Finance Codes, Sponsorships and Contracts, Grant Funding, Making Purchases, Reimbursements... everything you need to know about managing your club/society finances.
Who We Are

Students’ Union UCL is a registered charity and is bound by UK charity law. As a Union-affiliated club/society, you are also bound by charity law.
Receiving club or society funding through your personal bank account can put you in breach of charity law, as there are strict regulations around how charitable funds should be managed.
Any use of non-Union accounts for club or society financial transactions will result in disciplinary action, including potential disaffiliation.
Please note that although we are a registered charity, we are not exempt from paying VAT.
We have a dedicated Student Activities Finance team for clubs and societies and operate separately to the central Union finance team. If you need to get in touch, please email us at su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk.
Timelines

Try to submit your forms as far in advance as possible. If you have a large payment to make, it may take slightly longer to be approved, which can cause delays.
Remember, all clubs and societies need to email su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk with any financial enquiries. This inbox is monitored by the Student Activities Finance Coordinator and our student staff team. We aim to respond to emails in 10 working days (Monday to Friday only), but this will be longer during busy periods such as the start of term.
We hold a regular Finance Panel which consists of Union staff and the Activities & Engagement Officer. The panel meet weekly during term to review Activity Registration Forms, Purchase Request Forms and Grant Applications. You’ll receive updates and feedback on webform submissions via automated emails.
Finance Codes and Statement

When completing some of our forms, you will need to know how to ‘code’ your transactions. Students’ Union finance codes are 10 digits long, and made up of three different types of code:
[Department Code] [Club or Society Code] [Finance Code]
- Department Code
Firstly, you will need a department code, made up of 2 letters.
Your department code specifies if the payment should be made from your grant account (G) or non-grant account (N), and if you are a club (C) or society (X):
Grant Non-Grant Club GC NC Society GX NX - Club or Society Code
Secondly, you will have a club or society code, made up of 3 letters. Presidents and treasurers can find their finance code on their club or society finance statement.
- Finance Code
Finally, you will need a finance code, made up of 5 numbers. (Most forms have this as a drop-down list). This code lets us know the type of income or expenditure (e.g. sponsorship or kit).
If you are fundraising for a charity, you should use the finance code 69315. Please review out guidance on charity fundraising.
The codes you are most likely to need are listed below:
Income
69301 C&S EVENT INCOME 69308 C&S MEMBERSHIP FEE INCOME 69315 C&S DONATIONS 69350 C&S SPONSORSHIP INCOME 69357 C&S KIT INCOME 69364 C&S TOUR INCOME Expenditure
99336 C&S FRIENDS TRUST 99700 C&S MISCELLANEOUS EXPENDITURE 99705 C&S TOUR COSTS 99706 C&S KIT EXPENDITURE 99170 C&S ADDITIONAL GRANT 99715 C&S PUBLICITY COSTS 99717 C&S SPEAKERS/WORKSHOPS 99721 C&S COACH/INSTRUCTORS 99723 C&S EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE 99725 C&S EQUIPMENT PURCHASE 99729 C&S PRODUCTIONS COSTS 99731 C&S FACILITY HIRE 99735 C&S TRANSPORT 99739 C&S COMPETITION ENTRY 99742 C&S MATCH OFFICIALS
For example, if the Knitting Society wanted to pay a guest speaker from their non-grant money, they would fill out the account code field with 'NXKNI99717'.
Your club/society finance code is displayed on any emails you receive containing financial statements for your club/society. On the financial statements, the above finance codes are also used in the 'GL Codes' column to indicate the type of income/expenditure.
- How to access your financial statement
Once you’ve completed your training and registration documents, you’ll get access to check your weekly financial statement online. You’ll be able to download a transaction list which will give you a breakdown of processed transactions for the current academic year. Please note:
- Some funds (e.g. ticket sales, credit card purchases) may take time to appear in your account, and so the funds shown may be different to the funds available in practice.
- Processed credit card payments made before the 28th of that month will be reflected at the end of the month the payment was made or the beginning of the following month.
- JustGiving and Dojo card reader income will be reflected when we receive the funds.
- When you download your transaction list, negative figures show income or surplus, positive figures show expenditure or debt.
1. Log in to the Students' Union website (top right hand corner of the website).
2. Go to the Club/Society you are president or treasurer of. (You can find this listed on your profile page, via the club/soc directory, or by searching).
3.Click on the 'Finance' tab:
4. Here, you will be able to see your financial summary!
5. Scroll down and click on 'Download transaction list' to see a breakdown of your transactions. Make sure to select the correct dates!
Please email us at su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk if you have any questions!
Funding

In addition to your membership income, ticket income and any grant you are awarded, there are a number of potential extra sources of funding available from UCL and Students' Union UCL for your club or society.
Core Grant Funding
There are 4 central funds that all clubs and societies can apply for funding from.
- Grant Fund
Who is eligible?
- All affiliated clubs and societies are eligible to apply for grant funding, unless you are in deficit. In this instance, please contact us and we will support you to bring your club or society back into surplus.
- Applications must be submitted by the president or treasurer.
- If your club or society received funding for an activity in previous years, this does not guarantee that your group will receive funding in future years.
- Clubs or societies not charging the minimum membership fee are not eligible to apply.
- For clubs, this is £10.00.
- For societies, this is £3.00.
What can you apply for?
- You should apply for grant funding if your activities can’t take place without this funding, or if you don’t have sufficient financial reserves.
- We will grant funding for a specific event, activity or project.
- Unfortunately, we can’t approve funding for catering or non-specific general costs, and grant funding can’t be awarded retrospectively for past activity.
How to apply?
- You’ll be able to apply for grant funding through our online Grant Application Form. We will release the dates applications are open by email – so keep an eye on your inbox!
- You can find an annual budget template on the webform which you can fill in to help plan your finances for the year.
- Requests will be reviewed at the Finance Panel, where a decision on your application will be made by the Activities & Engagement Officer.
- Funding will be awarded on a case-by-case basis, and we will consider any non-grant funds available to you when reviewing each application.
- Please make sure to submit your request at least 14 working days before you need the funds during term time. Outside of term time, please submit your request 3 weeks before you need the funds.
What happens once funding is granted?
- If your request is approved, you can start processing payments related to the awarded grant - it may take up to 14 working days for the funds to appear in your account.
- The Finance Panel may award you part of the amount you have requested, or the full amount.
- You can apply as many times as you need, as long as your request meets the criteria outlined on the application form.
- You can make a purchase using a combination of grant and non-grant funding. When making your request, please specify exactly how much of the cost you would like covered from your grant funds.
- Grant funding can only be used for what it was awarded for. The expenditure code can be seen on your financial statement under the description.
- Cultural Fund
Who is eligible?
- All affiliated clubs and societies can apply!
- Applications must be submitted by the president or treasurer.
What is the cultural fund?
- The cultural fund has been designed to enable club and societies to bid for small pots of money to showcase the very best aspects of their cultures and/or to deliver cross-cultural activities for the benefit of the wider student community.
- Our aim is to highlight and celebrate the diversity of the student community at UCL and to increase our members’ intercultural exposure, awareness and understanding.
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and if approved the funds will be allocated to your grant account.
Fund Criteria
- Your application must specify:
- What you intend to deliver e.g. performance, workshop or other activity.
- How many people you intend to reach with your activity.
- Whether your activity is a joint initiative or collaboration with another society, and if so with which society.
- What space you require for your activity, and whether you intend to deliver it at Bloomsbury or East campus.
- Applications are limited to up to £150 per request, or £350 for a joint initiative with another society.
- The Finance Panel may award you part of the amount you have requested, or the full amount.
- You must provide a full breakdown of what the funding will be used for, and where possible quotes for purchases.
- If you’ll be covering part of the cost from your non-grant funds, please explain this in your application.
- If you have non-grant funds available, please clearly explain why you can’t use these for the requested purpose.
- You must demonstrate you have taken value for money into consideration by providing alternative quotes where possible.
- You cannot apply for funding for food and drinks unless integral to your activity e.g. a food tasting session.
- You can’t apply for funding if you don’t charge a membership fee.
- If you are a newly affiliated club or society, in order to apply for funding, you need to have 30 paid members and have demonstrated an attempt to get funding from another source.
- You can apply as many times as you need, as long as your request meets our criteria.
- If you have an idea and you’re not sure if it meets the above criteria or would like some advice, just get in touch with us via su.societies-events@ucl.ac.uk – we’re more than happy to help.
- Welfare Fund
Who is eligible?
- All affiliated clubs and societies can apply!
- Applications should be submitted by your welfare officer but can also be submitted by your president or treasurer.
What is the welfare fund?
- You can also apply for grant funding from the Students’ Union to run activities which focus on the welfare of your members. This includes activities which:
- Raise awareness of and support positive mental health.
- Improve student wellbeing.
- Support societies to deliver new physical activity initiatives.
- Promote an inclusive environment.
- Help include underrepresented student groups.
- Your application will be reviewed by the Finance Panel on a rolling basis, and if approved the funds will be allocated to your grant account.
- UCL East Fund
Who is eligible?
- All affiliated clubs and societies can apply!
- Applications must be submitted by the president or treasurer.
What is the UCL East fund?
- If your club or society would like to set up a new initiative to engage students at UCL East, you can now apply for dedicated grant funding!
- There are around 2200 students living and studying at UCL East, and your activities could help to build a sense of community, have an educational impact, provide career benefits, or have a positive impact on wellbeing.
- The spaces available at UCL East are large, modern and accessible - for more information or to arrange a tour, you can contact the UCL East team - su.east@ucl.ac.uk!
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and if approved the funds will be allocated to your grant account.
Other Funding and Sponsorships
In addition to the core grant funds above, there are a number of other specific grant pots available (depending on your group category), as well as funding sources beyond Students' Union UCL...
- Departmental Societies Grant
Who is eligible?
- All affiliated departmental societies can apply!
- Applications must be submitted by the president or treasurer.
What is the departmental societies grant?
The Departmental Society Grant is open throughout the year for all affiliated departmental societies, who can apply for funding to support projects designed to fulfil your society’s core objectives and foster a sense of belonging in their department. The grant can be used for initiatives such as alumni and guest speaker events, taster sessions from trained fitness instructors, workshops, and collaborations with other societies.
Your project or event must fall into at least one of the following categories:
1. Building a sense of community
- Your activity should bring together students from a range of backgrounds. It should be accessible to students in your department, faculty and the wider UCL community.
- Examples might include social events like quizzes, film nights or book clubs, group activities such as personalising hoodies, or tickets for group trips or visits.
2. Making an educational impact
- Your project should have an academic or educational objective. It might also be a project that introduces students to a new area of learning, or develops their knowledge and awareness of a certain issue.
- Examples might include panel or Q&A events with external speakers (e.g. UCL alumni or professionals in the field), language classes, skills workshops, or a celebratory event such as a dissertation showcase.
3. Providing career prospects
- Your project should seek to facilitate the career aspirations and goals of a wide range of students. Throughout your activities, you should aim to introduce students to lots of potential career paths related to the field.
- Examples might include a department careers fair, or an alumni networking event. You can also seek help from the UCL Careers team in planning and delivering your project (if you'd like to be connected to the relevant careers representative in your department, get in touch with us.
4. Positively impacting wellbeing
- Your activity should focus on improving the wellbeing and mental health of students in your society, and promote a diverse and inclusive environment.
- Examples might include fitness classes or physical activity initiatives, mindfulness exercises, or themed awareness campaigns.
How to Apply
You can submit an application through our Grant Application Form
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis by our Activities Finance team.
- If your request is approved, the funds will be reflected in your society account within two weeks. You can view your financial statement on your society webpage through our website.
- You can apply as many times as you need, as long as your request meets our criteria.
- You can make a purchase using a combination of grant and non-grant funding. When making your request, please specify exactly how much of the cost you would like covered from your grant funds.
- You must demonstrate you have taken value for money into consideration by providing alternative quotes where possible.
- You must provide a full breakdown of what the funding will be used for, and where possible quotes for purchases.
- If you have non-grant funds available, please clearly explain why you are not able to use these for the requested purpose. You should demonstrate that you have attempted to use any reserves your society has to subsidise purchases.
- You cannot apply for grant funding if you do not charge a membership fee.
- If you are a newly affiliated society or club, in order to apply for grant funding, you need to have 30 paid members and have demonstrated an attempt to get funding from another source.
If you have an idea but are unsure whether it meets the above criteria (or would like some advice in general), you can reach out to us at su.activities@ucl.ac.uk.
- Taster Session Fund
Who is eligible?
- All affiliated clubs and societies can apply!
- Applications must be submitted by the president or treasurer.
What is the taster session fund?
The taster session fund has been created to grow the number of taster sessions available to students throughout the year, not just during the Welcome and re-Welcome period.
The grant is designed to support student groups in running taster sessions for current non-members of their group to get a wider range of the student body engaged in extra-curricular activities, help students find a new hobby, and promote club/society activities.
Fund Criteria
- Your application must include:
- Details of the taster session, e.g. what taster session you intend to run, how is this different from already delivered taster sessions.
- Number of people your activity will reach.
- Location that the taster session will be hosted at, and whether it will be at Bloomsbury or East campuses.
- A full breakdown of what the funding will be used for.
- If you have non-grant funds available, an explanation of why you cannot use these for the requested purpose.
- Applications are limited up to £500 per request.
- This ‘Taster’ Fund is specifically designed to offer subsidisation for student groups organising taster events that are either:
- Sessions that are separate from those offered usually to accommodate beginners.
- High cost.
- Tickets to the taster session that are using this fund should be capped at 50% of the full ticket cost per person. Full ticket cost is defined as the cost per person for the taster event without the subsidy from the grant.
- The taster activity must be catered to current non-members of the club/society; however, some regular members are allowed to facilitate the event and welcome new members.
- The Finance Panel may award you part of the amount you have requested, or the full amount.
- You must demonstrate you have taken value for money into consideration by providing alternative quotes where possible.
- You cannot apply for funding for food and drinks unless integral to your activity, e.g. a food tasting session, baking session.
- You will be asked to fill out a ‘feedback form’ up to 2 weeks after the event, including pictures and an insight into whether society/club membership has increased since.
- You can apply as many times as you need, as long as your requests meets our criteria.
If you have an idea and are not sure if your taster meets the above criteria or would like to get some advice, just get in touch via su.societies-events@ucl.ac.uk.
- Friends' Trust
Funded by UCL alumni, the UCL Friends’ Trust awards funding to student groups at UCL for specific initiatives or equipment, in order to help enhance and encourage extra-curricular activity.
Clubs and societies can apply to the Friends’ Trust on the Students’ Union website.
- Funding is awarded twice a year, in November and February. We’ll email you to let you know when applications open and close.
- Friends’ Trust funding can be used for a range of things, including equipment, new initiatives, and one-off activities.
- Your application will be reviewed by members of staff from the Friends’ Trust and the Union, including the Activities & Engagement Officer. If your application is approved, the funds will be transferred into your non-grant account.
- If you’re making a purchase using your Friends’ Trust funds, you should use finance code 99336 and code expenditure to your non-grant account.
- Any unused funds are reclaimed at the end of the year.
- Sponsorship
Clubs and societies can also apply for sponsorship from external organisations. External organisations may choose to provide your group with funding which you can spend on your activities. Some sponsors may alternatively provide goods or services, such as equipment.
If a company chooses to provide your group with sponsorship, they will usually ask for some form of acknowledgement such as their logo on your merchandise.
Sponsorship agreements must be outlined in a contract, signed by the external organisation and the Union. You must not sign contracts on behalf of your group as it will hold you personally liable for the contracted conditions.
Before approaching a sponsor, you need to make sure that they meet the Union guidelines below. Please make sure to expand all sections below and read through them carefully.
- What is a Sponsorship Agreement?
A sponsorship agreement (or contract) governs the legal relationship between a sponsor and those entitled to enforce the sponsorship obligation. It has a number of terms and conditions agreeing a service (or services) in return for a fee. Remember - do not sign a contract yourself.
Typical issues that arise under a Sponsorship Agreement are:
- The definition of benefits to the sponsor.
- Any payments due under the contract.
- The circumstances in which trademarks/logos of the sponsor should be used/displayed.
- The rights of each party, including termination clauses.
Club and society presidents and treasurers are responsible for working with sponsors to draw up this agreement. To help you get started, we have created a Sponsorship Agreement Template that you can use. We have set out the full process for arranging sponsorship on this page.
- Prohibited Sponsors
There should be no conflict between our Students' Union UCL policies and any potential sponsor. All our policies can be found here.
Some companies which may not be approved due to our belief in inclusive clubs/societies are, but not limited to:
- Arms manufacturers.
- Tobacco manufacturers.
- Alcoholic beverage manufacturers.
- Gambling or betting agencies.
- Fossil fuel companies.
- Any sponsor which may restrict persons of certain groups from joining your club/society.
We also cannot approve sponsors which compete with a service which Students' Union UCL itself provides. This includes:
- Local Cafes
- Local Bars
- Local Gyms
This is because money made from our services is used to fund your activities. Please note that restaurants, takeaways and late-night clubbing venues are not prohibited, and any cafes, bars or gyms outside of a reasonable distance from campus may also be approved.
Finally, sponsorship contracts must only last for the year during which your committee are in office. This is because it is unfair on your successors to bind your club/society into longer-term agreements.
- If you envisage a longer-term agreement, then we would advise having a clause in your contract allowing that company first refusal on other sponsorship, or a clause whereby the club/society will re-approach them next year.
- How to create a Sponsorship Agreement
- Consider who might want to sponsor your club/society. Make sure you are giving yourself ample time to negotiate a contract ahead of your activities and get the contracts signed off so that you get the funds in time. Check that your potential sponsor would not be one of the prohibited sponsors detailed above.
- Approach your sponsors! We suggest you have some kind of formal proposal document or sponsorship pack to hand over to any potential partners.
- If the sponsors agree, begin drawing up a proposal. Remember only to offer that which is actually in your remit, and NEVER sign a contract yourself.
- If you sign a contract yourself it makes you personally liable to for the terms of the contract and must pay any damages if something goes wrong.
- You must always have the contract signed by a Union representative to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
- When both you and your sponsor agree on terms, you should draw up a contract (using our Sponsorship Agreement template) and ask your sponsor to sign and return the contract. When this is completed, please submit through our Club and Society Contract Webform to have your contract checked and signed by the Activities and Engagement Officer.
- You must ensure that your contract is submitted at least 10 working days in advance of when it is required to be completed by.
- Once your contract is signed, you can invoice the company (where applicable) for the sponsorship fee. You should use our Sales Invoice Request Webform for this purpose (also see 'Income' section below).
- All Invoices are raised by our Activities Finance team, and cannot be issued by clubs/societies.
- Once this form is submitted, your sales invoice will be sent to the company and the money will be paid into your account.
- Don’t forget to honour your end of the agreement and provide the necessary acknowledgement for your sponsors.
Your contract may not be approved by the Union if it has terms we can’t fulfil. For example, if your sponsor asked for a regular room booking on campus, this is something we can’t offer. Ultimately, sponsorship sign-off is at the discretion of the Activities & Engagement Officer.
As always, if you have any questions, please get in touch by emailing us at su.activities@ucl.ac.uk!
- Participation Fund
The Participation Fund is a pot of money to support current UCL students who are experiencing financial hardship and are therefore facing significant financial barriers accessing clubs and societies as well as any other co-curricular or extra-curricular activities.
Financial barriers can be especially hard for some students. but this should not prevent them from having amazing co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences and opportunities.
The funds will be awarded based on an individual’s financial needs, and can be used to help cover the costs of membership fees, or any other associated costs (such as kit, specialist equipment, travel or room hire). Students can apply to the fund if they are able to demonstrate they would face a significant financial barrier to participating in extra or co-curricular activity.
More information can be found on our Participation Fund webpage - make sure to share this with your members so they're also aware of the opportunity!
- External Funding
Think outside of the Students' Union! There are often community grants (particularly for sports clubs) available to apply for from local authority funds or national governing bodies.
If you require help in applying to an external funding source you can contact a member of the team by reaching out to su.activities@ucl.ac.uk. Our team can pass your email on to the relevant member of staff.
To get you started, here are a few useful links when looking for external funding for your clubs/societies:
- Crowdfunding - raise money for your own personal cause, a person in need, clubs, schools, and communities.
- Awards for All - National Lottery Awards for All offers funding from £300 to £10,000 to support what matters to people and communities.
- London Sport Funding Search Tool - this is a really useful tool where you can set parameters whilst searching for grants.
- Find your National Governing Body - use this link to find your recognised NGB, why not contact them or have a look on their webpage for possible funding.
- Sport England Funding - take a look at Sport England’s funding offering here.
Expenditure

There are two main ways you can spend money from your club and society account:
- Purchase Request Form - the Students' Union will purchase the item(s) or service(s) on your behalf, using money directly from your account. This is the recommended way to make all club/society purchases.
- Payment Request Form - the Students' Union will reimburse payments made by you or other members using their personal bank accounts. This can only be used for purchases under the value of £350.
As a reminder, the Students’ Union is a registered charity, governed by charity law. Receiving club or society funding through your personal bank account can put you in breach of charity law, as there are strict regulations around how charitable funds should be managed.
Amount | Process |
---|---|
£0 - £350 | You can either submit a Purchase Request Form and we’ll make the payment for you, or alternatively, you can buy the item yourself and submit a Payment Request Form to get reimbursed. |
£350 - £650 | You must submit a Purchase Request Form. Goods and services over £350 must be approved by the relevant Union staff member. You will need to provide two informal quotes for purchases between £350 and £650. |
£650 - £2000 | You must submit a Purchase Request Form. Goods and services over £350 must be approved by the relevant Union staff member. You will need to provide two formal quotes for purchases over £650. |
£2000 + | You must submit a Purchase Request Form. Goods and services over £350 must be approved by the relevant Union staff member. You will need to provide two formal quotes, and the Activities & Engagement Officer must approve purchases over £5000. |
Before making a purchase:
- Check whether you need to gain approval for your expenditure.
- It is likely you will need an approved Activity Registration Form, including a budget, before we approve your expenditure. Please see our guidance within our core how-to guide on Organising Activities & Events.
- Consider if you could use an Purchase Request Form instead of reimbursing yourself through a Payment Request Form.
- Check that your club/society has sufficient funds for the purchase - we won't allow club/society accounts to go into deficit.
- Confirm that the purchase relates to your core or additional club/society activity, as outlined in your constitution.
- Assess the financial risk of the event or activity to your club/society.
- Be transparent with your committee and members, and ensure money is being spent appropriately.
- Reimbursements (Payment Request Form)
In the majority of cases your club of society must order things in advance. However, there are some exceptions, e.g. buying small stationery items, impromptu purchases at a shop, when this will not be possible. Therefore we have a procedure, outlined below, to allow you to spend your own money and then reclaim it from your club or society account.
Remember, you must not spend more than £350 of your own money on clubs or society purchases.
Please note that there is a separate procedure for sports travel reclaims - please see this below.
- The President or Treasurer reclaiming the money should attach their proof of purchase to the Payment Request Form and make sure that they include the bank account details and contact email address of the payee on the form. The person reclaiming the money and the payee must not be the same person.
- Requests without proof of purchase cannot be approved.
- Your proof of purchase must include: Seller's name or logo, the date payment was made, the amount paid in GBP, the product(s) or service(s) purchased, and clear indication payment has been made (e.g. states "paid" or "payment receipt").
- Acceptable as proof of purchase: Itemised receipts, email confirmations detailing the amount paid, handwritten receipts on a letterhead, invoices clearly stating payment received.
- Not acceptable as proof of purchase: Screenshot of your bank transaction, invoices/pro-forma invoices, handwritten receipts not on a letterhead, proof of purchase in a language other than English without a translated copy.
- Payment will be made directly to the member’s bank account.
- We aim to process forms within a week, but this may take longer. For example, small sums usually get paid faster than larger sums. To ensure rapid payment, make sure that all details have been completed correctly.
- The President or Treasurer reclaiming the money should attach their proof of purchase to the Payment Request Form and make sure that they include the bank account details and contact email address of the payee on the form. The person reclaiming the money and the payee must not be the same person.
- Direct Purchases (Purchase Request Form / Credit Card Payments)
Purchase Request Forms are processed on a weekly basis. Purchase Request Forms for £350 or more are reviewed by the Finance Panel before being processed.
The Finance Panel meets every Tuesday and aims to review all requests received before 9:00am on Tuesdays. If there is no further information required, your request can be approved and passed to the Activities Finance team for payment - see our payment timelines below.
Online purchases and phone payments are made using a credit card. For credit card purchases please email su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk to arrange a meeting with our Activities Finance Coordinator to process the payment.
Payments to non-UK bank accounts will be processed separately and incur separate bank charges which the club or society will be required to cover.
- Sports Club Travel Reclaims
All TeamUCL sports clubs competing in BUCS or LUSL leagues are entitled to reclaim their travel costs for matches via the cheapest reasonable mode of transport. This is limited to away fixtures outside of Zone 2. Claims must be submitted within 1 month of the fixture date.
The Union will reimburse all travel costs up to the cost of a ticket purchased with a 16-25 Railcard, even where full price tickets have been purchased. We recommend purchasing a 16-25 Railcard if you plan to travel for fixtures. You can apply for a 16-25 Railcard over the age of 25 if you are a registered student.
Travel reclaims for BUCS or LUSL matches should not be submitted through a Payment Request Form. Please review our guide on reclaiming match travel expenses for more information.
Any other travel reclaims which do not meet the guidelines for competing in BUCS or LUSL leagues (for both clubs and societies) should be submitted through the Payment Request Form.
- Contracts
You may receive a contract related to a purchase you are making (such as venue hire), or income you are receiving (such as sponsorship - see 'Sponsorship' section above).
You must not sign contracts on behalf of your group as it will hold you personally liable for the contracted conditions. You should submit contracts through our online webform to be reviewed and signed by a Union manager of the Activities & Engagement Officer. Contracts should be signed by the third party before they are submitted to us.
Payments related to contracts will not be made until relevant contracts are signed by all parties, and your group has the necessary funds to cover all costs. Try to submit your contract to us as soon as possible. We often have a high volume of contracts to sign which can cause delays.
- Kit and Merchandise
It is important that the Union checks kit and merchandise before it is ordered to ensure consistency with UCL and Students' Union UCL brand guidelines. For sports clubs, we also have an official kit provider, Akuma, who offer a bespoke service to UCL clubs and have approved sustainability policies and logos on file.
For more information, please visit our how-to guide on ordering kit and merchandise.
- Coaches/Instructors and Invoices
Club and society invoices must be itemised, and addressed to:
{INSERT CLUB/SOCIETY NAME}
Students' Union UCL
25 Gordon Street
London
WC1H 0AYInvoices must include:
- payee name, address, and contact email address
- invoice number (to help identify different invoices)
- bank name and account details
- a dated, hourly break-down of all chargeable hours for the respective invoice period
If the invoice is to pay a coach or instructor, it must include the statement "I am self-employed, and I am responsible for any tax or National Insurance Liability". See our how-to guide on registering and paying coaches and instructors for more information.
- If you are self-employed and earned more than £1,000 in the last tax year (6 April to 5 April), you must have a Unique Taxpayer Reference. This is also applicable to students. For more information, please refer to the gov.uk website:
You can use our Invoice Template - the person providing an invoice just needs to fill out our template with their own information, and send it to you. You should submit your invoice through the Purchase Request Form, within 30 days of your activity.
- We will not accept invoices on a termly or yearly basis, and we will not reimburse public liability insurance purchases for coaches or instructors.
- All invoices must be submitted no later than the end of the academic term in which the service has been used.
Proforma Invoices
A proforma invoice is a preliminary bill or estimated invoice which is used to request payment from the committed buyer for goods or services before they are supplied. A proforma invoice includes a description of the goods, the total payable amount and other details about the transaction.
A proforma invoice is almost like a quote. You can use your proforma invoice to inform your budget, but we’re not able to accept proforma invoices to make payments as they can be changed – we need to receive the final invoice.
If a company only offers proforma invoices ahead of payment being made, please ask the company for written confirmation that a final invoice will be provided after payment is made. A final invoice must be provided for an audit trail.
- Hiring and Insuring Equipment
For further guidance on using AV & Events Equipment, please see our core how-to guide on 'Booking Spaces & Equipment'.
If you are hiring or borrowing any equipment you must firstly make sure that the level of expenditure is approved. This may involve drawing up a budget by completing an Activity Registration Form.
In addition, you should also make sure that any equipment you hired is insured, via the short-term insurance procedure (please see our 'Insurance' guide for further details).
- You will need to include the costs of insuring the equipment in any Activity Registration Form that you complete.
- Visit the Student Activities Reception at least 2 weeks before the hired equipment arrives if you need advice about insurance.
- You will need to submit a proof regarding the value of the hired items to insure them. This could be an inventory or a website page stating the re-sale value.
To hire equipment you must complete a Purchase Request Form in line with our usual processes on expenditure.
When the equipment arrives, the Treasurer must be present and should check the items and sign for them. When the item is returned the Treasurer should ensure that a signed and itemised list is received from the company or collection agent confirming the goods have been returned safely.
- Sending money to another club/society (Inter Club/Society Financial Transfer Form)
If you need to send funds to another club/society affiliated with Students' Union UCL, you can request this through our Inter Club/Society Financial Transfer Form.
Please note this webform must be filled out by the President or Treasurer of the club/society sending the money.
- International Payments
You must provide IBAN, BIC and country codes for international payments.
The payment must be in GBP, or the currency of the country the payment is going to (no other currencies).
There is an international transaction fee – the fee is dependant on each transaction. This must be covered by your club or society.
Income

- Funds from another organisation (Sales Invoice Request Form)
If you need to receive funds from another organisation, we can send them an invoice on your behalf. If you would like us to raise an invoice on your behalf, please submit a Sales Invoice Request Form. You’ll most often use a Sales Invoice Request Form if you need to receive sponsorship from an external organisation.
Before we can process your Sales Invoice Request, you’ll need to have a signed contract in place. Please submit your contract to us as soon as possible so it can be signed by the Activities & Engagement Officer before we process your request!
The Student Activities Finance team will raise an invoice on behalf of your club or society and email it to the company or organisation and cc' you in. They will then have 30 days to pay the invoice. Once payment is received, funds will be reflected in your non-grant account.
- Event Tickets and Products
Tickets for all club/society events should be sold through the Union website. Clubs and societies must not sell tickets through third party sites such as Eventbrite.
Once the Activity Registration Form for your event has been approved, you should complete a Ticket Request Form as far in advance of your event as possible (at minimum this should be 10 working days before your event so that your tickets can be ordered / put on sale online).
You can also use the ticket request form to sell a product (such as sports kit) on the Students’ Union website.
Remember:
- If you are requesting tickets for an event where you will be spending £350 or more, you will need an approved Activity Registration Form first.
- The detailed breakdown on your ticket request form must match the details on your activity registration form.
- If you are requesting tickets for an event involving an external speaker, you will need an approved External Speaker Request Form first.
- If you are requesting tickets for an event where you will be raising money for charity, you will need an approved Charity Permission Letter first.
- If you are requesting tickets for kit or merchandise, the design must be approved by the relevant Union staff member first.
- If you are requesting tickets relating to coached / instructed sessions, you will need an approved Coach/Instructor Registration Form first.
Please review our guide on how to sell tickets and products for further information.
- Selling club/society items
If you'd like to sell a club/society item, please check with our Activities Finance Team (su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk) to see whether the item was bought by the club (Non Grant) or by the Union for the club (Grant).
- If the item(s) were bought using non-grant funds, then ensure your committee has approved the disposal and record this in the minutes of a general meeting.
- If the item(s) were bought using grant funds, email the Activities Finance Team (su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk) stating why you wish to sell or dispose of the item. Depending on the circumstances and residual value, the Union may require a proportion of the proceeds of the sale returned to us.
Once permission has been gained then go ahead and sell/dispose of the items and ensure Students' Union UCL is made aware once they have gone. We will update your inventory accordingly.
- For items valued above £150 we require the money to be paid direct via electronic transfer to the Students' Union UCL bank account. For low value items, cash or cheques can be banked via the Union cashier, 4th floor, 25 Gordon Street.
- For low value items e.g. old sports kit, leaflets, banners, props, costumes etc then please dispose in an environmentally sound way by recycling or donating to charity. The Union does not need to be informed of this unless these items are on your inventory (you can request a list from su.activities-reception@ucl.ac.uk).
- Charity Fundraising
Students' Union UCL, and therefore your club or society, is a charity. It is against the law for charities to donate money directly to other charities straight from your Club or Society account. However, you can raise money for a charity through an event.
Before you begin fundraising, you must ensure that the charity you wish to fundraise for has a registered UK Charity Number and is listed on the Charity Commission Website. Please note, the Union does not allow fundraising for non-UK registered charities.
Please visit our charity fundraising guide for more information.
- Cash
You may sometimes have to process cash payments for tickets or receive cash if you are fundraising through a collection for a charity. Where possible, we recommend minimising the use of cash as there is risk you may not be able to store and deposit it safely. For example, can you set up an online ticket instead of selling on the door?
- Always store cash safely. A portable cash box can be a suitable solution. You should not store cash in your club or society storage space.
- Once you have deposited any cash you have collected, the Activities Finance Team will pay it into your club or society account. This can take up to 4 weeks to appear in your account.
- Remember to keep your own accurate record of any cash you collect!
Depositing Cash:
- You can deposit cash at the Student Activities Reception (2nd floor, Bloomsbury Theatre Building, 15 Gordon Street) between:
- 10:00am – 1:00pm
- 2:00pm – 4:00pm
- Your cash will be counted by the Activities Finance Coordinator (or another member of staff), and you will receive confirmation of the amount deposited.
- You must deposit any cash as soon as possible, either on the same day as your event or the next working day.
Remember, you cannot use your personal bank account to accept any cash or bank transfers. Accepting club or society funds through your personal bank account is in breach of UK charity law.
- Card Payments
We have a card machine which can be used to take payments at club and society events. This must be booked at least 5 working days in advance via our AV & Events Equipment Request Form.
We cannot guarantee the availability of the card machine, as it is booked on a first-come first-served basis. Alternatively, you can set up paid tickets on your webpage for attendees to purchase on their phones at the door.
Please note that the card machine cannot be used for charity fundraising, as this is prohibited by our payment processor.
Refunds

Students can request a refund by completing a Refund Request Form on the Students’ Union website. Students can request refunds for club or society membership, products, or tickets purchased through the Union website. We cannot process partial refunds for any purchases.
- The individual requesting the refund must submit the form within 30 days of purchase.
- Once a request has been submitted, we’ll email you to ask if you’re happy to approve the refund.
- If the refund request is approved, it will be passed on to the Student Activities Finance team for processing. It may take up to 5 working days for a refund to appear in the individual’s account after the submission has been marked as paid. Refunds will be issued back to the original card used to make the purchase.
- If you don’t approve of the refund request, we’ll put you in touch with the student so you can discuss further options. If the student would still like to request a refund, they may appeal to the Activities & Engagement Officer who can decide on whether the refund should be allowed or not.
We are also able to process mass refunds – for instance if you’ve cancelled an event and need to refund all ticket holders. Email su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk, and we’ll be able to help further.
If you have any questions, feedback, or concerns about the contents of this guide, please email us at su.activities@ucl.ac.uk.
Knowledge base
Category
- Raising, Spending & Managing Money