Club and Society finances are managed almost entirely online through your committee admin tools, using a system called MSL (Membership Services Ltd). When you spend money, this must be done through the MSL Finance System, which your President and Treasurer have access to. MSL is easy to use, but we’ve put together a helpful ‘how to’ guide just in case.
In general, clubs and societies can spend money however the committee sees fit, as long is it is for the benefit of the society as a whole. However, there are a few things that you can’t purchase or make a claim for, including but not limited to:
- Any activity prejudicial to equal opportunities
- Any party political activity
- Any activity in breach of the law, of Keele University Policy, or of the Keele SU Constitution, Bye-Laws or Policy
- Any activity that excludes any current member of the society
- Card machines/card payment terminals
- Drugs & Alcohol
To make sure group funds remain secure, all purchases and expenditures must be submitted and approved by two different committee members. Any member can submit a finance request, but only the President and/or Treasurer can approve them. Purchases and claims can’t be made without a receipt or an invoice, so make sure you don’t throw them away! After the committee has approved a transaction, staff will review and approve each purchase before Keele SU Finance make the payment.
Please note, we will be unable to approve a transaction if your club/society doesn't have enough money in the account.
Financial Management:
Your financial health is paramount to the success of your society and therefore must be treated as if it were a real business operating outside of the SU's systems. If you are more than £50 in debt at the end of the academic year, then you will be made to pay this cost back otherwise the club or society will be de-affiliated and be prevented from starting up again. If you need help and support with money management then you can also contact the finance team at su.finance@keele.ac.uk to get advice on ways to ensure you keep a healthy account.
The weekly deadline for submitting your finances is 9am on a Wednesday for us to process it that week. If you miss this deadline, we will process your expenditures the following Wednesday.
If you have made any issues on your finance request and we refer this back to you to change, this will also mean it won't get processed again until the following Wednesday.
Its important you plan ahead and get these requests in, in advance, as we are unable to approve requests at any time except Wednesday mornings.
Generally, transactions take 3-5 working days for the money to transfer.
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Submiting Finance Requests on MSL
The easiest and quickest way to pay for things is to pay yourself, keep the receipt and claim a re-imbursement from your club/society. However, we appreciate that not all students can afford to do this or may not want to. Alternatively, you can ask a supplier for an invoice, and SU Finance will pay them directly using your club society/funds. If none of your committee members can afford to pay themselves, we can arrange a credit card payment online. Follow this step-by-step guide to find out how.
1. Log into the Keele SU website and go to your club/society's webpage.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the 'claim expenses' tab.
Only paid members of your club/society will be able to access this section. You will be directed to your club/society's financial dashboard.
3. Click on '+New Money Request
Note: The balance shown on this screen won't necessarily be an accurate reflection of what's in your group's account. This is because MSL can't interact with Sage, which is the software our Finance department use to manage the finances of the wider SU. To receive an accurate balance and a full breakdown of all your group's transactions, please contact su.activities@keele.ac.uk and ask for a nominal statement.
4. Fill out the details for your payment request.
Request Type
- Reimbursement - You have paid for something already and wish to claim the money back (e.g. supplies for an event)
- Pay Supplier - You have an invoice you need to pay or you need to pay an external organisation for a service (e.g. for a hoodie order, a coach or external speaker). If you choose this option, you will be asked to complete the suppliers details (name, email, number, bank sort code & account number).
- Pay Charity - Your group has raised money for charity and you need to transfer this across to them. Please note that if you choose this option, you will need to demonstrate to us in the justification box why you are donating that specific total. This is so that as a charity ourselves, Keele SU is adhering to charity law.
Event
- If your payment is related to a specific event you can select it here. If not, just select 'not associated with an event'.
Payable To
- Requester - The person who is submitting the finance request (e.g. The person claiming the reimbursement)
- Other Student - Another member of the society. (i.e. You are submitting the request on their behalf)
- Third Party - Someone external to the society (e.g. A business or charity)
Payment Method
This will be 'Bank Transfer'
- Bank Transfer - Online bank transfer. The money from your society account will be transferred straight into the payee's account. You will be asked to submit bank account details relating to your request (Sort Code & Account Number)
- Credit Card - DO NOT select this option as we will not be able to process this and will just refer this back to you or cancel the request!
5. Fill out the rest of the fields with details of your request. Make sure you go into as much detail as possible.
6. Submit your request and ask the President/Treasurer to approve it for you.
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Approving Finance Requests on MSL
A guide for Presidents/Captains and Treasurers
Once a finance has been submitted, the President or Treasurer must approve it before it gets submitted to Activities. If the President was the one that submitted the request, the Treasurer must be the one to approve it. If the Treasurer submitted the request, only the President can approve it. Presidents and Treasurers must be vigilant with their group's finances to make sure they approve them in good time and don't leave invoices unpaid or students waiting for their reimbursements. Follow the guide below on how to approve a finance request.
The weekly deadline for submitting your finances is 9am on a Wednesday for us to process and pay it that week. If you miss this deadline, we will process your expenditures the following Wednesday. For security reasons, if your request is for a large amount (£250+) it will also require approval from a Keele SU manager, or even a member of the Senior Leadership Team if the amount is high enough. This sometimes means the transaction takes a little longer to approve, depending on staff availability. Make sure you factor this time into your plans when submitting and approving requests. (i.e. Don't leave it until the last minute to submit a payment if it's urgent!)
After a request is fully approved it will be payed on the Friday the same week. Depending on the method of payment, it may take 3-5 working days for the payee to receive the money.
1. Log into the Keele SU website and go into your group's financial dashboard.
You should be able to see a list of pending and recent transactions.
2. Click on the request you would like to approve.
Ensure sure you check over the details of the request to make sure you're happy before you click approve. If there are changes yet to be made, you can reject the payment or refer it back to the requester.
IMPORTANT: Make sure your group has enough money to cover the payment request so that your club/society doesn't go into debt!
3. Staff at Keele SU will review all finance requests first thing on a Wednesday morning.
If we spot any problems, we may refer the request back to you or reject it altogether. This is usually because there isn't enough information for us to know what we're approving, or the receipt doesn't match the total requested.
4. You can check the progress of your group's finance requests by referring back to your dashboard at any time.
If you have any questions, please contact su.activities@keele.ac.uk.