How to draw up a budget for your event

If you are spending more than £350 on an activity, you will need prior approval from the Students' Union. If you are organising an activity which will cost you less than £350, you will not need to seek prior approval from the Union. 

To get approval for your activity, please submit an Activity Registration Form. You'll be asked to outline your budget in this form. A budget is a realistic prediction of the income and expenditure of your club or society specific events, activities or purchases. Budgets do not have to be complicated or exact, but they must be realistic and cover all possible areas of income and expenditure. For more in depth details about how to draw up a good budget, take a look at the training presentations that can be found here.

Need more information on how to spend club or society money? Take a look at the How to Guide for Spending Money from your Club/Society Account.

 

Step 1

Work out what process you need to follow when drawing up your budget. The following table describes what you need to do and when you need to do it before you begin spending money:

Level of Expenditure	Approval Process	When?
£0-350	No approval needed; you can make your purchase using the Payment Request Form.	When necessary
£350-£2000	Complete an Activity Registration Form online.	Minimum 2 weeks before the event.
£2,000 or more	Complete an Activity Registration Form online.	Minimum 4 weeks before the event.
Any event involving the hire of an external venue or facility for £2,000 or more.	Complete an Activity Registration Form online. Submit the venue/facility hire contract through the Contract Submission Form. Please ensure you keep copies of all receipts for proof of purchase.	Minimum 8 weeks before the event.

Step 2

Obtain the balance of your grant and non-grant accounts (see the guide on How to get your Club or Society Account Statement).

Think about where your income is coming from. You should include:

• Contributions from either your grant or your non-grant accounts
• Ticket sales (never budget for more than 50% ticket sales)
• Membership contributions
• Bar sales
• Food sales
• Selling merchandise

Think about how much you will need to spend. You should include:

• Paying for the venue
• Paying DJ’s or technicians
• Decorating the venue
• Buying merchandise or food
• Printing and publicity
• All other costs

If your total in the income column is less than the total in your expenditure column, you are predicting that you will make a loss. In this situation you will need to look at alternative sources of income and/or reducing your costs. If you have money in your non-grant account you may be able to make up the deficit from there. The Union will not approve events that make a loss.

Step 3

Complete the Activity Registration Form online in line with the relevant deadline explained in the table above, this includes details about your budget. If the amount you are spending is over £350, then this will be approved or rejected by our finance panel.

Step 4

Await approval to spend the funds on your event. If you have any doubts about whether your event budget has been approved or if you have any questions, email [email protected] or pop in to the Activities Reception. 

Step 5

If your Activity Registration Form is approved then you are free to begin spending money or to order tickets etc. Check the appropriate guides for details on how to do this.