Guide to completing the Branch Accounts Form Paragraph numbers below refer to the paragraph numbers on the form. GENERAL ACCOUNT (p2) Income 1. Membership fees collected This should include all cash received at the Branch for Legion membership renewals, if applicable. Do not include monies paid to Head Office from members directly. Enter the total subscriptions actually paid by the Branch to Head Office; the amount retained by the Branch should be nil. Branch administration fees received back from Head Office should be included in this section. 2. Branch Poppy Appeal Events Include here income raised from fundraising events held by the Branch in the name of the Poppy Appeal. Money collected as part of the main Poppy Appeal should be banked directly into the Head Office bank account and should not be recorded here (unless money for the main Appeal has been banked into the Branch bank account in error). a) Events Receipts Enter any money collected for the Poppy Appeal through Branch events, which has been banked directly into the Branch bank account. This will include cash collections. b) Events Expenses Enter any expenses incurred in raising funds for the Poppy Appeal. These should be deducted from the money paid over to Head Office. c) Paid over to Poppy Appeal Please note that all money collected for the Poppy Appeal, after deducting any expenses incurred, should be paid over to Head Office. The amount retained should be nil. 3. Branch Fundraising Events Include here income raised from general Branch fundraising and any expenditure incurred in raising the funds. Net Fundraising income is Fundraising Receipts less Fundraising expenses. 4. Donations Record here any monetary donations received in the year where not already included above. 5. Legacies received by the Branch Record here any legacies received locally by the Branch (exclude legacies held at Head Office). Please include details of individual legacies received under Additional Information on page 8. 1
6. Interest Received from bank and BFI Enter total interest received from funds held in General Accounts. This will include interest from bank and building society accounts, Branch Funds Initiative (BFI), COIF deposit accounts etc. In the Income from Investments line, enter the total income received from investments held locally. This includes interest on National Savings Certificates and Bonds, Treasury Stock, COIF investment units and dividends etc. However, this does not include trust accounts held at Head Office or amounts held in the BFI. 7. Other Income Enter income received from other sources not already included above. Include income generated from items such as badges, wreaths etc. Please note that to comply with HMRC rules, Branches must not trade. Expenditure 9. Welfare expenditure If your Branch does not operate a separate Welfare account, enter the total expenditure on benevolence support (welfare) here. Please use box 24 on page 3 to analyse welfare expenditure in more detail. The total expenditure should equal Box 30 on page 3. If the Branch operates a separate Welfare bank account, this section should only be used to show transfer of funds from General to the Welfare Account. 10. Branch Ceremonial Events Enter expenditure on bands, Standard bearers expenses etc. as shown. 11. Management & Administration a) Conferences, Meetings & Travel: Enter delegates expenses, conference fares paid, AGM expenses etc. If the Branch received a conference fares refund, this should be netted off here (reducing expenditure). b) Audit Costs: Include here any payments made in respect of audit/independent examination of the Branch accounts. c) Branch Accommodation Costs: Include meeting room hire or office rentals. Enter the total of rent paid, plus rates, insurance, cleaning and repairs where applicable. If the Branch has a connected property, the income and expenditure associated with the property should be entered in the Property Transactions section on page 3. d) Other Costs: Other administration costs may include printing, stationery, postage, telephone, repairs and maintenance of equipment, contents insurance and bank charges. 2
12. Purchases Enter the cost of purchasing Badges and Wreaths and Furniture and Equipment in this section. 13a. Other payments These lines are to be used for transfers to other parts of the Legion as specified. 13b. Other (specify page 5) Enter here the total of any expenditure which does not fall into one of the categories above. Use the Other Payments box on page 5 to provide details of individual payments. 15. Surplus/ (Deficit) on Property Transactions Enter the total from box 38 on page three of the form, where relevant. Otherwise leave this box blank. 16. Surplus/ (Deficit) on General Account Enter the total income less total expenditure, plus (or minus) the surplus (or deficit) on property transactions i.e. box 8 minus box 14 plus (or minus) box 15. 17. Opening Balance at 1 July This should be the same as the closing balance on the General Account from the prior year. 18. Closing Balance at 30 June This should be the sum of box 16 and box 17. WELFARE ACCOUNT (p3) This section should be completed if the Branch maintains a separate account for welfare. Income 19. Fundraising Enter receipts from any Branch events held specifically to raise funds for local welfare. Enter expenditure incurred in raising funds for local welfare and the net funds raised (income less expenditure). 20. Donations Enter the total of other monetary donations received in the year for local welfare purposes. Any amount received locally by way of a legacy should be entered in box 20a. Details of individual legacies should be included under Additional Information on page 8. 21. Interest Received on Welfare Account Enter the total interest received from funds held in the Welfare Account. If any investments are held specifically for welfare purposes, enter investment income (e.g. dividend income, interest on National Savings Certificates and Bonds) in the separate box provided. 3
22. Other Income Enter transfers from the General Account here, together with any other income into the Welfare Account not included in one of the categories above. Expenditure 24. Direct Welfare Payments Enter any payments made in respect of beneficiary support provided by the Branch from the Welfare Account. 25. Donations Paid List all donations paid in the year, continuing on the Additional Information sheet if necessary. Please note that donations must be made in accordance with Article 3 of the Royal Charter. 26. Other Charitable Payments Enter the total of any other payments made from the Welfare Account which do not fall into one of the categories above. 27. Charitable Support Costs Enter any administration expenses specifically incurred in carrying out beneficiary support. Enter expenses reimbursed to Branch members involved in carrying out beneficiary support. 29. Welfare Committee Expenses Refunded Enter any refunds received from Head Office for Welfare Committee costs. 30. Surplus/ (Deficit) on Welfare Account Enter total income less total expenditure, plus any refunds received i.e. box 23 minus box 28 plus box 29. NOTE: this total is to be shown at item 9 on page 2. 31. Opening Balance at 1 July Enter the balance brought forward from last year on the Welfare Account. This balance should also agree to the cash book balance on the Welfare Account as at last year end. Please note that this balance will include all funds held for use on the Welfare Account, including both current accounts and deposit accounts. 32. Closing Balance at 30 June Enter the sum of item 30 plus item 31. PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS (p3) This section should be completed if the Branch: a) Occupies a property owned by local trustees; b) Occupies a property owned by the Legion as corporate trustee; or c) Rents a property, which is sub-let, or could be sub-let, to a tenant. 4
Income 33. Rents received from RBL Club inc. BFI Enter here any rents received by the Branch from Royal British Legion Clubs, including rent paid directly to the Branch and rent paid into the Branch s BFI account (where applicable). Enter separately on the next line rents received from other tenants and sub-lettings. 34. Other Income Enter here any other income received in connection with the property. Typical examples include service charges or money received from a tenant for their share of property insurance, rates, repairs and improvements. Expenditure 36. Property costs Please analyse property costs between the categories shown. 38. Transfer to/from General Account or separate Property Fund Enter total income less total expenditure i.e. box 35 less box 37. NOTE: this total is to be shown at box 15 on page 2 of this form. Please note: Branches are no longer asked to supply property details as this information is held at Head Office. SUMMARY OF BRANCH ASSETS AND LIABILITIES (p4) 40. Bank and Cash Balances Please give details of cash in hand (petty cash plus cash not yet banked) together with all funds held by financial institutions. For each individual account, record the name of the institution, the sort code and the account number. Enter the cash book balances in the form, which must be reconciled to the bank statements at 30 June 2017. The reconciliations must be available for the auditors or Independent Examiner to review. Please indicate whether the funds relate to the General Account, the Welfare Account, or Other Funds by recording the amounts under the relevant heading on the form. Please Note: The total funds recorded on the General Account should agree to item 18 on page 2. The total funds recorded on the Welfare Account should agree to item 32 on page 3. The total funds recorded under Other Funds should agree to balance of any additional funds recorded on pages 6 or 7. 41. Investments Enter details of any investments held by the Branch, including the cost price and the market value at 30 June 2017. If any investments are held specifically on behalf of the Welfare Account, please note this on the form. Also indicate whether the investments 5
are held locally or by Head Office. Please attach statement/s at 30 June 2017 to support each investment reported in this section 42. Debtors (money owed to the Branch) Enter details of any money owed to the Branch, separately identifying any monies owed to the Branch by other parts of the Legion. 43. Creditors (money owed by the Branch) Enter details of any money owed by the Branch, separately identifying any monies owed by the Branch to other parts of the Legion. 44. Total Net Branch Value Enter the sum of boxes 40 + 41 + 42 minus box 43. Continuation Sheet (p5) Please include details of any significant transactions that have taken place since 30 June 2017 and before the submission of the accounts to your MSO. Such transactions may include the disposal of investments or the receipt of a major donation or legacy. Please also include details of any future commitments entered into by the Branch (e.g. a new lease agreement) or any significant potential future liabilities. Any information entered here should also be brought to the attention of your Auditor or Independent Examiner. Other Funds (p6 and p7) Branches may keep separate funds because of a restriction imposed by the donor or for administrative convenience. Branches should provide sufficient detail as to the nature of the separate funds to enable Head Office to identify restricted funds. Even where Branches maintain separate funds within their accounting records, the funds themselves should be held in the same bank account. Use these pages to record any income received or expenditure incurred on other funds. Additional Information (p8) Use this page to record details of legacies received locally by the Branch, any unusual transactions or to provide any other information which may be useful for the Independent Examiner or for Head Office. The Independent Examiner can also use this page to bring matters to the attention of Head Office. 6