Mental Health Self-Help Group Grant

Mental Health Self-Help Group Grant ~

A Guide to Keeping Accounts

CRCC recognises that self-help group members are not always knowledgeable about how to keep a record of what money the group receives and what it is spent on. However, funders often ask for evidence of what grant spend. So it’s important that groups understand why they need to keep accounts and how to do this. This guide aims to explain what information CRCC needs from groups who receive the Mental Health Self-Help Group Grant (MHSHG).

Why do you need to keep accounts?

The MHSHG is a pot of money administered by us on behalf of NHS Kernow. This means that the funds are ‘public money’, money that generally comes from the taxes that people pay, some of which is allocated to the NHS for the purpose of wellbeing grants.

At any time, the NHS can ask us to show how the grant is being spent by groups and we need to prove that we are doing a good job of making sure the money goes to the right people and is being spent on things that the grant was intended for. The only way we can prove what the grant is being spent on is for groups to keep accounts that detail what money has been spent and what they have spent it on. We then ask for a copy of these accounts with your feedback report. You will have signed to say that you agree to complete a feedback report and to send in all receipts when you filled in your grant application form.

No matter how new or how small your group is, you will need to be ‘financially accountable’ to your members and any funders or donors. Being financially accountable means being able to show:

• that all transactions (money/funds coming in and going out) are recorded. Members, donors and funders are entitled to know how much money has been raised, how much has been spent, and what it has been spent on.
• that all payments or funds going out are ‘authorised’ (or agreed by members)
• all necessary financial information is available and nothing goes astray.

What information do we need from you?

• Details of what the money was spent on:
• cost of items - such as tea or coffee or books
• activity costs – such as tickets, refreshments, travel to group outings
• the date that these things were paid for
• Receipts or invoices that match your listed items or activities
• receipts must be whole, i.e. not torn
• Bank statements that show cheque, card or cash withdrawal

Helpful tips

Who should do our accounts?

Ideally, a group should have a ‘treasurer’, someone who has some experience of keeping accounts or who is good at maths! You might want to have a back-up person who can take over if your treasurer becomes unwell for a long period. The group should choose someone to act as treasurer and it should be someone you all trust to look after your money.

Ask your group to also keep any receipts or invoices they collect when spending any money in relation to the group.

How do we record our group’s income and spend?

Why not use the accounts sheet provided by us? This will ensure you give us all the information we need.You might prefer to buy a purchase ledger, which you can buy from any stationers, or a large notebook. If you have a computer, you might find it easier to keep track of your accounts this way instead. As long as you give us the information we need, it’s up to you how you make a note of your accounts.

How do we make payments?

Every payment must have paper evidence to support it e.g. an invoice or receipt.

The group must write on the invoice the cheque number, date of the cheque, the amount and who signed the cheque. The cheque stub should have the date, who was paid, what is was for and the amount.

Petty cash - cash should only be paid in exchange for a receipt or an expense claim form (no exceptions! No receipt - no refund) and all items must be for the group’s work.

How often should we do our accounts?

We recommend that you do your accounts at least once a month so that you can remember what you did and make sure you’ve got all the relevant receipts but you can do them more regularly if you prefer. You might find it easier to make a note every time you spend anything.

How do we set a budget?

It’s a good idea to discuss with your group how much grant you were awarded and, between you, have a rough plan of what the money needs to be used for. If you have a large group, it might be helpful to have a committee – a few members who are happy to help with setting a budget and making decisions about money – and they can also help the treasurer with looking after the accounts. Make a list of essential items, e.g. room hire and refreshments, and then make a list of non-essential things you would all like to do with the rest of the money, like group outings or a Christmas meal. You can use our Budget Planner to help you do this.

You might want to check up on how well you are sticking to your budget on a regular basis, e.g. once every three months, so that you don’t run out of money. Bank statements are a good way of checking this. You could review your accounts with your group from time to time. This is also an opportunity to see if any other group members need any costs reimbursing, e.g. if the group has gone on an outing and someone used their own money to pay for their entry ticket. If people need travel expenses for group outings paid, why not use our Expense Claim Form to help record this? Ask your group to set a mileage rate for petrol claims, e.g. 30p per mile or 45p per mile.

How do we store receipts, invoices and bank statements?

Buy a petty cash tin. Not only can you keep everyday cash that you might need in it, e.g. for tea and coffee, but you can also store receipts or invoices in it. It needs to be lockable to keep your cash safe. If you have a lot of receipts, you might want to also buy a box folder to keep them in and then just use your petty cash tin as a temporary place to store receipts until you do your monthly accounts. You can also use your box folder to store bank statements, which are useful to help keep track of what you’re spending too.

Mental Health Self-Help Group Grant – REPORTING CHECKLIST

If you are a new group, we will have offered you £300 of the total grant you applied for as a start-up fund to help you get going. We will expect you to complete a progress report questionnaireafter 3 months to tell us how your group is goingand what you’ve spent your grant money on so far (Accounts). The progress report questionnaire should be included with your acceptance letter but if it is not, please give us a call. We will also need copies of all receipts, invoices, bank statement and other paper evidence of the group’s spend. These will all be checked by the Grant Manager and then, if all seems ok, your report will be put before the grant panel to request the remaining grant money. You will also need to complete another progress report questionnaire after 12 months.

If you are an existing group that has been running for 6 months or longer, you will be asked to complete a progress report questionnaire6 months after you receive your grant to tell us how your group is going and what you’ve spent your grant money on so far (your group Accounts).We will send you a progress questionnaire when it is due. You will also need to complete another progress report questionnaire after 12 months.

If we are not satisfied that a group has given us sufficient evidence of the grant spend, we reserve the right to ask for some or all of the grant money to be returned and you will not be eligible to apply for a grant from us again. If you have any concerns about your group’s Accounts, please call us as soon as possible and we will do all we can to help.

Please use the following checklist to ensure you are sending us everything we need when we ask you to send us a report:

□Progress report

□Accounts – to include: date of spend/income, what was paid for, amount

□Paper evidence of spend: receipts, invoices, expense claim forms, etc.

□Bank statements for the account where the grant money is held

Please ensure receipts, etc, match what is written on your Accounts sheet. If you need original copies to be returned, please let us know.

Please return the above to:

Grants

CRCC

2 Princes Street

Truro

TR1 2ES

or email to:

If you have any questions, please call on 01872 243532