1 Transactions within Woodcraft Folk
Woodcraft Folk is one organisation so we need to be able to identify transactions that occur between one part of the organisation and another so that we can cancel them out in the annual audited accounts. So when you have transactions between different parts of Woodcraft Folk, please make sure that you record them under the right category. The names of these categories include “WF” (eg “WF insurance” or “WF internal income”). Please see “Annex: what goes where on the Income & Expenditure Sheet” for more information.
2 Restricted funds
Restricted funds are funds which were granted/given on condition that they be spent on something specific.
If you receive restricted income, it's normally in the form of a grant awarded on condition that it be spent on a specific purpose. However, you might sometimes receive a donation that should be treated as restricted. A donation should NOT be treated as restricted UNLESS you answer 'yes' to one of these questions:
NB: to avoid donations being restricted, ask for donations to be given for "Woodcraft's charitable purposes". If you set out examples of what donations may be spent on, that does NOT make the donations restricted.
We have to be clear on the Income & Expenditure Sheet what items are restricted (NB: so that Folk Office can track restricted funds there are two columns on the Mid-year and Year-end Financial Returns - one for restricted funds and one for unrestricted funds).
When you are entering items on the Income & Expenditure Sheet, you might find it helpful to highlight the restricted items in a colour, so you can pick them out when producing the Year-end Financial Returns.
3 Transactions in the “wrong year”
There are roughly two ways of keeping financial records: ‘cash accounting’ and ‘accruals accounting’. ‘Cash accounting’ means recording what comes in and out during the year 1st Jan to 31st December. ‘Accruals accounting’ means recording what comes in/out but then making adjustments for items that relate to that year but might have been paid the previous or following year.
We ask you to do cash accounting but also to ensure that as many transactions as possible are recorded in the financial records for the year to which they relate.
If you have a transaction which takes place in your current financial year (ie. 01 Jan to 31 Dec of the year of Income & Expenditure Sheet) but relates to a different financial year, please record it in your Income & Expenditure Sheet but make a note that it relates to another year (eg. you could write something in the ‘Description’ column or highlight the transaction in a different colour). When you/your District comes to complete its Year-end Financial Return, please write an explanatory note next to this transaction on the Return so that Folk Office can make the necessary adjustments in the national audited accounts (your District’s financial records will remain unaffected. We don’t need to know about any transactions under £100.
For example if you paid £500 in December 2018 for a summer camp in 2019 and in January 2018 you paid £400 rent for the 2017 autumn term, please mark those transactions in your Income & Expenditure Sheet and make sure that when you/your District comes to complete the Year-end Financial Return, there is a note against these transactions.
4 Following on from the previous year
Your opening balance for 1st January each year must follow on from the closing balance at 31st December of the previous year (as shown on your Year-end Financial Return).
In particular if you had uncleared bank transactions at the end of the previous year (eg. cheques that hadn’t cleared), your opening balance will be the 31st December bank balance as adjusted for the uncleared transactions, not the bank statement balance at 31st December. If you are at all unclear about your opening balance, please ask.