UnionPally Expense Management Guide

A Guide to Recording, Tracking, and Managing Association Expenses

What Are Expenses?

Expenses are financial records of money spent by your association for its operations and activities. They represent the outflow of funds - from office rent to meeting refreshments, from equipment purchases to project funding. In UnionPally, expenses provide complete transparency and accountability for how your association's money is being used, with built-in approval workflows to ensure proper oversight.

Expense Management Features

UNDERSTANDING EXPENSE TYPES

Payment Methods

How the expense was paid:

• Cash - Physical money payments (no bank account needed)
• POS - Point of sale/card payments (requires bank account)
• Bank Transfer - Direct bank-to-bank transfers (requires bank account)
• Other - Alternative payment methods (requires bank account)

Expense Status Types

Approval workflow stages:

• Pending - Newly recorded, awaiting approval
• Approved - Reviewed and confirmed by designated approvers
• Modified - Previously approved expense that has been changed

NOTE: If expense approval requirement is disabled for an assciation, every expense created in the association is auto-approved.

Levy Category Links

Connect expenses to funding sources:

• Recurrent - Expenses funded by regular dues
• OneTime - Expenses funded by special assessments
• Occasional - Expenses funded by penalty collections
• Donation - Expenses funded by charitable contributions
• ExistingDebt - Expenses funded by debt collections
• Misconduct - Expenses funded by disciplinary fines

RECORDING EXPENSES: STEP-BY-STEP

Step 1: Gather Expense Information

Required Information:

• Expense Title - Clear, descriptive name (e.g., "Meeting Hall Rent - December 2025")
• Amount - Total money spent (must be greater than ₦0)
• Payment Method - How the money was paid
• Your PIN - Security verification

Optional Information:

• Description - Additional details about the expense
• Bank Account - Required for non-cash payments
• Levy Category - Which fund category covered this expense
• Levy Sub-category - Specific fund sub-type
• Spent Date - When the money was actually spent (defaults to today)

Step 2: Choose Payment Method

For Cash Payments:

• Select "Cash" as payment method
• No bank account needed
• Perfect for small, immediate expenses

For Non-Cash Payments:

• Select "POS", "Bank Transfer", or "Other"
• Must select a bank account from your association's registered accounts
• Good for larger expenses and audit trails

Step 3: Link to Funding Source (Optional but Recommended)

Connect expense to the levy category that funded it:

Examples:
- Office rent → Recurrent (funded by monthly dues)
- New equipment → OneTime (funded by special levy)
- Meeting refreshments → Occasional (funded by lateness penalties)
- Charity donation → Donation (funded by member donations)

Step 4: Submit for Approval

Automatic Approval Settings:

• If your association has expense approval disabled → Expense automatically approved
• If your association has expense approval enabled → Expense goes to pending status

Manual Approval Process:

• Designated approvers review the expense
• Multiple approvers may be required (depends on association settings)
• Your approval automatically added if you're a designated approver

EXPENSE APPROVAL SYSTEM

Who Can Approve Expenses?

Approval permissions are set in your Association Settings:

• Designated Exco Roles - Specific leadership positions
• Multiple Approvers - May require several people to approve
• Automatic Approval - Can be enabled to skip approval process

Approval Workflow:

1. Expense Created → Status: Pending
2. Approvers Review → Add their approval
3. Sufficient Approvals → Status: Approved
4. Expense Modified → Status: Modified (requires re-approval)

Key Points:

• One approval per member - Each approver can only approve once
• Automatic reset - Changing expense amount resets all approvals
• Flexible requirements - Each association sets its own approval rules

MANAGING AND UPDATING EXPENSES

Updating Expense Details

What You Can Update:

• Expense title, description, and amount
• Payment method and bank account
• Levy category and sub-category
• Date when money was spent

Important Rules:

• Updating approved expense amounts automatically changes status to "Modified"
• All previous approvals are removed when amount changes
• PIN required for all updates

Status Changes:

Pending → Approved (through approval process)
Approved → Modified (when amount is changed)
Modified → Approved (through re-approval process)

VIEWING AND FILTERING EXPENSES

Available Filters:

• By Status - pending, approved, modified
• By Payment Method - cash, pos, bank_transfer, other
• By Levy Category - funding source type
• By Levy Sub-category - specific funding type
• By Amount Range - minimum and maximum amounts
• By Date Range - creation or spending date ranges
• By Creator - who recorded the expense

Viewing Options:

• Individual Expenses - Full details for single expense
• Association Expenses - All expenses for your association
• Paginated Lists - Organized by date (newest first)
• IDs Only - Quick list of expense identifiers

EXPENSE STATISTICS AND REPORTS

Available Statistics:

• Total Expenses - Count and amount of all recorded expenses
• Pending Summary - Count and amount awaiting approval
• Approved Summary - Count and amount fully approved
• Modified Summary - Count and amount requiring re-approval

Use Cases:

• Monthly Reports - Track spending patterns
• Budget Analysis - Compare planned vs actual spending
• Approval Monitoring - Track pending approvals
• Audit Preparation - Comprehensive expense summaries

BEST PRACTICES FOR EXPENSE MANAGEMENT

Recording Best Practices

Be Descriptive:

Bad: "Fuel"
Good: "Generator Fuel - Monthly Meeting Dec 2025"

Link to Funding Sources:

Office rent → Recurrent (monthly dues)
New chairs → OneTime (furniture levy)
Refreshments → Occasional (lateness penalties)

Use Proper Payment Methods:

Small cash purchases → Cash
Large purchases → Bank Transfer
Equipment purchases → POS/Bank Transfer

Approval Best Practices

For Exco Members:

• Review expenses promptly to avoid delays
• Ask questions if expense details are unclear
• Ensure amounts match receipts/invoices

For Finance Officers:

• Verify bank account selections
• Confirm levy category assignments
• Check spending against budgets

Transparency Best Practices

Keep Members Informed:

• Share monthly expense summaries
• Explain major expenditures in meetings
• Provide context for unusual expenses

Maintain Records:

• Keep physical receipts for all expenses
• Take photos of receipts for digital backup
• Store supporting documents safely

COMMON SCENARIOS AND SOLUTIONS

Scenario 1: Emergency Expense During Meeting

Situation: Generator fuel needed immediately during meeting

Solution:

1. Pay with cash if small amount
2. Record expense immediately on phone
3. Use "Occasional" category (funded by meeting penalties)
4. Add description: "Emergency generator fuel - [Date] meeting"

Scenario 2: Large Equipment Purchase

Situation: New sound system for ₦150,000

Solution:

1. Get approval BEFORE purchase if possible
2. Use bank transfer for payment trail
3. Link to appropriate levy (likely OneTime category)
4. Take photos of equipment and receipt
5. Record detailed description and model numbers

Scenario 3: Regular Monthly Expenses

Situation: Office rent, utilities, supplies

Solution:

1. Create template descriptions for consistency
2. Use "Recurrent" levy category
3. Record on same day each month
4. Group related expenses with clear dating

Scenario 4: Expense Needs Correction

Situation: Wrong amount entered for approved expense

Solution:

1. Update the expense with correct amount
2. Status automatically changes to "Modified"
3. Notify approvers of the change
4. Get re-approval with explanation

TROUBLESHOOTING COMMON ISSUES

"Bank account required" Error

Problem: Trying to record non-cash expense without bank account

Solution:

• Either change payment method to "Cash"
• Or select appropriate bank account from dropdown

"Expense already exists" Error

Problem: Duplicate expense with same title, amount, and date

Solution:

• Modify the title to be more specific
• Adjust the date if it was recorded incorrectly
• Check if this is truly a duplicate entry

"Cannot approve expense" Error

Problem: User trying to approve but lacks permission

Solution:

• Check if you're designated as an approver in association settings
• Verify you're not trying to approve your own expense twice
• Contact admin to review approval permissions

Expense Amount Changed But Status Still "Approved"

Problem: System didn't detect amount change

Solution:

• This shouldn't happen, but if it does:
• Save the expense again
• If issue persists, contact system administrator

SECURITY AND PERMISSIONS

PIN Requirements:

Your PIN is required for:

• Creating new expenses
• Updating existing expenses
• Approving expenses
• Deleting expenses

Permission Levels:

Members:

• View association expenses
• View expense details
• Access expense statistics

Exco/Admins:

• All member permissions
• Create and update expenses
• Approve expenses (if designated)
• Access all expense management features

Full Permission Users:

• All exco/admin permissions
• Hard delete expenses (permanent removal)
• Delete expense approvals

INTEGRATION WITH OTHER MODULES

Bank Accounts Module

• Expenses link to registered bank accounts
• Track which account was used for each expense
• Helps with bank reconciliation

Levies Module

• Expenses can be linked to levy categories
• Shows how collected funds are being spent
• Helps with budget tracking and transparency

Members Module

• Track who recorded each expense
• Member approval permissions
• Expense approval history

Associations Module

• Expense approval settings
• Association-specific expense policies
• Multi-association expense separation

QUICK REFERENCE

Expense Status Flow:

New Expense → Pending → [Approval Process] → Approved
                ↓
            [Amount Changed]
                ↓
            Modified → [Re-approval Process] → Approved

Required Bank Account by Payment Method:

• Cash: No bank account needed
• POS: Bank account required
• Bank Transfer: Bank account required
• Other: Bank account required

PIN Required For:

• Creating expenses
• Updating expenses
• Approving expenses
• Deleting expenses

Need Help? Contact your association administrators or refer to your association's specific expense policies for additional guidance.