Keeping a student union's books without giving up your evenings
Receipts, expense claims, budget, bank reconciliation, closing the books: good practice for the treasurer of a student association in France.
The treasurer of a student union (BDE) often handles more money than any other student on campus: membership fees, gala ticketing, sponsors, the school's grant. And they do it alongside their classes, for a one-year term. The rules below are not there for show: they are the ones that prevent the unexplained hole at the end of the year and the impossible handover.
One account, and only one
Everything that comes in and everything that goes out passes through the association's bank account. Never through a member's personal account, not even "just to cover" a payment. A transfer that passes through a private account can no longer be justified six months later, and it is the first thing an audit or a school will look at.
Keep cash to a minimum too. A cash box at a party is sometimes unavoidable; count it with a second person, write down the amount, and pay it into the bank quickly.
A document for every line
Every bank movement must be traceable to a receipt: an invoice, a till receipt, a contract, a membership fee receipt. The simplest rule: no receipt, no refund.
For expenses paid up front by a member, use an expense claim: who paid, what for, why, with the receipt attached, approved by someone other than the person being refunded. This principle of separation — the one who decides is not the one who pays, the one who spends is not the one who approves — protects the treasurer as much as the association.
Keep these documents for several years after the financial year is closed. Ten years is a prudent rule, and it is all the easier if they are scanned as you go rather than tracked down at the end of the year.
A budget that is voted, then monitored
At the start of the term, build a forecast budget: the main sources of income (membership fees, ticketing, sponsors, grant) and the main expenses (events, equipment, insurance, bank charges). Have it approved by the board or the general meeting, depending on your bylaws.
Then compare actual figures with the forecast regularly, item by item. The point is not to match it to the cent: it is to see in November that the welcome weekend (WEI) cost 30% more than planned, and not in June.
Reconcile the bank every month
Once a month, check that each line on the bank statement matches an entry in your records, and the other way round. This bank reconciliation is the most neglected task and the most useful one: a cheque that was never cashed, a forgotten direct debit, a duplicate transfer are spotted in ten minutes when you keep to it, and in ten hours at the end of the year.
What level of accounting?
French law does not require double-entry accounting of every association. For most student associations, well-kept cash-basis accounting (income and expenses, sorted by category, with their supporting documents) is enough. The obligations become stricter in some cases — in particular above certain amounts of public grants or donations, or where there is a commercial activity —: the association must then draw up annual accounts in line with the French chart of accounts for associations.
Ask your school as well: many require accounts presented in a certain way before paying or renewing a grant.
Closing the books and reporting
At the end of the financial year, the treasurer presents the accounts to the general meeting, which approves them. Prepare:
- the income statement (what was earned and spent over the year, by category);
- the cash position (what is in the account and in the cash box);
- the gap against the voted budget, explained in a few lines.
This is also the file on which the handover is based: the next treasurer inherits figures they understand.
What toGaether automates
In toGaether, the association's finances follow these principles by design: expense claims are submitted with their receipt and approved by another member, income from HelloAsso ticketing and from membership fees arrives already categorised, the budget is compared with actual figures, and the FEC export provides a standard accounting file (the FEC, the accounting entries file format used in France) to whoever needs it. The history stays attached to the association from one term to the next.
Read next: applying to your school for a grant.
This article gives general guidance; it does not replace the advice of a chartered accountant for a specific situation.
