Budget Info
This page is written from experience from the committee side as well as the office side.
General info
- Most info on the Writing Awards Page is relevant
- Formatting - paragraphs, bullet points, tables etc
- Avoid JARGON, use KISS.
- Keep aware of the Financial Year, for example the
2025/2026Financial Year was from26/05/2025to25/05/2026.- Income and Expenditure are for this time period.
- If you have anything that falls in summer set the month as September.
- Projections made in
2025/2026are for25/05/2026until close of budget inMay 2027.- You cannot project for two years time.
- However if you want to set up a multi year plan contact the office
- Income and Expenditure are for this time period.
- Build your responses
- Save your respones for next year.
- Review your points from the previous year
- In many cases a warning is given one year and enforced the next.
Points
For a fully fleshed out document about the budget points please check out Budget Points Document on the committee panel.
What are Points?
Points are the way the budget is divided between all the Clubs and Societies.
In general 100 Points means you will get at best 100% of the funding you ask for (assuming there is enough money in the overall pot).
If you have 85 points it means that at best you will get 85% of what you requested.
Accounting
What you should put through the budget
In short, everything, but there are a few key areas where we have noticed that folks dont put items into the budget
Putting items into the budget can be slightly more tedious
All Club/Soc expenses should go through the club/Soc.
Even if the member is paying in full it is best if the Club/Soc pays for it and takes in money from the member.
This builds both income and expenses, while also making it easier to subsidize it for your members.
From the office side it helps them make a case to UL for more funding to support Clubs/Socities activities.
For example:
- Memberships to governing bodies
- Trip costs (transport, flights, accommodation)
- Sponsorship
- Benefits in Kind
- Ball Tickets
- Both Expenditure and Income
- For most Clubs/Socs it is paid for via capitation, but it still counts as Expenditure for budget reasons.
Definitions
Line item
In the budget each individual entry (Income/Expenditure/Projection) is a single line item.
Do not mix different items together, you can merge like transactions into one or have separate entries for each transaction.
Multiple items
If you are merging multiple items into one it is a good idea to include a page at the end which contains a table.
For clarity the table should contain the individual item, the page the item is on and its value, with the last row being a total.
This works two fold: You are less likely to make a mistake, it reduces the headache for the office.
If you are working with a bank statement highlight all the relevant rows.
| Item | Page | Value EUR |
|---|---|---|
| Item 1 | 1 | 100 |
| Item 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Item 3 | 4 | 25 |
| Total | 130 |
If there is currency exchange involved add a column which has the value in that currency, in the example below uses Czech Koruna (CZK).
| Item | Page | Value CZK | Value EUR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item 1 | 1 | 2400 | 98.99 |
| Item 1 | 2 | 100 | 4.12 |
| Item 1 | 4 | 500 | 20.62 |
| Total | 3000 | 123.73 |
Invoice
An invoice is a bill to be paid.
It is sent by the seller of the product/service with the intent of getting you, the customer, to pay for said goods or services.
Can sometimes be called a Bill.
This can be either digital or paper.
Receipt
A receipt is a mark that a transaction has taken place.
it is sent by the seller as proof of payment.
This can be either digital or paper.
Invoice - Marked paid
If an invoice has been marked paid by the seller.
This is often a stamp over the page.
This will be accepted in place of a receipt.
This can be either digital or paper.
Invoice - Balance of 0
If an invoice has a balance of €0 it means there are no outstanding debts on it.
This will be accepted in place of a receipt.
This can be either digital or paper.
Invoice & Bank transaction
If you have an invoice, and a seller is either unable or unwilling to give you any of the options above (Reciept/Invoice - Marked Paid/Invoice - Balance of 0) you can still make it work for ye.
You need to get the individual transaction from whoever paid for the expense, get a screenshot of it and attach it to the invoice.
If there is a currency conversion attach the rate as supporting documentation.
Refunding the member is not proof of payment, only the original payment transaction to the seller/service provider will suffice.
Bank Statements
Used to prove income to a Club/Society, these should have the Club/Society IBAN on them.
The reasoning behind this is that without it it can be any account, the IBAN proves that it is under the control of the Club/Society.
These arrive into the post box downstairs in paper form.
For the budget they need to be scanned and uploaded to wolves.
They can also be used to support income/expendature.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship can be either direct money to the club/society or Benefits in Kind.
On a meta level these are important as this encourages Clubs/Societies to reach out and be in contact with the wider world, enriching their members.
For any you receive have something like a letter/email or another form of proof that you obtained it.
Benefits in Kind
If your Club/Society recieves a product or service from a seller/service provier/business/indidual at either a reduced rate or for free then that is considered a Benefit in Kind which falls under Sponsorship.
These should not be general discounts but rather one specifically given to your Club/Society.
Examples of this would be:
- A discount on goods or services.
- Free item(s)
- Anything that would have incurred a cost for the Club/Society.
Income
Accepted
If merging multiple items of the same type please see here
- Bank Statements
- As proof of income/payments in.
- Benefits in Kind
- Sponsorship
Not accepted
Expenditure
Accepted
- Receipt
- Invoice - Marked Paid
- Invoice - Balance of 0
- Bank Statements
- As proof of payment
Not accepted
Projections
Projections are Expenditure didnt spent this year but plan to spend next year.
Normally this will be quite low in comparison to Income.
Accepted
Virtually all documentation is accepted as long as you can explain/support your case.
Screenshots from shopping carts,
- Using prior items as examples
- Screenshots of potential costs
- Shopping carts for items you plan to buy.
- Booking.com if you are planning for accommodation.
- Flights cost