Duties of a treasurer: what a booster or PTO treasurer does

Last updated 2026-07-25

what does a treasurer do?

A treasurer is the person in a club, PTO, or booster group responsible for the money: collecting it, recording it, safeguarding it, and reporting on it. That's the one-sentence version. In practice the job breaks into four buckets: bookkeeping (recording every transaction), banking (deposits, reconciliations, signers), reporting (telling the board and members what the finances actually look like), and compliance (taxes, state registrations, insurance requirements tied to money). Most volunteer treasurers inherit the role with zero training and a shoebox, a spreadsheet, or a login to an online banking portal nobody explained. The job is not glamorous. It is also the single role most likely to trigger legal or tax trouble if it's skipped or done sloppily, because unlike a missed bake sale sign-up, a missed IRS filing or an unbalanced bank account has real consequences: penalties, lost tax-exempt status, or a president asking where $3,000 went. None of this is legal or tax advice. Every club's bylaws, state rules, and IRS situation differ enough that this article gives you the map, not the final word. Confirm specifics with the IRS and your state charity office before you file anything or make a controls decision that affects a lot of cash.

what is a treasurer, exactly?

A treasurer is an elected or appointed officer whose job is defined by the organization's bylaws, not by some universal job description. Some bylaws spell it out in detail ("the treasurer shall receive all funds, deposit them within 5 business days, maintain a ledger, and present a written report at each meeting"). Others say almost nothing, which is worse, because it leaves the treasurer guessing what's actually required. If your bylaws are vague or missing, don't wing it. Pull the last three years of meeting minutes and bank statements to see what the treasurer before you actually did, then propose a written job description at the next board meeting so the next person doesn't inherit the same fog you did. Legally, a treasurer of a nonprofit corporation usually counts as an officer, which in most states means fiduciary duties (duty of care, duty of loyalty) apply. That's a fancy way of saying: you have to act carefully and in the organization's interest, not your own, and you can be personally on the hook if you're grossly negligent or self-dealing. State nonprofit corporation statutes define officer duties in more detail; check your state's specific statute rather than assuming they're all identical.

what do treasurers do day to day, month to month, and year to year?

Breaking the job into timeframes helps new treasurers see it's manageable, not one giant undefined blob. Daily or as-needed: deposit checks and cash promptly (ideally within a few business days, never sitting in someone's car or kitchen drawer), record each transaction with a date, amount, and purpose, and keep receipts for every expense reimbursement. Monthly: reconcile the bank statement against your ledger (every transaction should match, and any difference needs an explanation, not a shrug), prepare a short financial report for the board meeting showing income, expenses, and current balance, and flag anything unusual (a bounced check, a duplicate charge, a vendor invoice that doesn't match the PO). Annually: build or update a budget with the board before the school year or season starts, close out the books at fiscal year end, prepare for handoff or an audit if leadership is turning over, and file the group's IRS annual return. If your group runs a raffle, bingo, or similar game as a fundraiser, add state raffle license renewal to this list; requirements vary widely by state and typically sit with the state's attorney general or gaming/charity office rather than the IRS.

what does a treasurer do in a club or PTO specifically?

A booster club or PTO treasurer has a slightly different flavor of the job than a corporate treasurer, mostly because the volume is smaller but the informality risk is higher. Concretely, expect to: - Open and manage a dedicated bank account in the organization's name (not a personal account, ever, even "just for now")

• Track dues, concession sales, spirit wear sales, sponsorship checks, and fundraiser proceeds separately enough that you can report on each
• Reimburse parent volunteers and coaches for approved purchases, with receipts required before repayment
• Present a treasurer's report at every general membership or board meeting, even if it's just three lines: starting balance, activity, ending balance
• Maintain W-9s for any vendor or contractor paid $600 or more in a year, since you may need to issue a Form 1099-NEC
• Keep the organization's EIN, bylaws, and prior tax filings in one place so the next treasurer isn't starting from zero A lot of booster clubs and PTOs also handle physical cash from concession stands, car washes, and gate admissions. That's where a two-person count and a written cash log matter most; more on that below.

what is Form 990 (the annual IRS filing) and does your group have to file it?

Normally $50,000 or less	Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
Less than $200,000, and total assets less than $500,000	Form 990-EZ (or full 990)
$200,000 or more, or total assets $500,000 or more	Form 990
Private foundations (any size)	Form 990-PF	This threshold table reflects the IRS's own filing thresholds for Form 990-N and 990-EZ eligibility [2]. Most small booster clubs and PTOs, especially first-year or shoestring-budget groups, land in the 990-N bucket. Don't guess based on last year alone; if a bumper fundraiser pushes you over $50,000 in gross receipts, you may need to step up to the 990-EZ that year. For background reading on how these filings work in practice, see Form 990, the 990, and 990 tax form basics.

Form 990 is the annual information return most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS. It reports income, expenses, and activities for the year. There isn't one single "990" form; there's a family of them scaled to organization size, and figuring out which one applies is one of the treasurer's biggest annual jobs. The IRS explains it directly: "Tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts, and section 527 political organizations file Form 990 to provide the IRS with the information required by section 6033" ^[1]. In plain English: if you're recognized as tax-exempt (or acting like you are), the IRS wants an annual accounting, even if you owe zero tax. Which version you file depends mostly on gross receipts: | Organization's gross receipts | Which form to file |

what is Form 990-N and how is it different from the full 990?

Form 990-N, nicknamed the "e-Postcard," is the stripped-down annual filing for the smallest tax-exempt organizations, those with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It's filed entirely online through the IRS's electronic system and asks for basic identifying information rather than a detailed financial statement. The IRS states that organizations eligible to file the e-Postcard "must electronically submit Form 990-N unless they choose to file a complete Form 990 or Form 990-EZ instead" ^[2]. That last clause matters: you're allowed to file the longer form even if you qualify for the short one, and some treasurers do, because a fuller 990 can build more trust with donors and sponsors who want to see real financial detail. The 990-N asks for: your EIN, tax year, legal name and mailing address, any other names the organization uses, your website (if you have one), confirmation that gross receipts are $50,000 or less, and a statement that the organization hasn't terminated. That's it: no income statement, no balance sheet. Compare that to Form 990-EZ or the full Form 990, which require a detailed statement of revenue and expenses, a balance sheet, and program service descriptions. If your booster club sits right around the $50,000 line, budget extra treasurer hours for the EZ version; it's a real step up in paperwork from the e-Postcard. See 990-N and Form 990-N for a closer look at the e-Postcard process, and IRS Form 990 for how the family of forms fits together.

what happens if a treasurer misses the Form 990 filing deadline?

This is the part that should scare every new treasurer straight, in a useful way. The IRS is explicit: "Organizations that fail to file required returns for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status" ^[3]. Not a warning letter, not a fine first. Automatic revocation, three years running, no exceptions written into the statute for "we're all volunteers and forgot." For calendar-year organizations, the Form 990-series return is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends, which for a December 31 year-end is May 15 ^[4]. If your booster club runs on a school-year fiscal year (say, July 1 to June 30), your deadline shifts to November 15. Filing late once is a paperwork problem you can usually fix. Filing late (or not at all) three years straight ends with your organization's exemption gone and its name posted on the IRS's public Auto-Revocation List. Getting reinstated after that means a full new exemption application (Form 1023 or 1023-EZ, depending on size) and, for many small organizations, a streamlined retroactive reinstatement process, but it costs real time and sometimes a user fee. It's dramatically cheaper, in hours and stress, to just file the e-Postcard every single year on a calendar reminder than to fix a lapsed status later.

what does a treasurer of a club do with cash from fundraisers?

Cash is where most volunteer treasurer nightmares start, not because volunteers are dishonest but because cash has no paper trail unless you build one. A concession stand, car wash, or raffle table can move a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in an afternoon, all in small bills, all vulnerable to an honest miscount or an uncomfortable accusation later. The fix is boring and it works: two-person counts at open and close, a written cash log signed by both counters, a deposit made within a day or two (not sitting in a coach's bag over a long weekend), and a receipt or tally sheet matched against the deposit slip. If your state requires a raffle license for the fundraiser itself, that's a separate step from the cash handling, and it typically runs through your state's attorney general, secretary of state, or gaming commission rather than the IRS; requirements and fees vary enough by state that you should confirm directly with your state's charity or gaming regulator before running the event. None of this needs software or a CPA. It needs a habit and a second set of hands. If your board is small and the same one or two people always touch the cash, that's a real weakness, not a convenience; rotate counters when you can.

what records must a treasurer keep, and for how long?

At minimum: bank statements, deposit slips, receipts for every expense, board-approved budgets, meeting minutes that reference financial decisions, W-9s and any 1099s issued, and copies of every annual IRS filing. The IRS's own recordkeeping FAQ page for exempt organizations addresses this directly, noting that organizations should retain records supporting return positions for as long as they may be needed to establish compliance with federal tax law ^[5]. In practice that means most treasurers keep at least three years of full records and permanently keep formation documents (articles of incorporation, bylaws, IRS determination letter, and EIN confirmation). Three years matters specifically because that's the auto-revocation trigger window; if your organization is ever asked to prove a clean multi-year filing history, having complete records for at least that stretch (and ideally longer) saves enormous headaches. Store copies in more than one place. A shared drive plus a printed folder that travels with the treasurer role is a reasonable minimum. Losing the prior year's 990-N confirmation or the bank reconciliation from the year a coach was accused of misusing funds is exactly the kind of gap that turns a small misunderstanding into a real dispute.

how does a treasurer report to the board or membership?

A treasurer's report doesn't need to be fancy; it needs to be regular and honest. At a minimum, bring to every board meeting: the starting bank balance, total income since the last meeting (broken out by source: dues, concessions, sponsorships, fundraisers), total expenses (broken out by category), and the ending balance. Attach the bank statement or a reconciliation summary so the board isn't just taking your word for it. Annually, add a full-year summary next to the approved budget so the board can see where actual spending diverged from plan. This is also the moment to flag anything that needs a vote: a fundraiser that came in way under target, an unexpected expense, or a line item that needs reallocating. Written reports matter more than verbal ones because they create a paper trail. If a board member ever asks "where did that money go," a filed monthly report with numbers answers the question instantly. A verbal summary from six months ago answers nothing.

what does a treasurer do during a leadership handoff or audit?

Handoffs are where sloppy treasurer habits get exposed, usually at the worst possible time (the outgoing treasurer has already moved on emotionally, the incoming one has no context). A clean handoff includes: the current bank balance and a printed reconciliation, the EIN and IRS determination letter, copies of the last three years of Form 990 filings, the current budget versus actual, all outstanding reimbursement requests, and login credentials for banking and accounting tools handed over formally, not texted at 11pm the night before a meeting. An audit (or even an informal financial review by a second board member, which many small nonprofits do instead of a full external audit) checks that recorded transactions match bank statements, receipts exist for expenses, deposits match fundraiser tallies, and no single person had unchecked control over both approving and paying an expense. If your organization has never done any kind of financial review, the leadership transition is the natural moment to start. It costs nothing but a few hours and it protects the outgoing treasurer as much as it protects the incoming one.

where a State-Personalized Treasurer Kit fits in

A lot of this job is less about financial genius and more about not losing the paperwork, tracking the right deadline, and having a repeatable process instead of reinventing one every August. If you'd rather start from a structured setup than a blank spreadsheet, the $99 State-Personalized Treasurer Kit builds out the recurring calendar (990 deadline, state raffle renewal if relevant, bylaws review) alongside templates for cash logs, reimbursement forms, and monthly reports, tailored to your state's specific charity registration rules. It's a one-time cost, not a subscription, and it's meant for exactly the situation this article describes: a volunteer stepping into the treasurer chair with limited time and zero appetite for guessing at IRS deadlines.

Frequently asked questions

What does a treasurer do?

A treasurer tracks all money coming into and out of an organization: deposits, expenses, reimbursements, and reporting. The role also usually covers banking, budgeting, record-keeping, and filing the group's annual IRS return (990-N, 990-EZ, or 990), plus any state charity or raffle filings that apply.

What is a treasurer?

A treasurer is an elected or appointed officer responsible for an organization's finances: recording transactions, managing bank accounts, reporting to the board, and handling tax filings. Exact duties come from the group's bylaws, which is why it's worth reading yours closely rather than assuming a standard job description applies.

What do treasurers do?

Treasurers deposit and record income, pay and reimburse expenses with receipts, reconcile bank statements monthly, build and monitor a budget, report finances at meetings, and file the organization's annual IRS Form 990 series return. Smaller groups also often handle state raffle license renewals if fundraising involves games of chance.

What does a treasurer do in a club or PTO?

A club or PTO treasurer manages dues, concession and fundraiser income, sponsor payments, and volunteer reimbursements, keeps a dedicated bank account, presents regular financial reports, and files the group's annual IRS return. Cash handling controls (two-person counts, written logs) matter especially for concession stands and raffles.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires from most tax-exempt organizations, reporting income, expenses, and activities. The IRS uses it "to provide the IRS with the information required by section 6033" (irs.gov). Which version applies (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990) depends on the organization's gross receipts and assets.

What is a 990 tax form?

The 990 tax form is the informational return tax-exempt nonprofits file yearly instead of a traditional income tax return, since they generally don't owe federal income tax. It reports revenue, expenses, and organizational details so the IRS and the public can see how the organization operates and spends money.

What is the 990?

"The 990" usually refers to the whole family of IRS annual returns for tax-exempt organizations: Form 990-N for gross receipts normally $50,000 or less, Form 990-EZ for receipts under $200,000 with assets under $500,000, and the full Form 990 for larger organizations, per IRS filing thresholds.

What does a treasurer of a club do that a president or secretary doesn't?

The president leads decisions and represents the group; the secretary keeps minutes and records; the treasurer specifically owns the money: banking, bookkeeping, reimbursements, budgets, and required tax filings. Overlap happens in small clubs, but the treasurer is the one accountable for financial accuracy and IRS compliance.

Does a small booster club really have to file taxes every year?

Yes, generally. Even organizations with under $50,000 in gross receipts must file Form 990-N annually to keep their tax-exempt status, per IRS rules. Skipping it for three consecutive years triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status, with no separate warning required beforehand.

What happens if a treasurer never files the 990?

After three consecutive years of missed Form 990-series filings, the IRS automatically revokes the organization's tax-exempt status, per irs.gov guidance on automatic revocation. Reinstatement requires a new exemption application (Form 1023 or 1023-EZ) and can involve a user fee and real delay, so it's far cheaper to file on time every year.

How much cash reserve should a booster club treasurer keep?

There's no single IRS or state rule dictating a reserve amount; it depends on your group's expense cycle. A common practical approach is keeping enough to cover one to two seasons of committed expenses (uniforms, travel, insurance) so a slow fundraising month doesn't leave the group unable to pay bills.

Do treasurers need to be bonded or insured?

It's not an IRS or federal requirement, but some state charity registration rules, umbrella booster associations, or school district policies require officer or fidelity bonding for anyone handling cash. Confirm with your state charity office and your school district or league's specific policy, since requirements vary widely.

Can a treasurer also be the person who approves expenses?

It's legal in most cases but a weak control. Best practice, and what most financial control guidance recommends, is separating who approves an expense from who writes the check or makes the payment, even if that just means a second board member co-signs anything over a set dollar threshold.

Sources

1. IRS, About Form 990: Form 990 is filed by tax-exempt organizations to provide information required by section 6033
2. IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): gross receipts thresholds for Form 990-N eligibility and required submission unless a fuller form is filed
3. IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: organizations that fail to file required returns for three consecutive years automatically lose tax-exempt status
4. IRS, Form 990 Instructions (When to File): Form 990-series returns are due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the organization's fiscal year ends
5. IRS, Frequently Asked Questions About Tax-Exempt Organizations: Recordkeeping: exempt organizations should keep records supporting return items as long as needed to document compliance
6. IRS, Form 1023-EZ, Streamlined Application for Recognition of Exemption: smaller organizations can use the streamlined Form 1023-EZ to reapply for tax-exempt status after revocation
7. 26 U.S. Code Section 6033, Returns by exempt organizations: the statutory basis requiring tax-exempt organizations to file annual information returns