Frequently asked questions: Associations
Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions related to student associations.
General about associations
A student organisation is an association founded and run by students on a voluntary basis. The associations are member-driven and usually have no financial purpose, but rather aim to be a social arena for students who are studying the same programme or have similar interests.
USN has a list of student associations and student organisations that exist in connection with USN's campuses in South-Eastern Norway.
Remember to let the person responsible for the page know if you see anything missing!
Finances for student associations
A voucher is an attachment to the accounts that shows where you have spent or received money from. This can be invoices or receipts. A voucher contains the name, address and national identity number or organisation number of the person who provided the service.
Most organisations have a bank account, and some organisations also have a bank card in the name of the organisation. When you use your bank card and do not receive a sufficiently good voucher for the transaction, or you have a bank transfer without a good voucher, you can supplement it with a card and bank voucher. You can also use this procedure if you need to reimburse an expense.
There are two date fields in the form. The date is the day the purchase was made, and the entry date is the date the transaction was entered in the accounts. Remember to attach the receipt for the purchase with the cash voucher.
The voucher must be signed by both the person who carried out the transaction and the person who authorises it (this should not be the same person).
If the organisation has a cash box, members of the organisation can pay expenses with the organisation's cash. In this case, a cash voucher must be completed and attached to the documentation (often a receipt) in the accounting binder (or uploaded as an attachment if the organisation has a digital archive).
There are two date fields in the form. The date is the date the purchase was made, and the entry date is the date the transaction was recognised in the accounts. Remember to attach the receipt for the purchase with the cash voucher.
The voucher must be signed by both the person who carried out the transaction and the person who authorises it (this should not be the same person).
It is not a requirement to use an invoicing programme if you only need to send a single invoice. However, if you have a large number of invoices, it can quickly pay off. In any case, there is some information an invoice should contain:
Invoice number and date
Seller's name
Seller's organisation number
Description of the service
Tax rate (VAT) with amount in NOK
Each invoice must have a unique invoice number that is taken from a consecutive series. The first invoice must have invoice number 1, number two must have invoice number 2, etc...
Expense and cost are used interchangeably when we talk about spending money. In short, an expense occurs when you buy something/make the payment, while costs by definition occur when you actually use what you have bought.
All entries in the accounts are recorded on two sides, plus = debit and minus = credit.
Costs and assets are entered on the debit side. On the credit side, income, equity and liabilities are entered. In this way, the accounts are balanced - they break even.
Bookkeeping means the registration of income and expenses in the accounts, which are held in an accounting system.
Annual financial statements show actual income and expenses for the past year. An annual financial statement consists of an income statement, balance sheet and notes:
The income statement shows whether you have made a profit or loss for the past year.
The balance sheet shows assets on the one hand, and equity and liabilities on the other, which must break even, i.e. balance.
Finally, there are the notes, which explain or provide additional information about the various items in the accounts.
Assets in the financial statements include everything the association owns. This applies to all items that have a value, such as inventory, bank accounts and money that others owe you (accounts receivable).
A chart of accounts is an overview of all the accounting accounts that a company uses, but we are not talking about bank accounts here. The accounts have four digits and are used to make accounting more transparent. Based on this statement, you can distinguish between income, expenses, assets and liabilities in the company's accounting.
EHF stands for electronic trade format and is a type of invoice that is sent directly from the sender's to the recipient's financial or invoicing system. This is a fast and secure delivery of the invoice as it is read automatically. To be able to send an EHF invoice, you must therefore have an invoicing system that supports this type of invoice.
The requirements for the invoice are the same. When you send the invoice, you usually only need to register the organisation number, with any other information required by the organisation, in the invoicing software and send from there as an EHF invoice.
Most invoicing programmes support this today, so you should look at which ones are simple, affordable and adapted to your use. Some charge per invoice, while others charge for the service in general.
If the organisation's taxable turnover exceeds NOK 50,000 during 12 consecutive months, the organisation must be registered for VAT.
You can find information about VAT registration at the Norwegian Tax Administration.
In principle, a tax-exempt organisation has the same obligations as other employers. However, when the total salary paid to a person does not exceed NOK 10,000 during the year, no withholding tax is deducted.
There are several different funding programmes for student organisations. SSN's student funds have an application deadline four times a year, but there are also other opportunities.
Read more about different funding programmes and sources of income.
Different organisations do this in different ways. Some have annual payments of NOK 2-300, others have a one-off payment for lifelong membership. The most important thing is to set the membership fee so that the accounts balance.
It is equally common not to have a membership fee.
If theft is suspected, the manager should raise the suspicion with the person in question. If the person in question admits to the theft, it is not necessarily necessary to press charges, but a contract for repayment/settlement can be drawn up and signed by both parties. The contract should then include consequences for breach of contract, such as reporting to the police or interest.
Students who stay in Norway for less than 6 months will be assigned a D number. If the student will be staying in Norway for more than 6 months, you must report a move to Norway and apply for a national identity number. To make changes in the Brønnøysund Register Centre, you must enter the correct roles and D numbers or personal ID numbers of all board members.
Funding
You can apply for SSN for money - aka student funds - for activities for students. There are some criteria that must be met in order for the application to be approved, one of the most important of which is that the activities must be run by students and be for the students at educational institutions affiliated to SSN.
See the criteria for allocation of student funds here.
The goal of distributing money for student activities is to stimulate a rich, inclusive and lively student environment. We want to help you thrive while you study. Students who thrive more often complete their studies on time.
Read more about student funds and find the application form.
In order to apply for support, the activities must be run by students and be for the students at educational institutions affiliated to SSN:
USN's eight campuses (Bø, Drammen, Kongsberg, Notodden, Porsgrunn, Rauland, Ringerike and Vestfold).
Fagskolen in Viken, Kongsberg (former Tinius Olsen).
There are two deadlines per semester:
Autumn semester:
15 September and 15 November.
Spring semester:
15 February and 15 April.
Use our counsellors for student relations on campus!
SSN has counsellors/coordinators for student relations at all campuses. These busy bees are often "out on a mission", for example in meetings with the volunteers, USN, the host municipality or other partners, so if you come to closed doors, that is why. Come back a little later, or get in touch by sending a message.