If you are unsure how some of our processes work then contact the Student Services Team and they will book in some time with you to go over any of the following – using the eXpense365 app, how expenses work, handling invoices, paying money into accounts. Just email bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk

If you are concerned about your group’s financial situation, want support writing a budget or a sponsorship request then book in a meeting with the Development Team

Student groups are not included within the Students' Union's main VAT registration, so you do not need to charge VAT on top of your group's income. This also means you are not able to claim back VAT on purchases.

Yes, please email bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk for Bristol SUs bank details or check your treasurer training. Once you have these a transfer can be made but make sure the person/organisation transferring money include your groups 3-character reference.

We would also ask that you email bristolsu-finance@bristol.ac.uk to let them know to expect the transfer, so the money gets to the right account. In your email please include

• Your groups name and 3-character reference
• Name of the person making the transfer or standing order
• How much is being paid into your account
• What the money is for - this makes sure it is appears in your balance report correctly

Yes, to pay cash into your group's account, go to the Reception Desk on Level 5 of Senate House and complete a Paying In Form. Anyone can pay money into your group's account but please note that it usually takes 5-10 working days for cash paid in to appear on your groups transaction and balance reports

Yes, however cheques should be made payable to 'Bristol Students' Union' and your groups name and 3-character reference should be written on the back. Please note it can take 5-10 working days for cheques to appear on your groups transaction and balance reports

• Securing Funding for Your Group Slides (Committee Fest 2024)
• Securing Funding for Your Group Recording (Committee Fest 2024)

We run training throughout the year on a variety of topics, check our training calendar to find the next sponsorship session. Alternatively, you can book in a Development Meeting to discuss questions you may have around sponsorship.Sponsorship Guide

Contract Template

We would recommend looking at our sponsorship guide and contract template first to help formalise your thoughts.

Bristol SU can review contracts for your group, these reviews are sense checks and not legal advice. If you require legal advice on a contract, we suggest you contact the Law Clinic. 

If you would like us to review a sponsorship contract that has been sent to you or one you have written, please email it to bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk. 

Before sending a contract to us, it is important to ensure that

• You have read and understood everything that is being requested and agreed to.
• You can deliver on everything that is being asked of you.
• That your potential new partner is a legitimate business, you can do this by looking them up on the Companies House website.

Once the contract has been signed by both the group and sponsor you can request an invoice be sent to your sponsor for the agreed amount. If the Treasurer is not making this request, please inform them of the request and the income the group is expecting to receive.

Bristol RAG (or Raising and Giving) is the fundraising arm of Bristol SU. Founded over 90 years ago to make a difference to the local community. They raise thousands of pounds each year and support all student groups to fundraise for charity. Visit RAG's website to find out more.

All charity donations made via RAG are received by bank transfer, once you have completed your fundraising and the money is in your SU bank account you will need to email the student services team with the following information.

• Name of the charity and charity number
• The charity's bank details - account number and sort code
• The amount you wish to donate
• Evidence the money was raised for charity – this could be a promotional poster, or screenshot of a Facebook event just make sure it is clear that the event is raising money for a specific charity.

Once all the charity's information has been verified your money will be transferred in Bristol RAG's independent account and then on to your chosen charity. This process can take up to 6 weeks at certain points of the year.

These donations will be made as internal transfers within Bristol SU, when you are ready to make your donation email the student services team with the following information:

• The campaign/support group you would like to donate to 
• The amount you wish to donate
• Evidence the money was raised for this campaign or group

No, donations cannot be claimed back via expenses as this would count as the group giving directly to charity which the law does not allow.

A request for urgent payment from a senior figure. Sometimes fraudsters pretend to be someone in power to trick you into moving money into their accounts or buying gift cards. We've seen some sophisticated examples where emails appear to be from someone you know, but it isn't until you check the actual email address it becomes clear it's not who you thought it was. If you haven’t budgeted for the payment and the email address doesn't look correct, then contact the person via the contact details you have and double-check the request

A new supplier demands payment for an overdue invoice. Always check your records before paying anything. Did you make the order, sign the contract or have you already received the goods? If you did, it’s safe to pay but don’t let the supplier rush you into making a mistake.

A supplier is changing their bank/contact details. If you are contacted and told a supplier is changing their details, always ring on the phone number you had originally to double-check. When you have verified this is a genuine change of details, let the finance team know so we can update our details. Alternatively, we can check for you just email bristolsu-finance@bristol.ac.uk

Phishing. This is when you are sent an email requesting information which requires you to click on a link or download something. DON’T click or download! Phishing emails can look pretty genuine, but by clicking or downloading, you could be allowing scammers access to your bank details or acquire information like names and emails to target future people. We advise you block emails like this and report to www.actionfraud.police.uk

Finally, if you're ever unsure whether a purchase or request for payment is legitimate get in touch with us for support before taking further action.

To raise an invoice head to the Bristol SU website and complete the Invoice Request Form.

You will need to provide us with:

• The customer’s address, and an email address
• A description of what it is they are purchasing
• How much they are being charged
• Evidence that the customer wants the goods/services at the price stated. This will probably be an email exchange between you and the customer.

Some large organisations such as the University of Bristol, use purchase order numbers (PO) to pay invoices, where this is the case we will also need this number to place on the invoice to ensure payment. Please check with your customer whether they use a purchase ordering system before requesting an invoice.

We will follow up with the customer if they don’t pay an invoice we have sent within 30 days, However, in most cases we find that customers who don’t pay on time are more responsive when student groups contact them directly.

If you are concerned about a missing payment, please talk to Student Services who will be able to support you through the process.

Paying an invoice is the best way for student groups to pay a supplier.

Invoices come directly out of your Bristol SU bank accounts meaning no member needs to claim back expenses.

Invoices must include:

• Supplier name
• Supplier address
• Supplier Email address
• Supplier phone number
• Date or invoice number
• Customer name (your student group or Bristol SU)
• Customer address (all invoices should be addressed to Bristol SU, The Richmond Building, 105 Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1LN or Bristol SU, Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TH) 
• Details of purchase/service
• Total
• Subtotal if more than one item is applied
• Bank details
• VAT registration number (if applicable)

If the invoice is lacking any of the above, we will need to request an amended invoice.

Normally invoices should not be paid in advance of receiving goods and services in case goods are faulty or services like classes get cancelled. However, it is becoming more common for invoices to be paid in advance. If this is the case, make sure you read the returns policy or have a contract with teaching/coaching staff before you proceed with your order.

What to check before you pay:

• Are you expecting the invoice?
• Do you understand the invoice?
• Have you already authorised it? You wouldn't want to pay an invoice twice!
• Have you received the goods or services? Were they to the standard agreed, or if you are paying in advance do you understand the returns policy or have an agreement in place relating to teaching/ coaching
• Is the amount to pay what was agreed?
• Is all the right information on the invoice? See the list above

Once you are happy the invoice you have received is correct forward to bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk stating that you authorise the invoice for payment from your groups account.

The Student Services Team will check and approve your invoice, sending it to the Finance Team for payment.

Payment will be received by your supplier within 10 working days. If the due date is critical, please highlight this in your email. It is important you authorise invoices when you receive them, so the supplier's payment deadline is not missed.

If your invoice is rejected, it will be because one of the checklist items is missing. The Student Services Team will explain what needs to be done at this point.

If you authorise an invoice when it arrives there should be no need for it to be processed by Bristol SU and paid the same day.

In an emergency however a same day payment can be made. If requested prior to 12pm GMT. A bank admin fee of £3.50 will be charged to the group.

Same day payments will only be processed if:

• Making the payment that day will get your group something it needs urgently
• The payment deadline on the invoice is the same day as your request
• You email student services before 1pm authorising payment of the invoice and the £3.50 bank charge a same day payment will incur
• The appropriate staff are available to process the payment

This is not a regular payment method and request will not be processed if the invoice is not due before our next payment run or the supplier can wait a few more days without consequence.

Payments to suppliers overseas will incur a bank charge of £12. We can’t guarantee a timescale for international payments as this depends on the destination country and sometimes the supplier’s bank.

• Money from sales going directly into your group’s SU account; 
• Reduced, or removal of, cash management during events; 
• Itemised sales report; 
• Simpler payment process for members or customers; 
• Increased safety from contactless sales. 

• While it is free to borrow the machine groups will need to have at least £70.50 in their Bristol SU account. This acts as a deposit to cover the cost of the machine in case of damage or loss. 
• The request form should be submitted at least ten working days before the event.  
• To submit the form you will need to upload a full product list of any items you wish to sell. This will need to include all the 'items' that you hope to sell and their cost (e.g. a bunch of daffodils – 50p, a cup of tea - 65p, custard cream – 20p, etc.).  
• To create a Zettle account for the group we will need a group email address (e.g. studentgroupname@gmail.com).  
• To use the Zettle machine you will need to download the app on either a smartphone or tablet. 
• The machine needs to be returned on the next working day after your event.

Please check this calendar before submitting your form. Bookings may be rejected or require amendments if there isn’t a machine available on the requested dates. To hire the Zettle machine you will need to submit this request form. 

If you have any questions about using the machine or the financial processes please contact our Finance Team via bristolsu-accounts@bristol.ac.uk 

Do your research

• Review the last 2 years balance and transaction reports (you can request these from the Student Services Team)
• Review your groups strategic plan if it has one
• Spend time with the outgoing treasurer to understand how the group finances have worked historically
• Talk to the incoming committee about plans for the year ahead as they may be different to previous years

Draft a budget

• Pick a template - You may already have a template for your group's annual budget, if not you can download our Society or Sports Club budget template
• Show your planned income: how much income do you think you will get in this year through membership, sponsorship, ticket/merchandise sales and grants/fundraisers
• Show your planned expenditure: how much do you think your group will spend this year on venue or facility hire, equipment, trips, events and shows. Think of as much as you possibly can!
• Show any reserves (savings) you plan on building: these are usually used to replace equipment and for protection from unexpected costs or loss of income.
• Make sure it balances, if your budget shows your group spending more money than it will make, then you should work with your committee to correct this.

Agree your budget with the committee

• For a budget to be successful it must have full buy in from everyone on the committee. This way you will all be working towards a common goal.

Monitor your budget

• No group should go into debt if the Treasurer is regularly monitoring their groups income and expenditure against their budget.

Yes, we have the below templates for you to use

• Annual Budget Template
• Annual Budget Template for Sports Clubs
• Event Budget Template