As the Verfasste Studierendenschaft (VS), we represent the interests of the students with our political mandate. Therefore, even if we personally consider many things to be meaningful and important, we cannot support everything. It must be compatible with the legal basis of the VS (in particular the organizational statutes, the financial regulations and the hospitality guidelines) .
General information:
- Events can only be financed if funds have been set aside for them in the budget plan and the specific implementation has been decided
- Expenditure from 200 euros should be discussed in advance with the finance department.
- use the billing form = for billing> forms
- all original receipts and, if applicable, proof of payment must always be submitted
- there is a leaflet with information for those responsible for finance => forms
There are tried-and-tested procedures for more frequently recurring processes, for which you can find brief information here. (Detailed information: especially in the financial manual )
=> Information on how to set up budget plans can be found on the budget page.
You can overspend on a small scale, but only if you can cover them with other items in your budget plan. An example: you still have money left over in the post for the initial introduction, which you will not spend in the foreseeable future, but you would need a new coffee machine and more waffle irons, but you have not earmarked any money for them. In that case, you decide that you will overdraw the item for other acquisitions (item 513) and cover it with the excess funds from the initial introduction (item 721). It is enough if you record this in the resolution (“Item X has been used up, so it should be covered by item Y because it will no longer be used up because of …”) and then the correct item on the statement (i.e.: other Acquisitions 513) indicated.
If you redistribute funds on a larger scale, you should decide on a new budget plan, for larger sums you have to do it anyway – otherwise you will lose track of too many overdrafts. In case of doubt, the finance department always decides when you have to decide on a new budget plan (” supplementary budget “) – so please ask beforehand. However, you do not need a supplementary budget for overdrafts of less than 100 euros.
- Restricted reserves => #14 below
You cannot spend money without a decision , mentioning a planned expense in the budget plan is not enough! Just because there is an item for “first introductions” in their budget plan, a FS cannot simply bill for a first introduction – or the doctoral convention can print flyers because there is a budget item for printing costs. However, the resolution alone is not enough either: a department cannot, for example, simply decide to travel to a networking meeting if there are no budget items for the corresponding costs.
However, the responsible decision-making bodies can decide that the funds provided for in the budget or budget plan are used for measures. For this reason, the corresponding budget item is also indicated in the case of financial decisions. A justification is also indispensable, in which it is explained why an output makes sense and falls within the remit of the VS.
Please also remember that you need a vote result for each resolution (“accepted unanimously” “accepted with two abstentions” or simply “4-1-0 / yes-no abstentions”).
Resolutions can also be changed , for example because costs are higher than expected because more freshmen attended a breakfast. All you have to do is write an appropriate justification and make a decision to change it – if necessary, also retrospectively. Since you have to make decisions before the event, it is clear that you need a change decision every now and then for current adjustments.
- The resolution (usually in the form of an extract from the minutes) must be included with the accounts
- There is a resolution form for departments/committees
For the approval of budget plans , you must enclose a protocol signed by the majority of the student council with the resolution of the budget plan. This also applies to changes during the year .
For billing, we require the original signature of a financial officer on the bottom right of the billing form – that’s why we only accept the billing sheet in the original on paper and not as a scan.
The undersigned testify with their signature that all information and attached documents are correct. FSR protocols that are attached to the accounts do not therefore have to be signed, since the financial officers are authorized by their student councils. Resolutions of the department must also be signed. Allowed to sign statements:
- for student councils : a person responsible for finances of the respective FS
- the financial officers of the FSen can also insist that the person who submits the statement/receives the money also signs (left side of the form)
- at the doctoral convention : a financial officer of the doctoral convention
- for presentations : one speaker
- in addition, a signed decision by the department must be attached => so no. 4 resolutions
- in the case of accounts from groups that are financially supported by a department, the department can insist that a member of the group also signs on the left as the applicant
- in the case of Refkonf, StuRa and executive committee decisions : a chairperson of the VS or a member of the executive committee
- In the case of accounts from groups for which the StuRa has decided to provide financial support, one member of the group must sign;
- for VS committees and commissions : one member of the committee/commission
- a signed decision of the committee/commission must also be attached
- there are separate regulations for decisions by the Hardship Commission
- and if you miss something here or something is unclear, get in touch…
If you want to organize a larger event, for example a larger celebration or party, a freshmen’s weekend or a series of lectures etc., you have to decide on a list of what you are going to do and approximately how much you want to spend on it . If you have any income from the event, this must also be included in the list.
You don’t have to list every type of jam at the first breakfast, but make a plausible estimate of what you are planning, what you want to spend on food, work materials, printing costs, rent, etc. – if you have any, please refer to experiences from previous events. Just deciding “800 euros for the first week” is too vague. Please note that if you spend more than 500 euros gross, you must obtain comparable offers!
- Information on GEMA under No. 12 below
- Information on advances under number 13 below
- Information on contracts under No. 11 below you will also find information on comparative offers
- => Deposit Information
- => Information on catering (there you will also find information on purchasing on account)
- for very large projects – such as federal student council conferences or completely new equipment of rooms – you can submit financial applications to the StuRa on the dates for projects by student groups. => Information at the information for groups . When it comes to smaller sums, you could also use the remaining funds from a year as an earmarked reserve (=> No. 14 below) into the next year.
Student councils can account for orientation events (e.g. first-time introductory courses or events about professional fields). The supplementary form for orientation events can be used in addition to the normal accounting form. For larger events, you must create an overall overview of the expected costs and income.
Freshers’ bags with information about the course and extras such as dextrose or pencils are a good thing at the beginning of your studies. With the logo of the student council, they also draw attention to the student body throughout the semester. However, it is not the task of the VS to stimulate the local economy with shopping vouchers or to spend a large part of the budget on filling the bags. So if stores give you coupons, you can put them in the bags, but you can’t buy extra coupons for them or give away office supplies to freshmen in bulk. On request, however, you can get freebies in many shops or at institutions such as the Stadttheater.
If you buy cloth bags for freshmen and want to print them yourself, you can do this in the StuRa office with the screen printing machine.
Freshers’ weekends should be calculated in such a way that the participants pay their own contribution, which should be calculated in such a way that the VS subsidizes around €10 per person per day. The amount of the personal contribution must be listed in the resolution for the event (“for the first weekend, a personal contribution of X euros per person will be charged”). Personal contributions should be paid cashless if possible and must be paid into the account of the VS – please clarify the exact procedure beforehand away.
If there are high costs for holding an event (and payment on account is not possible), you can get an advance . Under no circumstances can you use cash contributions to buy food for the first weekend, for example. For larger events you have to do a total calculation beforehand.
- Model resolution for a freshman weekend (FS history)
- Information on major events => #6 above
- Information on advances => #13 below
- Information on contracts under No. 11 below you will also find information on comparative offers
- Accommodation information => #8 below
- => Notes on catering – there you will also find information on purchasing on account
- => Information on deposits of personal contributions
If you rent accommodation and conclude a contract, the contract must be signed by the chairpersons of the VS. The VS has a youth hostel card that you can use to book youth hostels. You can get the card from ausleihe@stura.uni-heidelberg.de . There is an overview in the StuRa-Wiki about some huts in the Heidelberg area (with information about the equipment), contact the finance team if you want the access data.
- Sample: Accommodation comparison offers
- Info on contracts => #11 below
- => travel and transport costs
Student councils can hold celebrations at the end of the year as networking or cultural events – as long as these celebrations are not organized for the sake of consumption, but serve as an opportunity for discussion and exchange among each other. (Anything else would be a consumption-oriented and possibly taxable party.)
Student councils and departments can hold lectures in their area of responsibility. It should be clarified in good time before the planned date of the lecture which costs will be incurred and can be covered (travel expenses, fees, accommodation costs, hospitality). If the speaker is a member of the university (this even applies to honorary professors and honorary senators, etc.), no fee can be paid. From a fee of 200 euros, a separate justification of the suitability of the speaker must be submitted. From 500 euros, three comparative offers must be obtained!
We expect the presenters to issue invoices. Private individuals who do not run a small business or the like can also issue invoices. They must note on the invoice that it is a private sale and do not show any sales tax. Submit this invoice together with the settlement form, the fee will then be transferred by VS. Please invoice travel expenses and fees separately.
- Invoice as PDF and as docx as a template for a formally correct invoice.
In principle, the VS is represented externally by the two chairpersons, which means: student councils or departments cannot act independently in legal transactions . This also and especially applies to the conclusion of contracts. Student councils can conclude a small purchase contract with the bakery themselves in order to remain able to work. However, for larger contracts such as rental contracts for a hut or a location for another event, the contract must be signed by the chairperson.
Procedure: The organizers clarify the contractual modalities. For costs of €500 or more, three further comparative offers must be obtained. For long-term contracts, the costs of two years must be included (even if the contract is shorter). The responsible committees then decide on the conclusion of the contract and send the contract and the minutes of the decision and, if applicable, comparative offers to finanzen [ät] stura.uni-heidelberg.de and in the CC to vorsitz [ät] stura.uni-heidelberg.de. If the finance team agrees, the contract can be signed by the chairmen.
If a deposit is requested, please submit a completed deposit statement form at the same time, then the deposit will be transferred by VS once the contract is signed (no one needs to advance deposit privately!).
Please also read the information below before contacting us about contracts:
You have to pay GEMA fees for using music at public events. The VS is a member of the fzs. der fzs eV has concluded an overall contract with GEMA for its members. With this you can claim a discount of 20% – you have to make use of it for reasons of economy and eAlso report to GEMA before the event. There are forms on the GEMA website that you can fill out online. Enter the contract number of the fzs as customer/member number – contact the finance department if you need it!
Subdivisions of the VS such as student councils or departments can apply for advance payments, e.g. for change at events or to avoid having to advance larger amounts for purchases privately. This is how it works:
1. Planning and calculation
First, consider whether an advance payment is necessary at all. It is often possible for authorities (VS is an authority) to pay on account without anyone having to pay in advance. If an advance payment is unavoidable, create a valid and differentiated calculation of what you need money for – experience from past events is helpful here.
2. Decision and request for advance payment
In addition to the financial decision (with the justification for the issue itself), the minutes of the decision must also contain the decision that an advance payment should be made and to whom it should be transferred (including bank details!). If possible one month, but at least two weeks before you want to spend the money, you have to submit the fully completed advance payment application to us.
3. Advance Settlement
Please settle the advance directly after the event. If you had to spend more money than you received, we will transfer this money to you after receiving the statement. If you haven’t used up the advance, you have to pay in the rest – separately from any income. Attention with change advances: these must be paid in full and separately from the income.
- advance request
- advance settlement form
- You can find information on purchasing on account at the => catering info
- => Deposits
Student councils or the Doctoral Convention can take over funds that they have not spent at the end of the year as earmarked reserves for the next financial year – provided that the finance department approves this upon request. The establishment of an earmarked reserve must be decided by the responsible committee (usually the FSR). The minutes of the resolution meeting must be submitted by email to finanzen@stura.uni-heidelberg.de by a date set by the finance department. Please inquire about the deadline if you cannot find it on the homepage.
The creation of reserves must be tied to a one-time special purpose, which requires detailed and careful justification. Reserves for regular annual events, the costs of which are foreseeable, are therefore more likely to be rejected – for a one-off event, a special modification or a purchase, the formation of a reserve is justified.
Earmarked reserves cannot be “taken along” for another year, they flow into the overall budget of the VS at the end of the year.
As student representatives, we are an authority and are not allowed to give gifts. In special cases, however, you can use the budget item 560 to settle thank-you gifts. This is possible, for example, if someone waives a fee for a lecture or only receives a small fee of less than euros – then you can still give a bouquet of flowers or a bottle of wine. Gifts should be a sign of appreciation and not an attempt at bribery – they should therefore not exceed a maximum of 50 euros per person and should be very, very well justified. No thank you gifts are possible if someone “only” does their work – because that’s what people are paid for. However, if someone helps the student council outside of working hours and outside of official business, then you could represent a thank you gift. If you want to give a gift – e.g. if someone retires who has repeatedly supported the FS – please contact the finance team in advance and clarify the amount and whether we can accept the reason.
Under no circumstances can you, for example, give all teachers of a subject a gift, because then it is obviously not a question of recognizing an individual additional commitment.
With larger purchases such as new furniture for your student council room, a student council laptop or a music system, there are a few things to consider, here are the most important ones:
- Expenses over 200 euros must first be clarified with the finance department by email or video chat before you buy.
- These must be purchases that benefit the student body (e.g. your student body) and are used in the context of their tasks – so you cannot finance new seminar furniture for the institute.
- They should be purchases that are not already available centrally or elsewhere. In the case of e.g. B. Music systems must be discussed with the finance department, where they should be, who is using them, how you can ensure that they are not lost, why this purchase is urgently needed and why lending the central devices does not make sense.
- At the latest when you spend more than 500 euros, you need comparable offers – you are welcome to get them earlier. Information on this can be found under Contracts (because you also need comparable offers for rents over 500 euros).
- In the case of furniture for student council rooms or the like, the old furniture must actually be so outdated that a new purchase is necessary. It also needs to be clarified where the old furniture is going – what are you going to do with it? You may have to decide on disposal at the same time… – you know how to reach us…
In the case of lecture fees of more than €100, a fee contract must be drawn up in advance, which also specifies the scope of the services and the duration of the event.
The contracts must be signed by the chairperson of the VS. For further information, see the contracts above.
In exceptional cases, work contracts can be concluded for larger services, but this must be discussed with the finance team beforehand. You can find patterns here:
If fees are expected to exceed €300, the workshop management/moderation, etc. must be advertised publicly. Please contact the finance team in good time. You can find patterns here:
- Sample fee agreement
- Sample work contract
- Info on contracts => #11 above
More detailed information can be found in the financial manual. You can find this in the forms . Don’t shy away from the page number, you can read it selectively. It is not only aimed at those responsible for finance, but at everyone who (want to) deal with funds.
