Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

Like most teams we have to be at least a little creative when dealing with purchases during crunch time. One of the companies we work with allows us to make all purchaces through them. At the end of the build season they send me a bill which we pay out of our school account. This avoids any issues with time constraints.

I actually am I big fan of using our high school account for our purchases. First of all all money in and out is observed by the school accountant (and principle) which avoids any issues of responcibility. Also I have found if we are short some money the school can shift money from another account temporarily. This has been helpful when we are waiting for a donation that has not arrived yet. Finally I have found that our Board of Education is more inclined to give us money when the money is attached to our high school and not sent "out" of the school loop and into a seperate account.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

Lakota Robotics has an activties account within the school. We have never had any problems. PO's take 7 - 10 days to process, so what we do is setup blanket PO's that are good for the entire school year. THis allows us to purchase anything and anytime during the year and the invoice goes to the school and is paid immediately. Very simple process.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

I suggest getting away from your school if you can. Their built-in bureaucracy is never helpful, and they're probably not paying you interest on your account. If it's in your own account under a 503C, you can do a whole lot of things - including making it work FOR you if you have some sitting there for a couple months.

Jiimy, above is a perfect example. Why even go through the hassle of that - isn't FIRST complicated enough as it is? Handle your own money. Get a paypal account linked to your team bank account so everything is instant-paid and withdrawn without having to worry about PO's etc.

I know schools love having that money in their general fund, but the headaches we had getting to our own money is driving us away from our school. Lengthy payback times forcing us to keep things on our personal cards or pay them off ourselves - rejecting receipts because they don't particularly like the format - it's a bit crazy.

I have to thank the schools for where they do help - without them much of FIRST wouldn't be possible - but this is one of those areas where you can do much better for yourselves by yourselves.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

Ok it sounds like we are hearing a lot of familiar financial woes when working with a school financial system. Our team works through 4 accounts. 1) A district budget, where we have to use PO's and deal with delays. 2) A school Boosters account - easier to get reimbursements, but they keep 10%. 3) The School ASB club account - better than the district, but lots more paperwork and rules. 4) Our local education foundation which was our best of all worlds until recently when we found out that there maybe some lack of paperwork being filed to keep their 503(c) status. So we've recently taken a hard look at starting our own 503(c) organization like some of you other teams have done.

Has anyone written up a white paper on what that entail, tips, good practices, etc?? I have searched CD-Media and could find anything.

I'm encouraged from what folks on CD are saying about their 503(c), other folks I talk to in person seem to really discourage the notion, stating the paperwork and regulations are too demanding.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

There is quite a bit of info on the NEMO site
http://www.firstnemo.org/resources.htm

There is a broken link to the subject. We try and get it fixed.

You don't have to do it yourself. Don't hesitate to ask a lawyer or accountant for donated help. Our accountant works for a link on the website.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

Its not really a headache. I spend about 10 minutes writing all my blanket PO's on July 1st, beginning of schools fiscal, I submit them and they are done for the year. If I see that they are going to be exceeded, I send an email and they are increased. Reimbursements are easy, If you turn in the receipt they remiburse you the same day in cash. I never ran into an issue with receipts being the wrong kind or format. Sounds like our system might be a bit less complicated than others.

I agree that if we had the opporunity to start up our own 501 c (3), we probably would and we may some day. But currently its much easier for us at the moment.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

Thanks all for the great response! We are having the same issues with our school. They take absolutely forever to get OUR money back to us. we still haven't gotten some that where sent in before the build season :( And most of all, our main school mentor/teacher has stepped down because of personal conflicts. So we have basicly no contact with the school...

Both of my parents are CPA's so I am working with them to see what It would take to apply to be a 501(c)3 organization! thanks all for the help!!!!

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

You may want to take a moment to look at this Think Tank article, Forming A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit For A Robotics Team

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

We have a great setup (all credit to our awesome team advisor, who I do battle with over spending money... apparently I like to spend too much :rolleyes: ) that involves a non-profit and a credit card. The nonprofit allows us full control of our accounts, along with a lucrative tax write off for potential sponsors (really, really, really stress this. We've got a lot this year purely for that reason). The credit card nets us a cash back for some reason, and is a rather good deal, I believe it's a special card for nonprofits but I may be wrong. On top of that initial cash back, we have it registered with Escrip for our nonprofit, so we actually get a few percent overall back. We make all team purchases with this card, and immediately pay it off with our non-profits bank account.

It's nice because you have the immediate ordering available, but aren't using a person's/sponsor's card that must be paid back later.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

Team 2108 in the past used their own account, but this year we got our 501(c)(3) status. It's making life much easier.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

PO's are great when done at the school level.
I dont think anyone really has a complaint on the process of doing so.
The problem lies where not all vendors accept PO's. Our school doesnt have its own credit card as the State DOE doesnt allow for us to carry one.
It becomes a huge hassle going through the reimbursement process, which can take weeks at a time, .........and in the meantime, I accrue finance charges.
I know of many teams that end of spending money out of pocket that is non-reimbursable.
The idea of exploring other ways to manage how funds are accessed, saved, and earning interest, if possible, can make things a lot easier.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

Yeah, we also have school credit cards for just those cases when a company doesn't except PO's

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

As a 4-H team Exploding Bacon is already a 501-C-3. We set up our own bank account and have a debit card which is a saving grace during build and also for ordering online and reserving hotel rooms.

Re: Bank Account Vs School
 

We have a small account with the school to maintain our student activity status and handle school transactions, etc. However, we chiefly use a private savings-checking account and debit card for day-to-day business with a seperate credit card that's tied into. In addition, the team works closely with a STEM company created by one of our mentors and another local team's mentor, which is a 501(c)(3), so it can handle that business.