Duties of a booster club treasurer, explained clearly

Last updated 2026-08-14

what does a treasurer do (the short answer)

A booster club treasurer is the person who keeps score on the money. That's the whole job in one sentence. Everything else is detail. In practice, that means four buckets of work: recording every transaction, protecting the club's cash and bank accounts, reporting to the board and members on where things stand, and filing whatever the IRS and state require each year. Some clubs also hand the treasurer fundraising compliance (raffle permits, sponsor invoices) and reimbursement approvals. Small clubs often stack all of this on one volunteer. Bigger ones split duties between a treasurer, a bookkeeper, and a finance committee. If you just inherited this job with a shoebox of receipts and a login you're not sure works, you're not alone. Most booster treasurers are parents or coaches who never signed up to be an accountant. The job is learnable. It's also unforgiving of gaps, because tax-exempt status and state raffle licenses both depend on paperwork being filed on time, every year, without fail.

what is a treasurer, exactly, in a nonprofit or booster context

A treasurer is the officer responsible for a nonprofit's money and financial records. In a booster club, PTO, or youth sports organization, the treasurer is usually an elected or appointed board position, defined in the bylaws, with specific authority (like signing checks) and specific limits (like a dollar threshold requiring a second signature). The IRS doesn't license or certify treasurers. There's no federal exam or credential. Your authority comes entirely from your organization's own governing documents, usually the bylaws or a board resolution. That's why the first thing a new treasurer should do is actually read the bylaws, not skim them. They'll tell you who can sign checks, who approves budgets over a certain amount, and how often you're required to report to the board. Legally, a treasurer of an unincorporated association or nonprofit corporation can carry fiduciary duty, meaning a duty of care and loyalty toward the organization's assets. State nonprofit corporation law (if the club is incorporated) usually spells this out. If your club isn't sure whether it's incorporated, check with your state's Secretary of State business search; that answer changes what liability protection officers have.

what does a club treasurer do day to day

Day to day, a club treasurer's job is mostly unglamorous bookkeeping, done consistently. That includes: depositing cash and checks promptly (never letting money sit in someone's car or kitchen drawer), logging every transaction in a ledger or accounting software, reconciling the bank statement every month against your own records, paying approved bills, collecting and organizing receipts for reimbursements, and tracking fundraiser income separately from general funds so the board can see what each event actually raised. A realistic weekly-to-monthly rhythm looks like this: - Weekly: deposit any cash/checks collected, log new transactions

• Monthly: reconcile bank statement, prepare a simple income/expense report for the board
• Quarterly: review budget vs. actual, check on any state raffle or charitable solicitation renewal deadlines
• Annually: prepare and file Form 990-series return, renew state charitable registration if required, run a handoff packet for the next treasurer The monthly reconciliation is the single habit that catches problems early. Skip it for six months and you're doing forensic accounting instead of bookkeeping.

what is Form 990 and why does the treasurer file it

990-N (e-Postcard)	Smallest orgs	Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less [2]
990-EZ	Mid-size orgs	Gross receipts under $200,000 AND total assets under $500,000 [3]
990 (full)	Larger orgs	Gross receipts $200,000+ OR total assets $500,000+ [3]
990-PF	Private foundations	All private foundations, regardless of size [4]	Most booster clubs and small PTOs land in the 990-N category. It's an online-only form (there's no paper version) asking for basic identifying information, not a full financial statement [2]. If your club has ever run a big fundraiser that pushed receipts over $50,000 in a year, check whether you need the 990-EZ instead; the threshold is a hard line, not a guideline. See our guide to Form 990 for a full breakdown of which version applies to you.

Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS to report income, expenses, and activities. The treasurer usually prepares it, or gathers the numbers for whoever signs it (often the president or a hired preparer). The IRS is direct about who has to file: "Most tax-exempt organizations are required to file an annual return" ^[1]. Which version depends on gross receipts and assets: | Form | Who files it | Threshold |

what is Form 990-N (the e-Postcard) and how do you file it

Form 990-N, nicknamed the e-Postcard, is the stripped-down annual filing for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less ^[2]. It asks for eight pieces of information: your EIN, tax year, legal name and address, any other names used, a website if you have one, confirmation your receipts are still under $50,000, and confirmation you haven't terminated. You file it electronically through the IRS's website, not through the general tax-filing portals used for 990-EZ or 990. There's no fee to file it ^[2]. It's due by the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization's tax year ends; for a calendar-year club (tax year ending December 31), that's May 15 ^[2]. Miss it three years running and the consequence is severe: automatic revocation of tax-exempt status, with no appeal for the missed deadlines themselves ^[5]. This is the single most common crisis new booster treasurers walk into, an inherited club that lost its exemption two treasurers ago because nobody filed. Our guide to 990-N walks through the filing screens step by step, and Form 990-N covers what to do if you've already missed a year.

what does a treasurer do if the club lost its tax-exempt status

If your booster club shows up on the IRS Auto-Revocation List, the first job is confirming it, then applying for reinstatement, not panicking. Check the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool directly; it lists organizations that lost exemption for failing to file for three consecutive years ^[5]. If your club is on it, you generally need to file Form 1023 (or 1023-EZ, if eligible) to apply for reinstatement, along with any past-due 990 forms the IRS asks for. The IRS offers streamlined retroactive reinstatement for organizations that apply within 15 months of revocation and meet certain conditions ^[5]; miss that window and the process gets more involved, sometimes requiring reasonable-cause explanations for each missed year. During the gap between revocation and reinstatement, the organization is not tax-exempt at the federal level, and donations made during that period may not be tax-deductible for donors. That's a real cost, not a technicality, especially for clubs asking parents and businesses for donations. It's also a reason to loop in your state charity registration office; some states independently track exempt status and will flag a lapsed federal exemption on renewal.

what other reports does a treasurer prepare besides Form 990

Federal filing is only one piece. A treasurer typically also prepares internal reports the board actually uses to make decisions, plus state-level filings that are easy to forget. Internally, expect to produce: a monthly or quarterly income/expense statement, a budget-vs-actual comparison, a year-end summary for the annual meeting, and per-event fundraiser reports (so the board can tell which fundraisers are worth repeating and which lose money after costs). Externally, depending on your state, you may also need: a charitable solicitation registration renewal (many states require nonprofits soliciting donations to register with the state Attorney General or Secretary of State, confirm with your state charity office for current thresholds and forms), and a raffle or gaming license renewal if your club runs raffles, bingo, or similar games. These are state-specific and change often, so a specific dollar threshold or form number here would be a guess; confirm current requirements directly with your state's charitable gaming or charity registration office before running an event.

what does a treasurer do to keep cash handling under control

Cash handling is where booster clubs get hurt most often, not through fraud usually, but through sloppiness that looks like fraud later when someone asks questions. Basic controls a treasurer should insist on: two people count concession or raffle cash together and both sign a count sheet, nobody deposits money they personally collected without another person verifying the count first, reimbursements require a receipt and a brief description (no receipt, no reimbursement, no exceptions, even for the coach), and check-signing requires two signatures above a set dollar threshold written into the bylaws. Separation of duties matters more than any single control. If the same person collects cash, deposits it, and reconciles the bank statement with nobody else looking, that's a structural weakness regardless of how honest that person is. It's not an accusation to fix that; it protects the treasurer as much as the club, because a clean paper trail is the treasurer's best defense if numbers are ever questioned. A $99 State-Personalized Treasurer Kit built for your state's specific rules (/treasurer-kit-builder) can shortcut building these forms from scratch, though a simple two-signature count sheet works fine as a first step even with zero budget.

what does a treasurer do during a leadership handoff

A handoff is where most booster club financial history gets lost. Treasurers rotate out every one to three years typically, and if there's no packet, the new person starts from zero, sometimes literally not knowing the bank account exists. A proper handoff packet includes: current bank account numbers and online access, the EIN and any IRS determination letter, the last three years of filed 990s (or confirmation of 990-N filing dates), the check register and reconciliation records for the current and prior year, a list of recurring bills and vendors, the raffle/gaming license and renewal date if applicable, and the state charity registration renewal date if applicable. Build this packet even if you're not leaving soon. Treasurers get sick, move, or simply burn out mid-year, and an unplanned gap is far worse than a planned one. Many clubs also do a light internal review, not a formal audit, each year at handoff: someone other than the outgoing treasurer checks that bank statements match the ledger and that reimbursements had receipts. It's a two-hour task, not a forensic audit, and it catches most problems before they become a crisis.

what does a treasurer do around fundraising and raffle compliance

Fundraising is where treasurer duties overlap hardest with state law, because raffles, bingo, and games of chance are regulated at the state level, sometimes by the Attorney General's office, sometimes by a gaming commission, and the rules vary widely. Before running a raffle, a treasurer (or whoever handles compliance) typically needs to check: does the state require a license or permit for the specific game type, is there a fee, is there a minimum time before the event the application must be filed, and are there reporting requirements after the event (some states require a post-event report showing gross receipts, prizes awarded, and expenses). None of these numbers are consistent state to state, and they change, so confirm current requirements with your state's charitable gaming office or Attorney General's charity division before setting a date or selling tickets. Separately, track fundraiser income and expenses per event, not lumped into general revenue. A raffle that grossed $3,000 but cost $2,400 in prizes and licensing isn't the fundraiser the board thinks it is, and that distinction only shows up if the treasurer tracked it separately from the bake sale next to it.

what does a treasurer do that a president or board member doesn't

The president runs meetings and sets direction. The treasurer is the only officer with a legal and practical duty to know, at any moment, exactly how much money the organization has and where it went. That distinction matters for accountability. If a board votes to spend $2,000 on new equipment, the treasurer is the one who confirms the money exists, cuts the check or approves the payment, records it, and reports back that it happened as approved. The board sets policy; the treasurer executes and documents. In small clubs the lines blur, especially if the treasurer is also the only person who understands the books, but that blurring is itself a risk. If the treasurer disappears tomorrow, does anyone else know the bank login, the EIN, or the filing deadline? If not, that's a governance gap worth fixing before it's forced on you.

Frequently asked questions

What does a treasurer do?

A treasurer tracks all money coming in and going out of an organization, keeps bank and cash records reconciled, reports financial status to the board, and handles required tax filings like Form 990. In a booster club, this usually also includes reimbursement approvals and fundraiser income tracking.

What is a treasurer?

A treasurer is the officer or board position responsible for an organization's money and financial recordkeeping. Authority and duties come from the organization's bylaws, not from any government license or certification; the IRS does not certify or license treasurers.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires from most tax-exempt organizations, reporting income, expenses, and activities. "Most tax-exempt organizations are required to file an annual return," per the IRS ^[2]. Which version (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990) depends on gross receipts and total assets.

What is the 990 tax form?

It's not an income tax form in the traditional sense; it's an information return that keeps a tax-exempt organization's status current with the IRS. Small booster clubs with gross receipts of $50,000 or less normally file the simplified Form 990-N instead ^[1].

What is Form 990-N and who has to file it?

Form 990-N (the e-Postcard) is the simplified annual filing for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less ^[1]. It's filed online only, has no fee, and is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the tax year ends (May 15 for calendar-year clubs) ^[1].

What does a club treasurer do that's different from a company bookkeeper?

A club treasurer usually also holds fiduciary and reporting duties defined in bylaws, handles state charity or raffle license compliance, and files IRS Form 990-series returns, none of which a typical for-profit bookkeeper deals with. The scope is broader even when the dollar amounts are smaller.

What happens if a booster club never files Form 990?

After three consecutive years of not filing any required 990-series return, the IRS automatically revokes the organization's tax-exempt status, with the organization appearing on the IRS Auto-Revocation List ^[5]. Reinstatement requires filing Form 1023 (or 1023-EZ) and catching up on delinquent returns.

Does a booster club treasurer need to be an accountant?

No. There's no professional license required to serve as a volunteer treasurer. Most booster treasurers are parents or coaches learning as they go; the job is manageable with consistent monthly habits (reconciling, logging, reporting) even without accounting training.

How often should a treasurer reconcile the bank account?

Monthly, at minimum, matching every transaction on the bank statement against the club's own ledger. Waiting longer makes errors and missing receipts much harder to trace back to their source.

What records should a treasurer hand off to the next treasurer?

Bank account access, the EIN, the last three years of 990 filings or 990-N confirmation, reconciliation records, a vendor list, and any state raffle or charity registration renewal dates. A missing handoff packet is the most common reason booster clubs lose track of filing deadlines.

Do booster clubs need a state license to run a raffle?

Often yes, but requirements vary sharply by state and by game type (raffle, bingo, casino night). Confirm current licensing requirements, fees, and deadlines with your state's charitable gaming office or Attorney General's charity division before scheduling any event involving a game of chance.

What's the difference between Form 990-N, 990-EZ, and full Form 990?

990-N is for organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less ^[1]. 990-EZ is for gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 ^[3]. Full Form 990 is required above those thresholds ^[3]. Private foundations file Form 990-PF regardless of size ^[4].

Sources

1. IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations, Form 990-N (e-Postcard): Gross receipts threshold, filing method, due date, and no fee for Form 990-N
2. IRS, Annual Exempt Organization Return: Who Must File: Most tax-exempt organizations are required to file an annual return
3. IRS, Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (instructions): 990-EZ and full 990 gross receipts and total assets thresholds
4. IRS, About Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation: Private foundations file Form 990-PF regardless of size
5. IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Three consecutive years of non-filing leads to automatic revocation; streamlined reinstatement window details
6. IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-11, Streamlined Retroactive Reinstatement Procedures: Streamlined retroactive reinstatement available for organizations applying within 15 months of revocation
7. IRS, Form 1023-EZ, Streamlined Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3): Smaller organizations may use Form 1023-EZ to apply for reinstatement of exemption