Ontario Girl Guides of Canada

Any funds collected in the name of Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada are considered public funds and must be accounted for in a fiscally responsible manner. This means that all monies must be safeguarded and all receipts and expenditures carefully recorded and documented on a timely basis.

It is important to remember that any money collected by the Unit is public funds and must be managed with extra care. Accounting records must be kept up-to-date. There is zero tolerance for misappropriation of funds. All Guiders in the Unit should be aware of the financial status of the Unit.

• Each Unit selects one person as the Unit Treasurer. We recommend shared leadership so ideally the Contact Guider should not be the Treasurer.
• Because our banking system and all supporting documentation is online, the Treasurer must have an active email listed in iMIS and access to a computer connected to the internet. It is not necessary that the access be high speed.
• The Treasurer can be a non-Member, but must be screened in accordance with the screening policies of Girl Guides of Canada-Guides du Canada. Information about Non-Member PRCs is available through MemberZone.

• Read New Treasurer Orientation to get started.
• Budget: At the beginning of each year, prepare a budget with the unit leadership team, estimating the amounts of revenue and expenses planned for the year. The purpose of the budget is to ensure that there are adequate funds available to cover all planned activities. If your first plan shows you “going into the red”, you need to alter your plans to increase revenue or reduce expenditures in order to balance your budget. The budget is simply a plan of action and a guideline to help you manage resources effectively during the year. Budgets can be revised during the year to reflect changed plans and resources. If you revise your budget, keep the original as a reference. The budget is a very useful tool to refer to throughout the year to see how your revenues and expenses are accumulating. It will indicate to you that you are staying within budget or that you need to increase your revenues or decrease spending so that you will stay on track for the remainder of the year. The annual budget should be approved by all the Unit Guiders in your unit. Use the Annual Unit Budget Calculator.
• Monitor the Unit Banking Account weekly to ensure that all transactions are accurate.
• If deposits or purchase card entries do not appear within one week, contact your Unit Banking Clerk.
• If any deposits that appear are not yours, contact the Purchase Card Administrator at purchasecard.admin@guidesontario.org immediately.
• If any purchase card entries that appear are not yours, contact the Purchase Card Administrator at purchasecard.admin@guidesontario.org immediately.
• Deposit all funds received within one week
• Keep detailed records of the source of the revenue (ex. which girl paid and how much)
• Deposit all cookie money ($60/carton) and ensure that money received balances cartons received or that there is an explanation for any discrepancy (ex. Cookies used as gifts)
• Total weekly dues collected must be deposited regularly
  NOTE: You can ask another person to make the actual deposit as long as the amount of the deposit has been agreed upon. We suggest strongly that you count the deposit together and agree, writing an informal receipt.
• Prepare manual expense entries for any non purchase card expenses incurred by any member of the Unit leadership team.
• Verify all deposit and purchase card transactions, write the transaction number on each receipt.
• Complete a lost/Incomplete receipt form for receipts that do not detail the name of the vendor, the date of purchase, the items purchased, the taxes and the totals (for example if you only receive the visa receipt not the transactional receipt)
• Submit all deposit slips and purchase card receipts to your Unit Banking Clerk.
• If your Unit is on non-RBC banking, follow non-RBC instructions five days after each deposit to transfer the deposit to RBC
• Ensure the Unit does not go into deficit: ensure all cookie money is deposited prior to the cookie payment due date (first Monday in December, first Monday in June)
• Complete and submit a year-end checklist by June 30th
• Keep your fellow Unit Guiders informed!
• Prepare a Centralized Banking Authorization Form when terminating the position and give the completed form to your Unit Administrator for processing.

• Each unit selects one person as the Purchase Card Holder.
• The purchase card holder can be any unit guider within the unit; however, she must be a Member of Girl Guides of Canada.
• Select a cardholder who makes the majority of the purchases for the unit.
• If more than one person in the Unit does significant purchasing for the unit, a secondary Purchase Card can be ordered at a cost of $15 to the unit.

• Keep the card and pin number secure. Only the registered card holder may use the card. You cannot share the card. Upon receipt of a new card, the cardholder sets the pin number
• Report a lost or stolen card immediately:
• Call US Bank (1 800 588-8067) and/or the Purchase Card Administrator at purchasecard.admin@guidesontario.org (1 877 323-4545 x2409)
• Make only appropriate unit purchases (see Unit Expense Guidelines) using the card; examples include:
  • Food and beverages for unit activities and events, including groceries for camp, snacks for Unit meetings, and special lunches and dinners with the Unit
  • Unit administrative costs including printing, photocopying, and postage.
  • Craft supplies and Unit supplies.
  • Equipment used for the Unit (e.g. tents)
  • Booking outside camps or special outings (e.g. museums, sporting events, music events).
  • Gifts and awards used for Unit ceremonies and special circumstances.
  • Girl Guide Store purchases for the Unit. It is permissible to include “parent orders” if the parent has agreed to reimburse the Unit for the purchase
• These purchases are prohibited: Alcoholic beverages including LCBO gift cards, donations to other organizations, gift cards, gas for vehicles (unless using expenseing a rental vehicle).
• Give all receipts and merchant invoices (the receipt showing the tax breakdown) to the Unit Treasurer weekly.
• If a receipt is lost, fill out the Lost/Incomplete Receipt Form.
• Prepare a Centralized Banking Authorization Form when terminating the position and give the completed form to the Treasurer for processing.

All Girl Membership Forms and cheque or credit card payments should be submitted directly to your Unit Administrator for processing. A girl is not registered until your Unit Administrator enters her into iMIS.

Effect on the unit account: Ontario Council withdraws the Transfer amount within 3 business days of your submission. Weekly, Ontario Council transfers into the Unit Banking Account $24 per girl for every girl registered in iMIS the previous week.

For Assistance: Contact your Unit Administrator.

Ontario Council covers the cost of regular weekly meeting space for girl units.

Effect on the Unit Account: There is no effect on the Unit Banking Account. Ontario Council forwards the payment directly to the facility.

For more information, please see the User Space FAQ.
For Assistance: Contact the Membership Administrative Assistant at member.admin2@guidesontario.org.

Girl Guides of Canada cookies are the official fundraiser for the organization and this is the only approved fundraising vehicle that benefits all levels of Guiding. Participation, at all levels, is expected in both fall and spring cookie campaigns. However, if your unit chooses to hold another type of fundraiser, it must be approved by Ontario Council.
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