.

 

Bank charges and interest - The bank charges for all banking transactions and the cost of these is met by the NAS and not charged to the individual branch/group account. The only exception to this is where a bank charge arises from cheques not being honoured due to insufficient funds. These fees will be charged to the individual branch/group.

Where a speaker or other professional charges a fee to the branch/group this should be supported by a VAT invoice, preferably from a registered company. You should also be able to demonstrate that you have paid a fair price for the service or product, for example, by presenting a number of quotes or online prices. This is particularly the case where you are paying someone known to the branch/group for a service, e.g., a volunteers’ family member who does printing. If a professional will be charging a branch/group more regularly than a one off event, please speak to your Branch Development Officer, as we may need to implement a contract for services.

  

Payments or gifts cannot be made to individual branch/group members or volunteers under any circumstances. Legitimate expenses only.

 

Volunteer expenses...

 - Must be supported by receipts or invoices

- Mileage claims should also go on a volunteer expense claim form. There is a template in your finance guidelines.

- Must complete the claim form within 90 days

- Usually for travel, refreshments, things paid for by card etc

- Should have prior approval of the committee

- A list of expenses that are not allowed can be found in your finance guidelines.

* Use your finance guidelines to help if you have questions.

* Alternatively, contact your Senior Branch Engagement Officer or our Branch Finance and Admin Officer

* You may also want to view our guidance on completing the B1 form

* Final task! Please email the word "balloon" to Helena Bateman, Branches Manager, to show you have read this guidance: helena.bateman@nas.org.uk

Income

Expenditure

Restricted funds

Sources of branch/group income;

- General community fundraising – simple to record

- Street collections – you may need a licence - make sure you check!

- Sponsorship

- Just Giving – make sure you inform the Branch Finance and Admin Officer so the funds are allocated to the branch - more info in the finance guidelines

- Grants and trusts - Make sure you notify us of all applications before you apply - Please refer to the separate guidance on this available from your Branch Development Officer – lots of hints and tips!

- Legacies

- NAS membership and bank interest

NAS Branches and Groups must be free and accessible for all to attend, regardless of personal income. You may not request “door money”, “membership” or “subscriptions” to generate income, nor can you sell items. However, you can ask for “suggested donations” for things to help you cover costs. If you are worried about the above and feel you need to charge for an event, please speak to your Senior Branch Engagement Officer.

Say thank you!

Don’t forget, all donations should be acknowledged in writing, with the exact amount received stated. Templates for these are available from your Senior Branch Engagement Officer.

For your branch/group to run successfully, you will need some basics, all of which can be purchased from the branch/group funds. There is a list of usual, allowed expenditure within the finance guidelines, make sure you familiarise yourself with that now.

Venue hire

 

Branches and groups are able to book meeting rooms and hire venues, where the arrangements are confirmed on an event by event basis, and payment is requested by invoice or other appropriate receipt. However, it is only the NAS Board of Trustees that has authority to enter into contractual property arrangements, it is not delegated to branches. Therefore, volunteers are not allowed to sign any property leases and should consult their Senior Branch Engagement Officer who will seek authorisation.

You can claim up to £100 for a speaker or other usual expenses at your AGM , but you need to submit a receipt with this claim and highlight this to the Branch Finance and Admin Officer.

These are set up when a donation is given for a specific purpose so that we can track and report back on the spending to the funder. This is usually the case for grants awarded to branches or groups.

Any grants awarded to a branch/group, or other monies received for a specific purpose, must be accounted for separately from usual funds. This is so we can report accurately on each restricted fund. Failure to do so may result in having to give money back or jeopardise future funding. Do make sure you only apply if you have time for the extra paperwork.

You'll have to complete a separate B1 form for each restricted fund – The Branch Finance and Admin Officer will send this to you. The transactions also recorded on general B1 but duplicated on the restricted fund so you can keep track of what is left and what it’s been spent on.

You can only use this money as specified by the funder.

The Bank Account

Petty Cash

Keeping Records

The accounts are set up with the Cooperative Bank or you can use the

This will need to be set up for you, so contact the Branch

Finance and Admin Officer if the post office is more convenient.

Every account has 2-3 signatories from the branch or group – they

cannot be related, be partners, or live at the same address. There will also be

head office signatories on your account, but generally, all transactions are initiated by the branch/group.

All expenditure requires two signatures and sometimes one of these needs to be a head office signature, so there is no telephone or internet banking – for now!

The treasurer’s address is used for correspondence on the account. Everything from the bank will be sent directly, including monthly statements. All other contact with the bank should be done through the Branch Finance and Admin Officer to minimise confusion.

For smaller items of expenditure it can be impractical to write a cheque, and so a branch/group may maintain a petty cash float to cover small expenses.

 

To top up your petty cash from your account – write a cheque to “cash” if using the bank or to the branch/group name if using the Post Office.

Mistakes and theft are more likely with cash so keep accurate records on the B1 but you should also use the transaction forms and balance sheet as detailed in the finance guidelines.

Petty cash is insured up to £50 so make sure you bank any excess as soon as possible.

Nominate one person to be responsible for petty cash (this could be on a permanent basis or per event). This doesn’t have to be the treasurer, especially if they aren’t going to

be there when petty cash is used.

Ensure you have a secure place for your petty cash. You can buy a

lockable cash tin quite cheaply but think about where it will

be kept. It shouldn’t be left unattended, unless it is stored securely.

The NAS are audited annually to make sure that we adhere to the Charity Commission regulations. Keeping an accurate record of all transactions helps you track your finances and helps you detect any problems at and early stage. It also allows us to give the Charity Commission an accurate picture of our financial position.

You must complete a B1 form each month, detailing your income and expenditure and send it to the Branch Finance and Admin Officer.

Please view our other presentation for guidance on completing the form.

Getting Started...

All branches and groups should have a treasurer who is responsible for the money they hold, reporting on it, authorising spending and ensuring that transactions follow NAS and charity commission rules.

Click through the slides to see the basics. Have a copy of the finance guidelines to hand. Remember, you can refer to these later if you forget anything, or ask the Branch Finance and Admin Officer if you have any questions.

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