Expenses claim

[Shrubsie1]

I am a volunteer treasurer for a small local club. Members pay an annual subscription, there isn't much in the pot but we tick along ok.

Last week one committee member suddenly wanted to buy some shrubs for outside. We had loosely discussed it in the past. I suggested he raises it with the committee. He sent an email, one other committee member agreed, the others either didn't see or said nothing, he then bought £200 of shrubs an hour later, saying 'no one objected'. I wasn't happy as I felt it was rushed and we should have agreed collectively how to spend members funds.

I was busy working my day job when he phoned and asked to be reimbursed. I said he needs to provide the receipt. He has been unable to get one, saying the supplier hasn't replied/given him one. He's now hassling to be paid without a receipt.

I since found out he'd also bought some shrubs from the same supplier for his own house on the same day, which could be a bit suspicious as no receipt and I only have his word on how much he paid, also may explain his sudden urgency.

Aibu to decline to pay without a receipt? Or am I being too meticulous here. I like to do everything by the book.

Fwiw the £200 he's claiming is a bit high for the shrubs he bought but not ridiculously so.

no, keep yourself and the committee right - no receipt, no payment. Thats how it works.

And by running it past the committee means in an appropriate manner, a meeting or an email with please let me know your thoughts by ... a date/time. He is an arse for behaving this way.

Thanks. I doubt he will be able to produce a receipt, as he may well have got his shrubs including in the price. He has definitely provided some shrubs though, which makes it awkward.

No receipt no payment. All club members have the right to see the annual accounts, as treasurer you're responsible if there are discrepancies. No receipt means no proof the club purchased anything. Sounds like he's trying it on anyway, generally purchases would need a majority of the committee to agree on, not just one person.

As treasurer (even for a small club), it is your responsibility to make sure funds are looked after properly. No receipt, no repayment and I would put it on the agenda at the next meeting to agree a proper procedure for spending club money, eg at least 2 people plus the treasurer must approve.

No receipt, no payment.

Tell him he can take his shrubs and his sorry arse home.

Can someone go to the place he bought them from and price up what he bought as an independent check if he can't get a receipt?

And obviously make the procedures clear that no one can unilaterally spend the clubs money

Could you take the matter to the whole committee to make a group decision?

Best case, he doesn’t want the shrubs for his own house and is palming them off on the club.

Worst case, he bought cheap quality shrubs and is trying to make a profit at the expense of the club.

There’s no way he didn’t get a receipt.

Thanks, the shrubs were bought from a man with a van and so no way of verifying the price, it was someone he found advertising on social media apparently.

Thing is, it was all done so quickly that I'm probably the only one who knows he bought shrubs for himself too. He lives close to me so I saw them, he mentioned it to me knowing I'd see he'd bought some for himself as well as the club.

There is definitely a (brief) expenses policy which requires a receipt for reimbursement. I suppose I just need to smile politely and keep telling him this.

He can take away the shrubs and replant in his own garden but he can’t claim costs for the group without agreement from everyone and a receipt.

Under no circumstances reimburse any expenses without a receipt. You must keep a paper trail of all monies in and out. It was outrageous of him to spend £200 on shrubs! That’s not petty cash, it’s a sizeable expense for a small club. He’s taking the piss. Don’t discuss it any further by phone either, there needs to be a record of the discussion. He is trying to pressurise you personally, but the decision on the shrubs should have been taken collectively. If he asks again, send him an email and cc in the rest of the committee. “Dear Jim, unfortunately the purchase of shrubs was not authorised by the whole committee, nor was such a large expenditure discussed. This matter will require discussion by the committee but in any event, no expenditure can be refunded without a dated & itemised receipt, which you have said you do not have. You are welcome to remove the shrubs if you prefer.”

As others have said, you need to get a procedure in place going forward for approval of any expenditure. You said yourself there isn’t much in the pot, yet this CF decided to spend £200 on a frippery?! If I was a member, I would be fuming at my subs being wasted on something like this.

I wouldn't cave on this one. No receipt, no payment. He would be free to come and take the shrubs away again for his garden obviously.

Thanks, I feel bad because I didn't outright decline it when he asked, I asked him to email the committee which he did, he had one reply saying yes to the shrubs (though he didn't say the price), he then went ahead.

So I guess my best approach is just to insist on a receipt before payment. Any future claims must have committee approval though, thankfully I doubt he'll do this again as he's clearly very unhappy I haven't just paid him.

If you’re entrusted to buy something like this, you need to buy from a reputable / verifiable source, not off the back of a van.

Yes, you do

I've done practically everything else, but this is precisely why the treasurer's job is one I'd never take. There's always someone with a story as to why they must have money NOW, why they can't produce a receipt and god knows what else, and I've never needed the stress

Tell him to contact the man he bought the shrubs off for proof, like messages saying the shrubs were £200

Am a treasurer of a small charity. We have recently changed our approval policy to require approval to be 3 trustees, 2 of which must be from a defined list (chair, vice, treasurer and secretary) to avoid any ambiguity when no one objects.
Payment without receipt is for small sums at my discretion but £200 would have me discussing it in a trustee meeting. With my trustee group we probably would reimburse on the understanding it's a one off, but we have a high level of trust borne of long experience of each other.

The person who said yes is partly culpable if no cost was discussed. And you’re all culpable for not responding to his request and wuerying the cost in the first place. Nevertheless he is totally out of order to go ahead and spend that much (allegedly). £200 is a huge amount to spend without proper committee approval. If he has already told you he didn’t get a receipt, he can’t produce a (fake) handwritten receipt now so the committee should just tell him to remove the shrubs and take them home. He clearly tried to rinse you for the cost of the shrubs he wanted for his own home.

It’s not your problem that he’s decided to buy shrubs for his house and try to charge the committee for them. Let’s face it, that’s what he’s doing 🤷‍♀️

Really, no receipt equals no payment. Remind him of the rules and move on.

Yes, I suspect others probably don't feel very happy in the way it was sprung upon them, no discussion, just a brief window to agree or decline.

I will stand firm that he needs a receipt. He'll have to chase his dodgy supplier for one.

Charity law I think requires you to have a paper trail for all expenditure so yes, no receipt no reimbursement. Stand firm on this one!
For £200 I'd have been looking for committee approval and it be minuted. That's a huge amount for a small charity. Our auditors would be asking questions if someone had claimed expenses for that much with no receipt or invoice.
Dodgy as heck and it's tough luck to the person who bought the shrubs. Teach them not to go rogue in future.

Yep and tell him he can take them back for his own garden as he cannot be reimbursed. You will follow the proper channels to get shrubs in future.

A Treasurer’s role is to administer the finances in accordance with policy & procedure, not to actually make unilateral decisions about expenditure. Where is the Chair of the committee? He/she needs to be involved in this matter urgently. You need to refer the matter to the Chair and give them the responsibility of sorting this out. It sounds like procedures need to be tightened up.

The Chair needs to have the backbone to tell Mr Shrub that he had no authority to buy the shrubs and will not be reimbursed, receipt or not. Members are entitled to be very angry if they find out that finances are being mis-appropriated and I’m sorry to say that it sounds like a clear case of someone on the fiddle.