As a CSP officer or member, you may sometimes need to pay for things with your own money and then be reimbursed by the Union from your group's account. Before you make any purchases however you must check that the chair or treasurer of your CSP has approved the purchase and that your group has enough funds. Furthermore, if this is for an event, you will need to check if the event was fully approved by the Union. The Union has the right to stop reimbursments for unapproved activities. If your group does not have enough funds, we cannot process the claim and individual students may be left out of pocket.
Amounts of £200 or more should be paid via a Purchase Order or Credit Card Request wherever possible.
Please be aware that you may not purchase alcohol at events and claim this back as this does not constitute an activity or expense that is core to the fundamental aims & objectives of any CSP within Imperial College Union. This expense does also not equally benefit all members.
After you have made the payment, to get reimbursed you will need to submit a claim through eActivities.
All correct and approved claims must be in by Wednesday 12:00pm to get processed, and payment will be received the following Monday.
How to register your bank details
Before you make a claim, you must register your UK bank account details for the claim to be paid into. To do this go to https://eactivities.union.ic.ac.uk/details and select the Bank Details tab. You will need to enter the account number, sort code and name on the account and give the account a memorable name.
Be careful when entering your bank details - the most common problem with Claims is bank details being entered incorrectly
How to submit your claim
When entering your claim, you should first check the committee is correct and that your bank details are showing. Next, enter the total claim amount, remember you can group multiple receipts into the same claim but the minimum amount a claim can be is £5.
The notes box is used to record additional information about the claim, you should enter a brief description of what is being claimed. Additionally, if you are claiming less than the total value of the receipts, please provide a clear explanation.
Committed claims cannot be edited once submitted but they can be cancelled.
Approval should not take more than 5 working days between authorisations. Please check your claim details to see who you are waiting on authorisation from if you experience delay.
Once a claim has been fully approved, it is reviewed by the Finance Team before being sent for payment - the Finance Team may hold claims if they believe the evidence is insufficient or to request further information.
Claims placed on hold by the Finance Department for which no response has been received from the claimant, or for which the required documentation has not been provided, may be cancelled after 30 days.
Please do not raise another claim if your claim is being held - contact icu.finance@imperial.ac.uk.
After your claim has been sent for payment, you should receive an email confirmation and the money will be paid directly into your bank within 3-5 working days.
What types of evidence are valid?
Evidence for claims should usually show two things:
- Proof of purchase - what was bought and from where.
- Proof of payment - how much was paid and how it was paid.
The following documents constitute evidence to support a claim:
Receipts | For payments of less than £250, till receipts are usually sufficient evidence but they need to show in detail what has been purchased. Full details of the requirements for different types of receipts are given on the Suitable VAT evidence page. For purchases of £250 or over, you will be expected to provide a VAT invoice addressed to the Union.. Please ensure that the receipts you provide are printed and not handwritten, the Union will only accept handwritten receipts in exceptional circumstances. |
Other purchase documentation: | Other documents which describe the expenditure clearly. If these documents do not meet the requirements for VAT then VAT cannot be reclaimed. Examples could be purchase confirmation emails. |
Bank or credit card statements | These can be used as proof of payment. It will support other forms of evidence where it is not clear from those documents who made the purchase or that the payment has been made. |
Receipts not in GBP (£) | Evidence for expenditure not made in sterling should be accompanied with a copy of the bank statement entry showing the exchange rate. If this is not available, the exchange rate on the date of purchase should be included in the notes. |
No documents | In rare circumstances you may not be able to provide any of the above documents to support your claim, in this case please contact the Deputy President (Finance & Services). |
Union's Claims Procedures
- Claim forms are for use by Club, Society or Project members to claim back personal money spent on behalf of Club, Society or Project.
- Claim forms must be submitted using the eActivities online system by all full members of the union. A paper form will be provided for associate members unable to access eActivities.
- Claimants are required to provide evidence for their expenditure. The acceptable forms of evidence are listed on the Suitable VAT evidence page.
- Claims are authorised as per the Authorisation Limits listed in the finance training manuals.
- Those approving a claim should thoroughly check the evidence and VAT details before approving. Claims approved without sufficient evidence should be investigated by the Deputy President (Finance & Services).
- Approved claims should be paid by BACS by the Finance Department within five College days.
- Any claims that are considered erroneous by the Finance Department will be placed on hold and the claimant contacted to resolve the issue. Suspected fraudulent claims will investigated by the Deputy President (Finance & Services).
- Claims can be subject to cancelation if proper documentation is missing or if it does not support core aims & objectives.
- Please check the Union Webpage for Non-Imperial Claim Form Committee Toolkit | Imperial College Union.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I include multiple purchases in the same claim?
A: Yes, you can claim for multiple purchases at the same time from the same CSP - but please try not to submit more than 10 receipts in the same Claim.
Q: What is the minimum amount I can claim for?
A: The minimum claim amount is currently £5.
Q: Is there a maximum amount I can claim for?
A: There is not an enforced maximum, but amounts over £200 should be paid by purchase order or credit card wherever possible. Large claims are subject to more checks than smaller ones which can lead to a delay in paying them.
Q: Do I need a UK bank account?
A: Yes, we can only reimburse funds to UK bank accounts.
Q: What happens if I can't get a VAT receipt or VAT invoice?
A: Please mention in the Notes box that you have tried to get this but have not been able to.
Q: Why is my claim being held?
A: Claim has incorrect or missing documentation and needs further actioning from claimant. Please send any additonal documentation to icu.finance@imperial.ac.uk.
Q: My claim is showing as cancelled?
A: If a claim was being put on hold but no new documentation or correspondence has been received from the claimant, the claim will be automatically cancelled after 30 days.
Q: How can I get an Amazon VAT invoice?
A: Please read through the Amazon VAT evidence article
