Requirements:

• Not a last-year student

• This is an elected position

General Overview of What Needs to be Done:

Process For Managing Financials: 

• 6 Weeks Before Semester:

1. 1. Reach out to each project lead to discuss the budget for the upcoming year.
   2. Ask each lead to prepare a rough BOM for their projects in advance.
   3. Plan for variation, and the possibility of shortfalls.
   4. During the meeting go through the BOM with the lead and determine a bare minimum, and target budget.

Budgets will of-course depend on what each project team has planned and what funds are available. Some are independently funded using outside sources.

Hypothetical Target Budget:

• • IREC - $7$4,600
  • Liquid Propulsion - $1$2,800
  • Solid Propulsion - $2$4,000
  • Avionics - $3,800
  • Payload - $2,000
  • Space Race: - $1,500
  • Administrative - $500

For record keeping purposes "Administrative" includes other purchases (social events, website upkeep, merchandise, etc.).

There is a general budget, but most project funding must be secured by the project lead. They will work with the Director of Sponsorship to raise funds and create corporate connections for financial or material support. Any funds raised in this manner will go solely to the project team unless told otherwise.

• 2 Weeks Before Semester

1. 1. Treasurer leads budget allocation meeting with all leads.
   2. Teams leads should discuss the financial health of the team and what should be focused on.Work with the Director of Outreach to raise funds and create corporate connections for financial or material support.
   3. Have project leads start to apply for outside project-specific funding (the NY State NASA agency is a good start).

• Financial Maintenance (All Semester) 

1. 1. There are premade spreadsheets from previous years which use various macros to track all purchases.
      
      1. The remaining budget is CLEAR at all times
      2. Individual purchases are logged by sub team
      3. Credits coming in are shown
      4. Spending is shown in relation to the budget
   2. The treasurer is solely responsible for purchasing and making sure that ALL purchases have been logged for all teams
      1. Add each receipt to the financials google drive within 24 hours
         
      2. This includes both purchases and credits
      3. Receipts must display each item purchased, shipping (if applicable), and tax information (if this number is non-zero you have a big problem).
   3. Team leads are responsible for making sure that they are able to complete their project within budget.
   4. If a team needs to go over their established budget it will have to be approved by the treasurer and mentioned at a leads meeting.
      
      

Receipts:
Every month Vanessa will send out an email of the items purchased that month, as well as any credits for the account. Send her back receipts for each transaction as pdfs (preferred), or photos. Organize receipts in the drive, by month, and academic year. (Administrative -> Financials -> Receipts). The preferred receipt naming convention is [ "company name" - "item purchased".pdf ], this keeps everything organized and makes verifying the monthly statements much easier. Make sure each receipt includes a breakdown of the items purchased, the shipping total (if applicable), and the tax information. RIT is a tax-exempt organization, if we are charged taxes on any purchases you must go to the vendor and get the money back. Usually, the vendor will recognize the credit card and exclude them automatically. If not, you must create an account with the organization and register as tax-exempt (the form verifying our status is in the drive).

Purchasing:
Vendor accounts for Launch are organized using LastPass. It has the email, and password associated with each, if you create a new account add it here. Make sure new accounts use the email launchinitiative@rit.edu, and are registered as tax-exempt if necessary (this will take a few days to verify and will require the tax-exempt form). Use the Launch credit card for online purchases and send all items to Launch Initiative's / The Construct's address (1 Lomb Memorial Dr. Rochester, NY 14623). It will take usually takes RIT about one business day to process mail from the time it arrives on campus until it reaches the Construct. When buying anything in person bring the tax exempt form, keep the receipts (take a photo) and check for taxes. Some companies will require further identification for in person purchases, namely Walmart. There a separate card is required to be presented to the cashier (it is person specific).

PayPal:

Information on the team's PayPal account can be found in LastPass, it should only be used for purchases which do not accept credit cards like IREC (the credit card can be linked to PayPal). Refunds are also processed through PayPal occasionally.

Credit Card: 

The credit card should only ever be in the possession of the Treasurer or team President. Keep track of who has the credit card, and only give out the information if absolutely necessary. Launch is very fortunate that RIT allows us hold onto a university card, this trust should not be abused. All purchases made must be club related. If anything happens to the card contact Venessa Mitchell IMMEDIATELY. If for some reason the card is being replaced, or is otherwise unavailable, purchases can be made using personal funds and the club will reimburse you. RIT requires that all Airbnb rentals be done through reimbursements, the residence must be preapproved. In the drive there is the RIT reimbursement form. Have the purchaser fill out their bank information; the Treasurer should send the filled-out form along with a receipt to Venessa Mitchell (CC the person on the email). RIT will not reimburse any applicable taxes.