How do I access the new Student Group Finance system?
Log in to ausa.org.uk and head over to the page for the activity you wish to interact with for banking. Once in the page look to the top right of the page and select the 'Edit' drop down. From here select 'ACTIVTY NAME Admin tools'. Scroll down until you see a widget named 'Finance Requests' and select it. This will direct you to the SGF page for your chose activity.
How do I raise an invoice using the new system?
Follow the steps within the guide below to see how to raise invoices payable to your activity.
How do I process reimbursements, payments to suppliers, and advance payments using the new system?
Follow the steps within the guide below to see how to process reimbursement, payments to suppliers, and advanced payments.
Why does the balance in my account not match our records?
At the current moment, we are struggling to retrieve all funds from the original Bank of Scotland accounts. We aim to close the Bank of Scotland accounts in the next few weeks and the money will then be added to your balance. We will update you as we go as to where we are in the process and when it’s complete. If after that point you still don’t believe your balance is right, please get in touch with activities@abdn.ac.uk and we will set up a meeting to sort.
How does a member send money into the account?
A committee member must raise an invoice, guide to do that can be found here. If the payment is repeated frequently (such as a competition fee, petrol, merch, or trip fees) a product can be set up on your Student Activity page and that can be requested via this form.
Timetable – how does the approval process work from start to payment?
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Level 0 – Student activity members - Make requests for reimbursements
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Level 1 – Committee members - Approval of Level 0 requests
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Level 2 – Activities Team - under £1000 - once approved goes directly to Level 4 for review and payment OR Over £1000 - goes to Level 3 for approval
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Level 3 – Activities Manager - Must approve anything over £1000. Once approved will go to Level 4 for payment
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Level 4 – Finance - Will review and pay/invoice as appropriate. Will refer to committee if required
If approval is cleared by Wednesday afternoon – you will make the Thursday payment run in the morning.
If you start the process on a Thursday, the earliest you will have it paid out is the following Thursday. We are looking at the option of having multiple days to issue payments in the future but this isn’t possible at this time
How does my membership money get paid to my activity account?
All membership monies will be transferred to the now SGF system.
Can we use collected cash?
If cash is collected at an event, you can complete a form from the Finance team that will allow you to drop the cash off and the deposit will be recorded.
How can my activity take payments for things like Tickets/Bake Sales/Fundraising/Spliting travel etc?
Right now the best option to tackle this is to set up 'products' linked with your activity so that people can pay directly to your activity. If you require help with setting up products such as bake sale items or fuel charge etc please complete the following form, found here, and the Activities Team will action this for you.
How can I set up a standing order or direct debit for my activity?
At the moment there is not a system that will allow for this. However, if you need to pay a specific sum over a period of time or example, £500 over 10 weeks, create a payment request for £500 and add to the notes that you wish to make a weekly payment of £50 for 10 weeks.
Can non-university students make purchases from Activity pages?
Non-uni students can make a guest account and can then purchase from the website. Some products can be made for members only on request.
What happens if I accidentally approve an income or payment request which I do not want to accept OR the request is no longer needed?
All approved requests will come to the Student Union for further approval to avoid any errors in finances. If you have a concern regarding something you have approved, look at the status and contact us accordingly:
Pending Payments (no longer required) - Urgently contact AUSA-Finance@abdn.ac.uk
Pending Activities/SMT approval - contact activities@abdn.ac.uk
Can only UK cards be used to make payments on the website?
This was a problem last year, so payment methods were switched so that Google and Apple Pay can be used.
Can we keep cash and just spend it?
Money needs to go into the SGF system so that we can keep track of your Activity’s money accurately. Why is this important?
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Helps the SU get a bigger picture idea as to what Student Activities are spending their money on. By coding your spending, we are able to run reports and understand how much is being spent in total on things like transport. This allows us to better apply for grants and find better ways to support you to fund these aspects.
How can we access previous statements?
We are trying to pull this information during the closing of the old accounts. It is time consuming, however, and thus needs to be deprioritised to make room for other work with SGF.
Will payments be available over the summer?
The only time the SU is closed is for two weeks at Christmas. Otherwise, we’ll continue processing payments year-round.
Why haven't AUSA Finance emails been answered?
Someone is actively working to clear the inbox as quickly as possible. This is a priority. Going forward, please send future inquiries to activities@abdn.ac.uk.
STILL NEED HELP??
If after seeking support you still have a problem, escalate your issue here and we will respond promptly and do our best to get this prioritised and sorted fast