Looking after your group’s money
Making sure your group takes good care of its money is the responsibility of your whole committee, or, if you are a very small group, your whole group. All your members have a right to know what happens to the money.
This section contains information to help you understand your responsibilities and how to put simple systems in place to help things run smoothly. You can also scroll down to find a link to our free downloadable accounts systems.
Bank accounts for community groups
Information for community groups about choosing a bank and opening an account.
Charity reporting and accounts
This guide summarises the requirement for charities to produce accounts, reports and returns each year.
Examination of accounts
Getting your group’s accounts independently examined: what it means, why you might want to do it, and how to go about it.
Financial rules
Financial rules are your community group’s agreements about how it will look after its money. As well as helping your group to function better, financial rules show funders and other bodies that your group is looking after its money well.
Free accounts systems to download
Two easy to use Excel accounts systems which you can download for free.
How much money do we have?
This sheet is designed as a template for treasurers of groups to use – for example, to give finance reports at meetings. We suggest you download the pdf version from this page (click on the pdf icon to the right) for a well-formatted version of the form that is easy to fill in.
Independent examinations of accounts at the Resource Centre
The Resource Centre conducts free independent accounts examinations for some groups.
Managing funds for short-lived crisis-response groups
How to manage your money if your group has been set up quickly to respond to the Covid-19 crisis
Managing money at an event
Tips to help keep track of your group’s cash when you’re running an event or stall
Quick tasks for treasurers during the Covid-19 pandemic
We know that some small groups are finding it hard to keep up with their accounts at the moment: keeping the books may be low on the list of priorities when you’re adapting to meet the changing needs of your members and you may not be able to follow your group’s normal finance rules when you’re unable to meet each other in person.
Treasurer's role
A step-by-step guide on how to be the treasurer for a community group. Includes basic principles of managing money, keeping track of cash and bank accounts, and sharing information with the rest of your group.
Your group's money
Information and tips to help your whole committee take responsibility for looking after your group’s money.
These books are available at the Resource Centre, to borrow or to use in the Centre.
- A practical guide to charity accounting: Preparing Charity SORP accounts
- A practical guide to financial management for charities and voluntary organisations
- Applying for your project overheads: guidance for Big Lottery Fund applicants
- Charity commission information booklets on charity accounting
- Community Matters: Reference Manual for Community Organisations Advisers
- Community Money Matters
- Full cost recovery: a guide and toolkit on cost allocation
- Introductory pack on funding and finance: Guide to financial management
- Introductory pack on funding and finance: Guide to sustainable funding
- Introductory pack on funding and finance: Guide to trading
- Simply Finance: A comprehensive guide to the different options for financing a community enterprise
- SORP made simple
- The Charity Treasurer's Handbook
- The treasurer's handbook - a guide for small voluntary organisations
- VAT made simple
The services listed below are not provided by the Resource Centre. These are websites and services we feel are particularly useful for small groups in Brighton & Hove, and which are not easy to find by searching the internet.
Notes:
Independent examinations for charities (with income below £1 million). Consultancy, Quickbooks training and help setting up financial systems. Please note that these services are not suitable for CICs.