You do not work for the council. You do not need SAP access. You need published documents, stubborn FOI, and a desk that refuses to invent pennies. About twenty minutes.
See the shape of the money
Open Money Map. Gross £3.17bn minus £1.05bn income is £2.12bn net. Education £822m, Social Work £592m. You do not need an accountancy degree — follow the blocks.
Done when: You can name the six official service blocks.
Pick a service that matters to you
Education’s 2024/25 overspend is already cited. Social Work’s provider split is not — that becomes an FOI, not a guess.
Done when: You know what is proven vs what is still a gap.
Search every held payment
The Vault holds related-party lines, remuneration totals and anything you import. Search a company. Pin rows. Attach them to a case.
Done when: You can find NHS GGC, Enable, Citizens Theatre in seconds.
Ask for what they will not publish
Glasgow does not post a spend-over-£500 file. FOI Factory has letters that have already worked at the supplier-total layer. Send to [email protected] or WhatDoTheyKnow.
Done when: You have a copy-ready letter and a CSV template.
Write it up so others can check you
Case Files + Report Studio only quote held numbers. Copy the pack. That is how a resident out-audits a press office.
Done when: You leave with a citable one-pager.