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Common Finance Mistakes

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Contents

Introduction

Contents 2

Introduction 2

Income 3

Expenditure 8

Invoicing 19

Time and time again the Union Finance Department encounters many similar mistakes when dealing with Club, Society & Project financial matters. This booklet provides examples of the most frequent errors so that hopefully you can avoid these mistakes.

Version 1.1 - 05 February 2010

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Income

Example 1: Income Forms Submitted Late

In this case, money was paid to the bank on 19 March, but the Income Form was not handed in until June.

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Example 2: Donations

When income for a donation is received it must be accompanied by a letter to confirm it is a donation, otherwise VAT will be incurred.

Income cont...

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Example 3: Correct Donation Letter

This is a good example of letter confirming a donation.

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Example 4: Refund of Deposits

If a deposit is paid and then refunded to your Club, Society or Project as a cheque, this requires paying in to the bank. This is a good example:

Income cont...

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Example 5: Adding-up Cheques/Cash on Paying-in Slips

Make sure that the cheques and cash being paid into the bank are added-up correctly. This is an example of what happens if this is not done correctly:

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Example 6: Correct VAT Invoice

This is a good example of a VAT invoice:

Expenditure

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Example 7: Ensure Claim Form Totals are Correct & Obtain Proper VAT Receipts

Make sure to add the amounts correctly. In this case, the claim was not added properly hence the cheque was written out for £25.79 instead of £39.24.

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Expenditure cont...

Also note that you should always get proper VAT receipts or invoices when you make a purchase. The ones below are not VAT receipts as they don’t have a detailed breakdown of how much money is VAT. By law, suppliers are supposed to provide VAT receipts so can always demand one if you are not automatically provided with one.

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Example 8: Two Requests for Payment

A request to use the Union Credit Card and a request for a cheque for the same payment. The company would have been paid twice.

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Expenditure cont...

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Expenditure cont...

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Example 9: Correctly Filling in Forms

Make sure the amounts on the Claim Forms and Invoices are the same. In this case, the cheque was written for a different amount.

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Example 10: Invoices with Purchase Orders

Make sure that the Invoices received do not exceed the value of the Purchase Orders. This will be handled in the future by the eActivities PoP system.

Expenditure cont...

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Expenditure cont...

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Invoicing

Example 11: Contracts

Make sure that sponsorship contracts are signed and that a signed copy is retained by the finance department.

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Invoicing cont...

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Invoicing cont...

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Other

Example 12: Club, Society or Project Invoices

Invoices should only be issued from Imperial College Union. Clubs, Societies and Projects must not create and send their own invoices.

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Example 13: Misspending Money

Do not pay your tuition fees using Club, Society or Project money!

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Other cont...

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Imperial College UnionBeit QuadranglePrince Consort RoadLondon SW7 2BB

Tel: 020 7594 8060Fax: 020 7594 8065Email: union@imperial.ac.ukimperialcollegeunion.org