Course: Finances for student associations

Mon 29 Jan
Forening/Stills fra filmene/Elisabeth_-_Regnskap_.00_00_28_13.Still005_ez0fgs

In the finance course, you will gain insight into the essentials that need to be in place to keep your association's finances under control.

🏦 Why is it important to have control of your finances?

In an association, you who run it are responsible for managing the members' money together with any grants you receive. Control and overview of income and expenses means that you always know what is going on in the association, you know what the money has been spent on and what is left to spend on upcoming events.

🎬 Larisa Maria at Studentsamfunnet i Ringerike took over the previous board's budget and had to carry out a turnaround:

Larisa Maria Gradinaru is head of Studentsamfunnet i Ringerike (SiR) and took over a budget set by the previous board. At the same time, they lost their accountant and it turned out that there were a lot of red figures... She tells us how they turned the ship around!

More about Studentsamfunnet i Ringerike (SiR).

👨‍💻 The association needs a financial manager

The board is responsible for keeping the organization's finances in order. When the association does not have an employed financial manager, it is recommended that a board member is given the role of financial manager on the board.

Even if one board member is given this role, the entire board is responsible for understanding the finances and running the association in a financially responsible manner.

🎬 Simple steps to keep an overview and control of your finances:

Receipts, accounts, budget, event budget, invoice, balance, debit and credit... The board is responsible for the finances of a student association. Do you also feel that you need a course to get your money under control? Elisabeth at SSN takes you through the most important steps you should take.

Did you know that Elisabeth has also created courses for those who need a little help with their private student finances? Check out the courses!

📊 Checklist for financial control:

  • Set up a budget for the coming year. The budget gives you a picture of what your estimated income is and what you have planned or know what your expenses will be. Throughout the year, you fill in actual use and see how much is left in the various items you intend to spend money on, which ensures that you do not run out of money.

  • Reviewing the accounts and budget so that you have the opportunity to make corrections before things go wrong. This can be once a week, once a month or once a quarter, depending on the size of the association and the activities you have.

  • Event budget: Create a budget for each event you're going to hold. You will then have to think more carefully about the event and will quickly see whether you will be in the black or in the red. You may need to make some changes to planned purchases or participation fees to avoid breaking even.

  • Purchasing - check different suppliers and shops for the best price, don't buy the first and best.

  • Download an app for the accounting system, so you can upload receipts as soon as you have made a purchase, so you don't lose the receipt you MUST have in the accounts.

  • Have a person dedicated to ensuring that the membership fee is received.

  • Reconcile your accounts, check that what is in the bank is the same as in the accounting system, and that all outgoing transactions have a voucher.

🧾 The difference between budget and accounting

Budget

The budget is a layout that shows income and expenses that you assume or foresee will occur. It can be for a whole year or for a single event. The budget should be based on figures from previous budgets, but especially from previous accounts. It may also be that you know that there are changes in income or expenses that mean you need to make adjustments compared with previous budgets/accounts.

The budget can be defined as the association's financial plan. The budget should not only be used for funding schemes to show what you want to apply for and what money you need. It should also be reviewed by the association's board at regular intervals to see whether the use of funds is in line with the association's plans and income.

Check out Frivillighet Norge's (organisation for volunteers in Norway) 10 tips for a good budget.

Accounting

The accounts are the summary of your actual expenses and income. Either for a whole year, a single event or similar. The accounts can be defined as the financial reporting of an association. Reporting should be done regularly, and so often that you have an overview at all times to make good financial assessments.

Check out Frivillighet Norge's 10 tips for good accounting.

📅 Pay bills by the due date

Make sure to pay your invoices by the due date to avoid collection fees or late fees. If an association/company often pays after the due date, you may be seen as a poor payer and you may end up in a situation where the supplier does not want to work with you or have you as a customer.

Volunteer Norway has very good tool pages for those of you who are wondering about finances, budgets and accounting in associations/organizations - check them out!

🙋🏽 Here we have collected the answers to the most frequently asked questions about association finances, such as vouchers, membership fees, VAT and more:

Finances for student associations

A voucher is an attachment to the accounts that shows where you have spent or received money from. This can be invoices or receipts. A voucher contains the name, address and national identity number or organisation number of the person who provided the service.

Most organisations have a bank account, and some organisations also have a bank card in the name of the organisation. When you use your bank card and do not receive a sufficiently good voucher for the transaction, or you have a bank transfer without a good voucher, you can supplement it with a card and bank voucher. You can also use this procedure if you need to reimburse an expense.

There are two date fields in the form. The date is the day the purchase was made, and the entry date is the date the transaction was entered in the accounts. Remember to attach the receipt for the purchase with the cash voucher.

The voucher must be signed by both the person who carried out the transaction and the person who authorises it (this should not be the same person).

If the organisation has a cash box, members of the organisation can pay expenses with the organisation's cash. In this case, a cash voucher must be completed and attached to the documentation (often a receipt) in the accounting binder (or uploaded as an attachment if the organisation has a digital archive).

There are two date fields in the form. The date is the date the purchase was made, and the entry date is the date the transaction was recognised in the accounts. Remember to attach the receipt for the purchase with the cash voucher.

The voucher must be signed by both the person who carried out the transaction and the person who authorises it (this should not be the same person).

It is not a requirement to use an invoicing programme if you only need to send a single invoice. However, if you have a large number of invoices, it can quickly pay off. In any case, there is some information an invoice should contain:

  • Invoice number and date

  • Seller's name

  • Seller's organisation number

  • Description of the service

  • Tax rate (VAT) with amount in NOK

Each invoice must have a unique invoice number that is taken from a consecutive series. The first invoice must have invoice number 1, number two must have invoice number 2, etc...

Expense and cost are used interchangeably when we talk about spending money. In short, an expense occurs when you buy something/make the payment, while costs by definition occur when you actually use what you have bought.

All entries in the accounts are recorded on two sides, plus = debit and minus = credit.

Costs and assets are entered on the debit side. On the credit side, income, equity and liabilities are entered. In this way, the accounts are balanced - they break even.

Bookkeeping means the registration of income and expenses in the accounts, which are held in an accounting system.

Annual financial statements show actual income and expenses for the past year. An annual financial statement consists of an income statement, balance sheet and notes:

  • The income statement shows whether you have made a profit or loss for the past year.

  • The balance sheet shows assets on the one hand, and equity and liabilities on the other, which must break even, i.e. balance.

  • Finally, there are the notes, which explain or provide additional information about the various items in the accounts.

Assets in the financial statements include everything the association owns. This applies to all items that have a value, such as inventory, bank accounts and money that others owe you (accounts receivable).

A chart of accounts is an overview of all the accounting accounts that a company uses, but we are not talking about bank accounts here. The accounts have four digits and are used to make accounting more transparent. Based on this statement, you can distinguish between income, expenses, assets and liabilities in the company's accounting.

EHF stands for electronic trade format and is a type of invoice that is sent directly from the sender's to the recipient's financial or invoicing system. This is a fast and secure delivery of the invoice as it is read automatically. To be able to send an EHF invoice, you must therefore have an invoicing system that supports this type of invoice.

The requirements for the invoice are the same. When you send the invoice, you usually only need to register the organisation number, with any other information required by the organisation, in the invoicing software and send from there as an EHF invoice.

Most invoicing programmes support this today, so you should look at which ones are simple, affordable and adapted to your use. Some charge per invoice, while others charge for the service in general.

If the organisation's taxable turnover exceeds NOK 50,000 during 12 consecutive months, the organisation must be registered for VAT.

You can find information about VAT registration at the Norwegian Tax Administration.

In principle, a tax-exempt organisation has the same obligations as other employers. However, when the total salary paid to a person does not exceed NOK 10,000 during the year, no withholding tax is deducted.

Read more on the Norwegian Tax Administration's website.

There are several different funding programmes for student organisations. SSN's student funds have an application deadline four times a year, but there are also other opportunities.

Read more about different funding programmes and sources of income.

Different organisations do this in different ways. Some have annual payments of NOK 2-300, others have a one-off payment for lifelong membership. The most important thing is to set the membership fee so that the accounts balance.

It is equally common not to have a membership fee.

If theft is suspected, the manager should raise the suspicion with the person in question. If the person in question admits to the theft, it is not necessarily necessary to press charges, but a contract for repayment/settlement can be drawn up and signed by both parties. The contract should then include consequences for breach of contract, such as reporting to the police or interest.

Students who stay in Norway for less than 6 months will be assigned a D number. If the student will be staying in Norway for more than 6 months, you must report a move to Norway and apply for a national identity number. To make changes in the Brønnøysund Register Centre, you must enter the correct roles and D numbers or personal ID numbers of all board members.

Files/templates to download

🏅 Congratulations! You have completed the course in finance for student associations. Good luck with getting an overview and control. We're cheering you on!

Questions about the course or associations?

Do you have any questions about the course or need help with your recruitment?

Contact the association advisor/coordinator on campus!

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