How finance works in Our Stairwell

Finance is designed to make each balance explainable to a resident, Treasurer or future committee member. It is not just a list of money in and money out. It connects what was requested or owed with what actually happened at the bank, and records what the money was for.

The four parts of a clear finance record

Resident charges record what a unit has been asked to pay and when.
Bills record what the association owes a supplier.
Bank transactions record money that actually entered or left the bank.
Funds and categories explain which money pot and purpose each amount belongs to.

These are separate because they answer different questions. Issuing a charge does not mean the resident has paid. Recording a bill does not mean it has left the bank. Importing a bank row proves movement but does not explain whether it was a resident payment, supplier bill, refund or something else.

Matching connects those records.

Example: resident payment

The Treasurer issues a £600 service-charge demand.
The unit ledger shows £600 due, perhaps across several instalments.
A £200 bank receipt is imported.
The Treasurer matches it to the correct instalment and fund.
The unit ledger now shows the receipt and the remaining amount.

The bank row supplies the cash evidence. The demand supplies the unit, due date and reason.

Example: supplier bill

A £900 cleaning bill is recorded with its invoice.
It appears as unpaid and can be included in the association's liabilities.
The £900 outgoing bank row is imported.
The Treasurer matches it to that bill and the Operating Fund.
The bill becomes paid and the expense is classified for reporting.

This prevents a payment being treated as an unexplained withdrawal.

Why every bank row needs a fund and target

The fund says which pot of association money the amount affects. The target says what the amount was:

money in can be a resident charge payment or an income category;
money out can be a bill, an expense category or a resident refund.

One bank transaction can be split across several allocation lines when a single payment covers several charges, bills or purposes.

Cash, income and balances are not the same thing

Bank balance is the opening balance plus recorded bank movements. Compare it with the bank statement to check that all rows have been recorded correctly.
Income and expenditure uses classified activity for a selected period.
Arrears are unpaid amounts on property charge instalments that have fallen due. Future instalments are not yet arrears.
Unpaid bills are amounts still owed to suppliers.
Resident credit is money or a credit note available to a unit; it is not free association income.
Fund balances show how cash is earmarked. They are not extra cash on top of the bank balance.

The opening bank balance is carried in as starting cash, not counted as new income. That is why it needs a date.

Why corrections preserve history

Issued demands, credits and paid records affect several balances. Voiding, unmatching or reversing them provides a traceable correction. Deleting the evidence would make later reports and resident questions harder to explain.

Unmatch a bank allocation before editing a bill or transaction whose matched amount would otherwise become inconsistent.

Who can see finance

Residents can be given access to their own unit ledger without seeing the association bank, other units, bills or reports. Full finance and finance editing are separate permissions. This protects sensitive information while still letting residents understand their own balance.

Our Stairwell provides record-keeping and reporting tools, not accounting, tax or legal advice. The association remains responsible for its accounting policies, service-charge obligations and professional review.