LSESU is a registered Charity, which means that we have to abide by particular standards on how we spend our money and how this is logged – this is why we have to be robust with monitoring how Club and Society money is spent and how this is audited.
Your Club or Society has its own account that sits within the SU's overall bank account. There are two main ways to use this money:
- Reimbursements
- Invoice Payments
Scroll down for more information about these processes, including what evidence you'll need to submit. Our financial process are also described in more detail in our online Managing Finances training module.
Payment Timeframes
Our SU Finance Team make weekly payment runs.
All approved invoices and expense reimbursements that we receive by 12pm Monday will be processed during that week's payment run, to reach the payee's account by the following Monday.
Anything received after 12pm on a Monday, will be processed in the following week's payment run.
REIMBURSE
There are two ways to be reimbursed, if someone in your committee purchases something for the group:
- eXpense365 App
- Payment Request Form
You can scroll down for more information about these methods.
Expense 365 app
Downloading Expense 365(Opens in new tab) Making Claims Through Expense 365(Opens in new tab) Expense 365 Top Tips(Opens in new tab)
You can download the eXpense365 app to easily submit claims. Once submitted, your treasurer will receive a notification, and will then be able to approve the claim.
The eXpense365 App can only be used for reimbursements under £500, anything over this amount must be requested via a payment request form.
Payment request form
Alternatively, you can complete a Payment Request Form, for payments that are over £500, made in international currency or from an international bank account, or if you are facing issues with Expense 365.
Download a Payment Request Form Here(Opens in new tab)
Please complete this form, ensure it is signed by your treasurer, then email it to either su.societies@lse.ac.uk or su.sport@lse.ac.uk along with your payment evidence.
This chart may help you to decide which method to use for each payment!
EvidencE
For all reimbursements, we require both of the following for each payment:
- Photos of the receipts and/or order confirmation
- A screenshot of the payment(s) on the payees online banking or bank statement. (All other transactions can be blanked out for privacy, as long as we can see the payments being reimbursed)
Top tip: Always ensure you obtain a receipt for any purchases you make. If one isn't provided automatically, please ask the shop/ restaurant for one!
THE PROCESS:
Invoices
You can also pay someone directly from your LSESU account by submitting an invoice. Request an invoice from the company you want us to pay, and just email it to either su.societies@lse.ac.uk or su.sport@lse.ac.uk.
We can pay invoices in a foreign currency, but please be aware that international transactions usually incur a fee, which will be charged to your club or society.
All invoices must:
- Be correctly addressed to LSE Students' Union, Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, 1 Sheffield Street, London, WC2A 2AP
- Include the suppliers details (name, address, e-mail)
- Have an invoice date
- Have an invoice number
- Include a VAT number (if applicable)
- Include details and dates of services
- Have a correct total on invoice
- Include the suppliers bank account details
If your invoice exceeds £10,000 please allow at least two weeks for this as this needs to be escalated to senior management.
If you have an invoice which has already been paid, please submit it alongside a payment request form and proof of payment, and the payee of the invoice will be reimbursed.
important things to remember...
- Club or Society money cannot be used to reimburse items or socials that are only for your committee or select members.
- Any spending on events should only happen once an event form has been approved. Unfortunately, we're unable to reimburse expenses for events that haven't yet been approved.
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We are unable to approve reimbursements of alcoholic spirits.
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Please don't spend more than £50 of your own money if planning to reclaim!
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Societies are not permitted to have external bank accounts.
TOP TIPS!
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If your expense is rejected at first, please check the 'notifications' tab on the eXpense365 app, as this will give the reason for the rejection, and advice on what to re-submit to ensure it's approved.
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You can check your most up-to-date balance on the eXpense365 app. Your society admin page on the SU website dashboard will say your society's balance is £0 - please ignore this and just trust the app!
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When submitting a claim, please specify which event it relates to, either in the email or on the form, so that we can easily match it to your event form.
Processing payments
To ensure your payment requests are processed, you’ll need to have the funds available in your group account, and have everything signed off by your Treasurer (or by your President if you are submitting a request as Treasurer of your group).
The SU aren't able to authorise claims which would take your group's balance below £0, so please ensure you have the money in your account to cover any costs. If you’re using ticketing income to cover the cost of an event, please ensure these are set up far enough in advance so that the income can be used for making payments.
Paying coaches or officials
All coaches and officials should be paid by invoice where possible. If is is not possible to invoice officials, you can either:
- Submit a payment request form alongside an Officials Payment Receipt to su.sport, or
- Submit an Officials Payment Receipt through the Expense 365 app.
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