Club Budget Management

Track all club expenses in a timely and accurate fashion to manage your budget and make decisions. Most clubs will have inherited their predecessors tracking system. We encourage clubs to adjust as needed or make a new tracker entirely and make the tracker work for them.

• Create an ongoing expense tracker such as in Google Doc, and make sure board members enter expenses as they make them.
• Tie these expenses to projected budgets to ensure they are in line.
• Encourage club verticals to track their own expenses compared to projected budgets.
• The Office of Student Engagement provides monthly Club Budget Reports, however the revenue is on a one-month-lag leading to a delay in reporting. Reconcile carefully to take into account anticipated expenses that do not yet appear on the Club Budget Report.

Suggested information to include in an expense tracker:

• Name
• Vertical
• Date of the charge
• Related event or program
• Type of event or program (Conference? Alumni event? Pitch Competition?)
• Type of purchase (Food? Alcohol? Gift?)
• When reimbursement forms where submitted
• When they are ultimately reimbursed.

Clubs receive a monthly Club Budget Report detailing balances and a list of transactions are maintained by Office of Student Engagement and sent to your VP of Finance on a monthly basis. Clubs should be keeping their own set of records, and the statements from Office of Student Engagement should be used to verify what has cleared and to note any discrepancies. Speak to your board or the Office of Student Engagement promptly to resolve any unexplained entries.

In particular, clubs should keep a close eye on the net amount indicated on the Overview sheet. This is the club account's Year-to-Date balance. Note that there is a one month lag on revenue deposits from event sales, so revenue made in January will be shown on the February club budget report, and so on. Note this when reconciling your Club Budget Reports. You can also anticipate the next month's deposit using the Yearly PayPal Tracker, or reference the revenue as they are incurred through CampusGroups. Note there is a 3% processing fee for CampusGroups revenue. Due to the lag, reports alone can not be relied on for up-to-date account balance information due to the one month lag.

If you would like to add another officer to the monthly distribution list, please email us at money@stern.nyu.edu with your request. Please include the name of your club, the new officer(s)'s name, and email address.

Clubs are responsible for working with the incoming and previous boards to establish a balanced Annual Budget, where all club expenses are fully covered by revenue the club will bring in. Work with the previous board to review the previous year’s original budget, revenue streams, forecasted expected revenue, spending by specific event and vertical, the upcoming year's priorities, and the club charter and missions statement. Determine which activities and events the club will carry on to the upcoming year based on performance and feedback from the previous year.

• Preliminary Club Budget due during Pass the Torch using their Pass the Torch Brightspace page.
• Final Club Budget due at the start of the fall semester using their Pass the Torch Brightspace page.

Budgets must fulfill the below criteria:

• Budgets cannot exceed the board spending guidelines: 2% of budget or $75.00 per person.
• Budgets must base the anticipated corporate sponsorship off the sponsorship amounts received in the previous year.
• Budgets must indicate a portion of the budget for Langone-friendly events, held at Langone-friendly times and marketed to Langone students, to ensure part-time students are afforded the opportunity to attend club events. Please indicate which events are open to Langone students.
• Clubs should only anticipate spending what the club is able to bring in in revenue within the same year.

Club Revenue and Expenses

Club revenue is made up primarily of club membership fees and ticket sales. Additional sources of revenue may include sponsorships, if received, WGCF, if granted, and rollover amounts from previous years. Rollover maximums are determined each year based on the club performance and overall budget pool. Sponsorship amounts received between late-March to August may be eligible for rollover if unused due to time constraints related to the end of the school year. Club expenses cannot exceed total club revenue in your Annual Club Budget forecast.

You can use the historical data below that OSE has collected on club spending by Club Category and Type of Event. Ranges are broken up by percentile. The 50th percentile represents the the median amount spent per event with the 25th and 75th percentile representing the boundaries of the middle 50%.

Final club budgets must be approved by the Office of Student Engagement. Clubs will be notified via email when their budget is approved. Approved budgets are required in order to submit reimbursement requests or process any event contracts and purchase orders.

Twice a year, the Office of Student Engagement will request spending reports from your club. These reports outline how each club is spending its money. Template examples will be sent for reference on how to prepare them. These reports are also required to be sent to all active club members as a way to show club activity and spending. Transparency is important and shows members what the club has done in the past and what the board has planned throughout the semester.

• Fall Semester: Spring Spending Report (February - August )
• Spring Semester: Fall Spending Report (September - January)

Please reach out to money@stern.nyu.edu if you have any questions.

Club Seamless Accounts are optional accounts set up for clubs to pay for Seamless orders directly from their club accounts. Each club can designate a maximum of 2 Seamless representatives who will make the order on the club's behalf. Club Seamless Accounts are only active between September 1st and May 31st, following the academic year. Note that the club seamless account is NOT a line of credit, but a charge that will hit your club account directly.

Check out the Seamless FAQ page for additional information.

All donations must be processed as a purchase order via NYU Procurement. Clubs can only donate funding that was fundraised specifically for donation.

Email money@stern to start the donation process. If the organization needs to be onboarded to the iBuy system as a supplier, please provide the following information:

• Legal Business Name of the Supplier (not just a d/b/a)
• Contact's First Name and Last Name
• Contact's Email Address
• Contact's Phone Number

To process the donation, the club will need to provide a memo indicating the fundraising event, date, and amount to donate & an invoice from the organization.

The Alumni Relations team offers reimbursement for funding for events engaging alumni if the event fulfills specific requirements. Review the procedure guide for further information.

In the event your club collects cash for an event, funds can be brought to the Office of Student Engagement for deposit into your club account. OSE will retain records of the deposit with the Bursar's office and a receipt copy can be requested from money@stern.nyu.edu. Deposits will be reflected as Revenue on the following month's club budget report.

If depositing a check, please ensure it is made payable to "New York University," not your club directly.

All deposits must be submitted in person to the Office of Student Engagement during regular business hours (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm). Please contact the team with any questions.