Registering as a 'Low Income Society'


We recognise that there are some groups who have little income and expenditure throughout the year and as such it does not always make sense to manage finances through a society bank account.


We have therefore designed an alternative solution to enable small societies with little or no income to continue to operate successfully without a bank account, whilst still operating professionally and in line with the Students' Union Financial Regulations, which all groups are obliged to do as affiliated societies.


Criteria for low income societies:

  • Membership is free
  • Projected Income & Expenditure is less than £200 per term
  • Maximum of £50 cash to be held by the society at any one time
  • Society owned assets should not collectively exceed the value of £100
  • Have not/ do not plan to apply for societies funding
  • Have not/ do not expect to receive sponsorship from an external body


Code of Practice:

As a registered low income group you must follow the outlined code of practice when managing finances as a society

  • Treasurer/ Responsible Person must record all moneys received and spent on a weekly basis, this will be dated and signed by President & Treasurer. (This could be recorded in an Excel spreadsheet)
  • Cash must be held securely in a cash box or safe and must not exceed £50
  • Receipts must be held annually for all transactions and kept securely in a cash box or safe
  • Money must not be held in or payments made from a personal account on behalf of the society
  • Your weekly expenditure record will be sent to the students' union as part of your registration for the next academic year


If you are confident your society meets the criteria you can register as a low income group here


We recommend all groups regardless of their income have an active bank account so that you can experience the full benefits of being an affiliated society; apply for funding, run ticketed events, process paid memberships and support the development of your society.