Finance Policy & Procedures
Principles and Purpose
The Bristol Cable (in the following: Cable) aims to ensure legal compliance, financial solvency, and operational reliability by maintaining transparent, accountable and sustainable finance procedures. This policy aims to set out these procedures and the responsibilities of those involved in financial management.
Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of all co-ordinators to:
Participate in decision making regarding budget and spend;
Utilise the budget allocated to the circle they are leading in a responsible manner over the course of the financial year; including:
doing reasonable research to find the best value for money
spending ethically if possible
To liaise with the Workplace Co-ordinator about spending in a proactive manner;
Submit all expenses in line with the procedure outlined below;
Check (against our invoice template and agreed fee) and forward invoices from freelancers to the finance inbox (finances@thebristolcable.org) for the attention of the Workplace Co-ordinator;
Follow all financial procedures.
It is the responsibility of the Workplace Co-ordinator (see Role Brief here) to:
Ensure all aspects of our financial administration (including banking administration and managing the finance inbox of the Cable) are well managed.
Monitor spending and budget variance, support other co-ordinators with budget management and finances and liaise with Circle leads about over/underspending in their budget areas.
Work closely with the Cable’s accountant and bookkeeper to ensure invoices and expenses are processed, queries answered, and payroll is up-to-date.
With the Cable’s accountant and bookkeeper ensure the timely production of the annual accounts.
Submit the signed annual accounts to the FCA.
Prepare finance reports for every second team meeting.
Prepare quarterly accounts reports for the Directors’ meeting.
Liaise with the co-ordinator team to organise budgeting and strategise medium/long term financial planning.
Develop and manage organisational and grant budgets, support funding and grant finance reports.
It is the responsibility of the Cable’s accountant to:
Check for incoming invoices on a regular basis; process all purchase invoices using Xero (accounting system) and keep orderly and accurate records of all financial transactions.
Ensure outgoing payments are scheduled and paid in good time, and that Accounts Payable are in good order.
Import and reconcile bank account transactions using Xero, and ensure all payments are documented and accounted for.
Maintain credit control: keep track of incoming payments and follow up overdue Accounts Receivable.
Ensure the Chart of Accounts is fit for purpose and in good order.
Coordinate with the Workplace Co-ordinator and bookkeeper for the production of annual accounts.
Process and file payroll, pay salaries and HMRC on time, and process pension information.
It is the responsibility of the Cable’s bookkeeper to:
Prepare and finalise the annual accounts with the support of the Workplace Co-ordinator and the accountant.
It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to:
To agree and sign off the annual accounts
Oversee, scrutinise and sign off the budget
Appoint a Treasurer and assume responsibility for sign off and signature of accounts.
It is the responsibility of the Treasurer to:
Make sure that it operates within the legal and financial guidelines set out in current legislation and its own financial procedures.
Monitor the finances and make sure the co-op keeps proper financial records.
Make sure the board have all the information they need to make decisions on financial matters.
Review the co-op’s bookkeeping and financial controls and procedures with the Workplace Co-cordinator.
Ensure that investments, grants and other funds received for specific purposes are appropriately spent.
Ensure that the organisation's reserves policy is maintained.
Work with and support the Workplace Co-ordinator to create annual budgets & financial forecasts.
Ensure that sound financial advice is provided to the Board of Trustees particularly in relation to long term planning and the production of business plans.
Ensure preparation and disclosure of accounts as required by statutory bodies and by funders.
Procedures
Budgeting:
Budgets will be discussed and approved by co-ordinators and directors, and be revised as necessary.
The budget is a general cash flow projection for the organisation for a specific period, based on past expenditure, grant applications, and planned activity for the next year. It compares expected income from different sources (grants, membership, advertising, etc) to allocated maximum expenditure in different budget categories (project spending, e.g. media costs, staffing costs, freelance expenditure, other running costs ,etc). Expenditure may well be less - it is setting a maximum limit to each category, and income may also be less which may mean expenditure will need adjusting accordingly. It is not set in stone and may be updated as necessary, but is intended as a rough guide for activity and spending.
Regular finance reporting should include the Budget Variance report (‘budget vs actual’) which is a comparison of spending to date vs budget, e.g. £100 is allocated for the year, and £50 has been spent within 6 months - £50 can be spent before the end of year. Changes to budget: The budget is maintained by the Workplace Co-ordinator and kept up to date with team spending decisions, changes to projected income, or project development. Significant changes (see spending and expenses below) will be proposed and discussed with coordinators and directors.
2. Spending and expenses within the budget:
Co-ordinators may spend Bristol Cable money within budget projections and in keeping with their work remit. Wherever possible all payments will be made through the Cable’s bank accounts (on receipt of invoices or reimbursement for cash payments and expenses, or via bank cards). Significant individual spends (over £150) should be discussed and agreed by the relevant Circle or the Workplace circle, as appropriate. This includes cases where the spending is distributed over a year (e.g. a subscription where the monthly fee is only £12.5 but it’d mean £150 per year). The Workplace circle might suggest involving the team in certain decisions as it sees appropriate. 2a) Coordinator expenses: Reasonable co-ordinator expenses may be reimbursed and include:
a drink for a work meeting;
reasonable travel expenses to interviews, meetings outside the office, training and conferences;
coffee, milk and snacks for the office;
planned work socials agreed by the team.
If a colleague is in doubt about whether an expense would be considered ‘reasonable’, they should ask the Workplace Circle.
Expense claims and receipts: If the co-ordinator used their own personal bank card for the transaction, photographs of the receipt (the vendor receipt - not just the card payment receipt), and information regarding expenditure must be recorded in the Personal expense receipt log through filling out an online form available here for recordkeeping and accountability. Information to include: date, supplier, what the spending was for, which circle it belongs to, budget category (if applicable) and whether or not it’s a cost from a restricted funding pot. Reimbursement will be made by bank transfer within ten working days. 2b) Training: Role relevant individual staff training is encouraged and budgeted for, with both individual and group budgets. The training log should be filled in by coordinators. Reasonable expenses attached to the training, e.g. travel, food can be claimed if the budget allows. Team training and development is also encouraged and where possible budgeted for separately, e.g. under development costs. For more guidance see the Training Policy.
2c) Commissioning: Freelance work commissioned by co-ordinators must be at fee levels agreed by the coordinators or relevant circles and should be consistent with the Freelance Policy. Invoices should be sent to the commissioning co-ordinator who then forwards it to the Workplace Co-ordinator given that it contains the right amount and all the necessary details outlined in the Cable’s invoice template. See more detail and invoice template in our Invoicing Protocol. Invoices should include:
Invoice number and date,
Company’s / sole trader’s name and address, contact details,
The Bristol Cable and its current address,
Work done,
Total amount in £,
VAT registration where applicable,
UTR for freelance work,
Bank details for payment (bank, sort code, account number).
Payments are made by bank transfer within 2 weeks, 30 days latest.
3. Spending over or without allocated budget:
Any spend over the projected budget must be proposed to and agreed in advance by the Workplace Circle,
for values over £500, it must be consented to by the coordinator team, and
for values over £5000, including assets or new employee recruitment, it must be consented to by the board.
Banking
The Bristol Cable aspires to bank in an ethical way.
Bank accounts should have multiple signatories. Debit bank cards held by co-ordinators may be used for day to day spending within work remits and budgets. All spends must be recorded in the Cable card expense receipt log (through an online form available here) including the photograph of the receipts within 7 working days of the purchase. Any significant spending on these (see spending and expenses above) should be discussed and agreed by coordinators.
Cash reserves
The Bristol Cable aims to keep an amount equivalent to at least 3 and up to 6 months of operational costs in reserve in the bank (on a different bank account to the main one).
Reporting
Financial information - income and expenditure, state of our assets, and budget spending - should be available to all coordinators, directors and members.
This is primarily the responsibility of the Workplace Circle and should be in the form of: monthly spending and budget variance reports for team meetings, quarterly finance reports to the director meetings (no later than three working days before the Board meeting), and a finance report at the yearly AGM. All reports should be made available online.
It is the responsibility of the Workplace Circle to ensure end of year accounts are developed and filed with the help of the Treasurer in time. The financial year is 1 April - 31 March.
Authorisation and revisions
Created by The Bristol Cable
Revised by: Sara Szakadat
Authorised by staff team: 10 January 2023.
Authorised by Directors:
Policies should be reviewed every 2 years, unless:
We approve a proposal that changes the policy
There’s a change to the organisation that will change the policy
There’s a change in the law that affects the policy
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