Payments come in all shapes and sizes. In order to ensure your suppliers can receive payment on time, our finance procedures need to be followed.
How to make payments
You can spend your group funds on any group activity or outing that benefits your members.
Please note: Your group’s funding is not allowed to be spent on alcohol.
There are three main methods of payments when it comes to student group activity:
- Invoice: send the SU an invoice to pay on your behalf,
- Credit card: agree to use an SU credit card,
- Reimbursement: Pay yourself and claim the funding back.
Confirming spends with Activities staff
You must have agreed to spend with the Activities staff before confirming any orders or spending any money. This is to ensure that spending is occurring for approved activity and that there is the appropriate funds available to cover your payment. If payment is not confirmed before spending, a claim back cannot be guaranteed.
In order to help us approve your spending, make sure your activity is logged and approved on the Activities Dashboard. Once spending is approved, use one of the following payment methods to complete your spending.
Payment methods
Payment method 1: invoice
Payment by invoice means GSU can process payments directly from your student group finances on your behalf. This avoids your committee being out-of-pocket by spending and awaiting reimbursement.
You should email a copy of your invoice to activities@gre.ac.uk with details (including your group name) by Friday each week. Payments take at least a week to process and are aimed to be made fortnightly depending on approval. We advise you to inform suppliers that payments can take up to 30 days to manage expectations.
Please ensure all the details are correct and the Union address is correct to speed up the process. If you are not sure what should be on an invoice, see our FAQs below.
If your suppliers want confirmation from the Union, they should contact activities@gre.ac.uk with details and we can confirm that payment will be made via a purchase order.
Payment method 2: credit card
The SU credit card can be used only in the instance where an invoice is unavailable. In the first instance we ask that you try to negotiate payment via invoice as this is our preference, however we often have suppliers that are unable to accept this promise of payment and require payment up front via credit card.
Once you receive spending approval, please arrange with one of the Engagement and Opportunities team to attend the office where we will complete the payment on your behalf. You can do this by emailing activities@gre.ac.uk. The payment must be completed by a member of the Engagement and Opportunities team to ensure we can keep track of any receipts for auditing purposes.
The credit card can only be used for online purchases, and cannot be taken off-site.
Payment method 3: claiming reimbursement
The most common type of spending involves a reimbursement, as this enables you to spend quickly only spending has been approved. You can claim reimbursement for any purchases you have made on behalf of your student group via the Student Group Finance tool in your student group admin tools.
Any committee member may add a new claim, which is then approved by the Treasurer or President of the society before being sent to GSU for review. The approval process can take up to a week to complete from GSU, after which a payment will be made within 30 days.
Electronic payments are processed fortnightly, with payments reaching bank accounts on alternate Fridays. If it has been more than a month since you requested a reimbursement and the payment hasn't been made then please get in touch with details of the claim and we will investigate the payment.
Key things to remember
- To claim back money you will need to keep the receipt for what was purchased (we cannot reimburse any money without receipts)
- Your receipt will need to list purchased items and goods (a card receipt without the itemised receipt is not enough evidence for a claim to be approved)
- The receipt will need to match the expense claim figure
- Please ensure that you keep track of all income and expenditure of your group, and maintain and up-to-date balance of your group’s financial account.
Important: If you are claiming expenses for an event that was not registered and approved on the Activities Dashboard, we will not be able to reimburse you. If you are ever unsure of whether a payment will be eligible for reimbursement, ask a coordinator first!
What is the Union's business address?
Your Club/Society Name
Greenwich Students' Union
Dreadnought Building
30 Park Row
Greenwich, London
SE10 9LS
What details should be on an invoice for it to be processed by the finance team?
- Date of invoice submission
- Name and address of company/individuals
- Contact email and number
- Invoice number
- Addressed to current member of staff or society with full name and address of GSU
- PO/customer number (if applicable)
- Full description of services with any associated dates/hours
- One of the followings: Company number/VAT number/ UTR number (for self-employed)
- Current bank details for the specific company or individual