Guidance

How to:

• Setup a new Requisitioner/Approver/Expenses Verifier within your team - email student-experience@qmul.ac.uk to initiate the process ideally 4 weeks before the person starts to allow enough processing time.
• Log into the Agresso finance system easily - bookmark the Agresso login page.
• Request a QM purchasing card for business expenses - email student-experience@qmul.ac.uk to discuss your initial requirements and the application process.
• Retain Financial Records - paper records must be kept for 6 years for auditing purposes if the information is not available electronically e.g. scanned or accessible in Agresso.

Thinking about procuring goods or services? For expert advice and guidance on how to purchase please visit the QM Procurement Website. Resources available include:

• The Queen Mary list of preferred suppliers for different categories of purchase: QM Preferred Suppliers.
• If our preferred suppliers can't accommodate your requirements then follow the How to Buy flowchart: How to Buy.
• New supplier request guidance: New Supplier Request.
• When raising PO's in Agresso please attach using the paperclip button 1 quote for values below £10k net, and 3 quotes for values above £10k net.
• What about reusing or recycling resources we already have to save money and protect the environment? Find out more: Queen Mary Sustainability.
• Talk to someone in the Queen Mary Procurement Team.

• Read the Year End Finance Memo 2024 [PDF 131KB] and Year-End 2024 Procedures [272KB].
• Read the Student Experience training handout which complements the year-end memo: Year-End Finance training handout [DOC 840KB].
• Get help by emailing student-experience@qmul.ac.uk or by messaging Hassan Mahmud on Teams.
• Alternatively please contact our Student Experience Finance Partner (Nanda Beeharry) for assistance by email (n.beeharry@qmul.ac.uk) or Teams message.

Staff not directly involved in finance work may still wish to note the following deadlines:

• 15 July 2024: Paper expense claims (for students or externals) to be captured in 2023/24.
• 19 July 2024: Online expense claims (for staff) in Agresso for 2023/24 to be completed.

This process is underpinned by Queen Mary's responsibility to help prevent tax evasion and usually applies when an intangible service is being provided e.g. a person providing consultancy or delivering training. Please do not agree a piece of work until it has been established how the worker will be paid. 

For helpful guidance refer to Paying External Workers and Suppliers or contact student-experience@qmul.ac.uk for assistance.

Watch this short 3 and a half minute video for an excellent introduction to this topic:

HR One-Off Payments

One-off payments should only be made to individuals in genuine one-off circumstances and should not be made to existing QM staff. Normally, individuals carrying out short-term work for QM are paid through payroll on an appropriate contract. However, it may sometimes be appropriate to make a payment to someone for a one-off piece of work - more information is available at: HR > One-Off Payments.

• To receive income from an external organisation complete an Invoice Request Form: Invoice Request Form [DOC 32KB]. 
• For guidance on charging VAT on expected income: VAT on Income.
• To receive income by direct BACS transfer provide the external with your Account and Budget Codes as the transfer reference alongside the Queen Mary Bank Details. If the money isn't credited it may be stuck in the Queen Mary Suspense Account - contact Kevin Purseglove (k.purseglove@qmul.ac.uk) in Finance to follow up.
• Pay cheques in by completing the payment-in form: Payment In Form [DOC 26KB] and visit the Queen Mary Cashiers Office (Ground floor, iQ East Court, Mile End) Monday to Friday (09:30-16:00).
• Sell goods or services using the Queen Mary E-Shop - for advice on how this tool works email student-experience@qmul.ac.uk. The E-Shop Guidance Notes [DOC 159KB] provide further information on how this process works.

• For Copy Shop, IT Services, and QM Catering requests, provide your budget code for them to action the charge.
• For ADHOC Transfers between QM Departments the department receiving the income completes an Internal Recharge Spreadsheet: Internal Recharge Spreadsheet [XLS 64KB]. This is submitted to finance-accounting@qmul.ac.uk  at the end of the month (once per month) - for advice on  completing the form email student-experience@qmul.ac.uk. 
• The Internal Recharge Spreadsheet cannot be used to correct charging 'mistakes' across budget codes within the same department.

In exceptional circumstances a payment can be made using the payment not supported by an invoice pro-forma available on request.

An example of using this form is paying a student an educational grant (or prize) where it would not be appropriate to deduct PAYE via payroll, or set the student up as a supplier in Agresso.

Please contact student-experience@qmul.ac.uk for advice on the most appropriate payment route and how to proceed.

The Agresso finance system is used by cardholders to submit expenditure made on Queen Mary Barclaycards and upload receipts on a monthly basis. The following tips are offered to cardholders to help simplify this process:

• Join the Teams support group to share good practice with other cardholders or seek expert help from Accounts Payable by posting in the general channel.
• Use a Spreadsheet log of card purchases [XLS 87KB] to prepare purchase descriptions and budget codes before the month ends.
• Collate your receipts into a SharePoint folder as you make purchases ready for upload into Agresso - PDF is the preferred format but email receipts are also accepted.
• Use the Agresso Purchase Card guide [PDF 1,627KB] to submit your purchases and receipts at the start of the month covering the previous month.
• Email student-experience@qmul.ac.uk if you get stuck during your statement upload. Please stop if you are unsure about what to do.
• When you have submitted your purchases for the month, they will go to the expense verifier in your department to check the purchase descriptions and budget codes are correct, before the main approver (usually head of team) signs them off.

Each and every financial transaction that takes place at Queen Mary is classified using a four digit ‘account code’ to provide an overview of how the University spends and earns it's money. This applies to finance transfers outside of Agresso (internal recharges) and to money coming in (income). When raising Purchase Orders, you will need correct Account Code information alongside the budget code - this will be provided by the budget holder.

To view the list of all Accounts Codes in Agresso:

• Login to Agresso.
• Press the Reports tab on the left hand menu.
• Expand the Global Reports drop down list.
• Select either Chart of Accounts for EXPENDITURE or INCOME to view the list.

It is Queen Mary policy not to accept gifts wherever possible. However, minor items of a value less than the level set by the Finance and Investment Committee from time to time (currently £25) can be accepted. Gifts received of a value above this level should be declared to the Director and recorded in the gifts and hospitality register.

The Director is responsible for ensuring that staff complete the Gifts and Hospitality register with information from the register passed on to the Director of Finance.

The British Universities Finance Directors Group have published an excellent guide to Understanding University Finance [PDF 8,719KB] which takes a look sector wide funding rather than just Queen Mary finances. It is an excellent guide for anyone interested in how funding works in higher education and is suitable for all levels of understanding. We recommend breaking it down into small chunks that can be read over time.