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Finance

All SUBU Club and Society Committee members are responsible for the financial sustainability of their Society. The resources on this page aim to support your Club or Society to keep on top of your finances, support you to generate income and spend your funds. It is important that all members of your Committee familiarise themselves with SUBU Finance processes and contact the team at suclubs@bournemouth.ac.uk if you need further support.

Finance Basics

  • All SUBU Clubs and Societies have a club bank account. These accounts do not function like any bank account you might have personally, you don’t get a bank card and pin number to take with you.
  • Instead, think about your account like a folder in the wider SUBU bank account that is accessible by filling in the relevant paperwork and quoting your 4-digit Nominal Code unique to your Society. This nominal code can be handed over from your previous Committee or reshared by the Student Opportunities Team.
  • Any income generated through your Society webpage (memberships, ticket sales or merchandise) automatically goes into this club account.
  • SUBU do not charge your Society a fee or charge interest to hold you club money within your account and it is yours to spend on your Club as you like (within reason).
  • Your account does not have an overdraft so you cannot spend more than what is in your account. This is why it is important for your committee to keep on top of your finances. We have a budget template below to help you get started.
  • Your Society must not set up an additional bank account externally to SUBU. If an account exists, contact the Student Opportunities Team immediately for support in resolving this.

Generating Income

There are a number of ways your Club or Society can generate income to put towards your events and activities:

  • Membership Fees – Committee members can choose the price of your membership each year. Each Society has two membership types – Standard for BU Students and Associate for all other members. Your committee can set each membership at a different price, as Associate members are not covered by SUBU Grant Funding, this is a great way to help reduce the cost of your activities for the Society as a whole.
  • Ticket sales – Selling tickets for your trips and events are a great way to cover the costs of your activities.
  • Sponsorships – some companies like to sponsor clubs and societies, and this may include financial support for your activities. Refer to the Sponsorship section of this page before pursuing and sponsorship agreements.
  • Merchandise – your Society could choose to sell merchandise with a small increase to the unit price to go towards your activities. If you are interested in selling merchandise, speak to the Student Opportunities team.
  • Grant Funding – SUBU offers Grant Funding towards specific types of activity. Your Society is expected to be self sufficient for your regular activity, but for one off trips and events there is funding available. Refer to the Grant Funding section of this page for more information.

Grant Funding

All recognised SUBU clubs and societies are eligible to apply for grant funding to support their events and activities.

Funding must be applied for in advance of any purchases being made and must meet the relevant criteria of the grant being applied for.

Grant allocations are determined by the Awarding Committee, which includes your VP Student Opportunities. This committee meets six times per year, you must have submitted your application by the advertised deadline for funding to be considered at the next Awarding Committee meeting.

The next deadline is in...


Club and Society Sponsorships

SUBU Clubs and Societies have the opportunity to enter into Sponsorship agreements with local and national organisations. 

It is important that you provide a copy of any contract to the Student Opportunities Team for approval at suclubs@bournemouth.ac.uk before signing to ensure the contract is valid and in line with our financial regulations and controls. Once completed, the signed contract must be provided to SUBU to keep on file.

Any sponsorship agreement signed without approval will not be recognised and we will be unable to support you with claiming any assets or funding donations from your unofficial sponsor. Familiarise yourselves with the guidance below before pursuing a sponsor and speak to the team if you need more support. 


Spending your Funds

Once you have generated your funds and they are in the club account there are two ways to spend it:

1. Purchase Order Requests:

Purchase Orders (PO’s) are a legal guarantee between your Society and a supplier that you are going to pay them a certain amount of money in return for goods or services. PO’s can be paid directly from the Society account, meaning your Committee Members are not expected to foot the bill for your activities. A PO can be used whenever a supplier can provide an invoice.

PO Requests must be raised in advance of a purchase being made with a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice.

2. Claim Forms

A Claim Form is used when a Committee member has made a purchase on behalf of the club and needs to be reimbursed. The Claim Form is straight forward in that you must provide information on what was purchased, evidence of the cost such as receipts, confirmed bank details of the person receiving the refund and 2 core committee member signatures. Claim Forms must be submitted within 3 months of the purchase being made. Refer to the guidance below for more information.

Claim Forms have a maximum limit of £250. If you intend to make a purchase with an expense higher than this, contact the team to discuss your options before making any payments.

All Finance paperwork must be submitted to the SUBU Student Opportunities Team at suclubs@bournemouth.ac.uk. Get in touch if you need further support.


Fundraising / Raising and Giving

Fundraising is a great way for your Society to generate income to support your activities or a charity/cause you care about. 

When carrying out Fundraising activity, your Society must be clear with your donators where the funds are going. Check out the guidance document below for more information. 

 

Fundraising Guidance     A-Z Fundraising Ideas


Invoice Requests

Invoicing is a great way to ensure your event partners like other Societies and businesses and your Sponsors pay you any funds they owe you on time.

Simply complete the invoice request form and the SUBU Finance team will invoice your recipient on your behalf. 

 

Invoice Request