Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
A nonprofit treasurer manages the bank accounts, tracks income and expenses, reports finances to the board, and makes sure the group files the right IRS Form 990 (990-N, 990-EZ, or 990) every year. No CPA license required, but the job carries real fiduciary duty and missed filings can cost the group its tax-exempt status.
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer is the board member responsible for a nonprofit's money: tracking it, protecting it, and explaining it to everyone else. That breaks into four ongoing jobs. First, bookkeeping: recording every deposit and expense, usually in a simple spreadsheet or software like QuickBooks or Wave. Second, banking: being a signer on the account, reconciling statements monthly, and making sure nobody but the treasurer (and maybe one backup) can move money without a second set of eyes. Third, reporting: giving the board a clear picture of cash on hand, budget-to-actual, and upcoming obligations at every meeting. Fourth, compliance: filing the annual IRS return, renewing state charity registration where required, and keeping records for however long the IRS or state says to keep them. None of this requires an accounting degree. It requires consistency. The treasurers who get into trouble aren't usually the ones who don't know debits from credits, they're the ones who fall behind for two or three months and then can't reconstruct what happened. A booster club or PTO treasurer who reconciles the bank statement every single month rarely has a crisis. One who does it "when there's time" almost always does. The IRS doesn't publish a job description for "nonprofit treasurer" because state law, not federal law, generally defines board officer duties. But the IRS does care enormously about the output of the treasurer's work: accurate financial reporting on Form 990, and it directly asks on that form whether the organization has "a process for determining compensation" and financial oversight practices in Part VI [1]. That's the federal government checking, indirectly, that someone like a treasurer is doing their job.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is an officer of the nonprofit's board, elected or appointed under the bylaws, who holds legal and practical responsibility for the organization's finances. It's a fiduciary role. That means the treasurer, like every board member, owes the organization a duty of care and a duty of loyalty under the nonprofit corporation law of whatever state the group is incorporated in. In practice, most state nonprofit corporation statutes borrow language similar to the Revised Model Nonprofit Corporation Act, which describes the standard of care for directors as acting in good faith and with the care an ordinarily prudent person would exercise in a like position. The treasurer isn't automatically the bookkeeper, and in bigger organizations they aren't. In a $2 million nonprofit, the treasurer might supervise a paid finance staffer or outside bookkeeper and focus on board-level oversight instead of data entry. In a $15,000 youth sports booster club, the treasurer usually is the bookkeeper, the bank signer, and the person filing the 990-N, all at once. Both are "treasurer." The title scales; the fiduciary duty doesn't.
What do treasurers do day to day, and what does a treasurer of a club do differently?
Day to day, a treasurer opens mail or email looking for deposits and bills, records transactions, and answers the question every board member eventually asks: "how much money do we actually have?" Weekly or biweekly tasks usually include depositing checks and cash, paying invoices, and updating the ledger. Monthly tasks include reconciling the bank statement against the books, preparing a treasurer's report for the board meeting, and checking upcoming due dates (insurance renewal, state filing, event deposits). A club treasurer, meaning a booster club, PTO/PTA, Little League, or similar all-volunteer group, does the same core job but usually without any paid staff to lean on. That changes the risk profile. Cash is a bigger share of the money (concession stands, raffle tickets, car washes), turnover in the treasurer role is high (often one to two years), and there's frequently no professional bookkeeper checking the work. That's exactly the profile the IRS built the 990-N postcard filing for: small organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less can file this simplified electronic notice instead of a full return [2]. A club treasurer's actual task list typically includes: - Reconciling the bank account every month, more than before the annual meeting
- Requiring two signatures or two-person approval for cash counts at events
- Keeping receipts and a simple ledger for every fundraiser, even small ones
- Filing the correct IRS return every year without exception, since missing three years in a row triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status [3]
- Renewing any required state charitable solicitation registration where the group's fundraising activity requires it (confirm with your state charity office, since thresholds and exemptions vary by state)
- Handing off complete, organized records to the next treasurer A treasurer-basics guide on 990-N filing walks through the postcard filing step by step if that's the immediate task in front of you.
What is Form 990, and what is the 990 tax form for?
| 990-N (e-Postcard) | Small orgs | Normally $50,000 or less [2] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 990-EZ | Mid-size orgs | Gross receipts under $200,000 AND total assets under $500,000 [4] | |
| 990 (full form) | Larger orgs | Gross receipts $200,000+ OR total assets $500,000+ [4] | |
| 990-PF | Private foundations | All private foundations, regardless of size [4] | Most booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports groups land in the 990-N row. If your group had a big fundraising year and crossed $50,000 in gross receipts, you likely jumped to the 990-EZ, and the paperwork gets noticeably heavier. A comparison of form 990 versus the 990-EZ and 990-N versions is worth reading before you assume your small club is exempt from the fuller form. |
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS. It isn't a tax bill in the way a personal 1040 is; a 501(c)(3) generally doesn't owe income tax on money raised for its exempt purpose. Instead, Form 990 is a disclosure document. It tells the IRS, and the public, how much money came in, where it went, who got paid, and whether the organization is still operating consistent with its exempt purpose. The IRS itself describes the return's dual role clearly: it's used "to provide the IRS with the information required by section 6033" and the information is also "the primary tool for grantmakers, watchdogs, and members of the public" to evaluate a nonprofit [1]. That second part matters more than most new treasurers realize. Sites like Candid/GuideStar and ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer pull directly from 990 filings, so a sloppy or overdue return is visible to donors, grant reviewers, and local reporters, more than the IRS. There isn't one single "990 form," there's a family of them sized to the organization: | Form | Who files it | Gross receipts threshold |
What happens if the treasurer misses a 990 filing?
Missing one year usually isn't fatal, but missing three years in a row is. Section 6033(j) of the tax code, and the IRS's own guidance, state plainly: "failure to file for three consecutive years results in automatic revocation of tax-exempt status" [3]. There's no separate notice before revocation kicks in for the third missed year; it just happens, effective on the filing due date of that third year. Once revoked, the organization is no longer exempt from federal income tax, which means the club could owe corporate income tax on its revenue going forward and donors' gifts stop being tax-deductible. The IRS publishes and updates the Auto-Revocation List, and reinstatement requires filing Form 1023 (or 1023-EZ for eligible small organizations) along with any past-due returns, plus, in most cases, a reasonable-cause statement explaining the lapse [5]. This is the single most common crisis a new treasurer inherits: taking over a booster club's books and discovering, three months in, that the group's exempt status was revoked two years ago because the last three treasurers each assumed "someone else" filed the 990-N. The [990](/articles/treasurer-basics/990) filing basics page and the irs form 990 overview both cover what to check first if you suspect this happened to your organization.
What financial controls should a treasurer put in place?
Internal controls are the practical habits that keep one person's mistake, or one person's theft, from becoming the organization's crisis. They're not glamorous and most volunteer treasurers skip them until something goes wrong. A short, honest list of what actually matters: - Two signers on the bank account, with two signatures (or dual approval) required above a set dollar threshold
- A second person counting cash at every fundraiser, with both people initialing the count sheet
- Monthly bank reconciliation, done by the treasurer and reviewed by a second board member or the board as a whole
- A written budget approved by the board before the year starts, with actual-vs-budget reported regularly
- No single person having sole access to both the checkbook and the accounting records
- A document retention policy; the IRS recommends keeping records supporting a return until the statute of limitations for that return expires, and many organizations keep financial records permanently or for at least seven years as a practical matter None of these controls require a big budget. They require the board actually enforcing them, which is the part that fails in most volunteer organizations. A treasurer who insists on a second signer, even when it's inconvenient at 9pm after a concession stand shift, is doing the job right.
What is the treasurer's relationship to the board and other officers?
The treasurer reports to the full board, more than to the president. That distinction matters more than it sounds. A treasurer who only tells the president about a cash shortfall, and lets the president decide whether to share it with the rest of the board, has quietly moved financial oversight out of the board's hands. Good bylaws require a treasurer's report at every regular board meeting, and good boards actually read it instead of rubber-stamping it. The treasurer typically works alongside, but is legally distinct from, any bookkeeper or accountant the group hires. Hiring a bookkeeper doesn't transfer the fiduciary duty; it just adds a second person doing data entry while the treasurer still owns the oversight. Some groups also have an audit or finance committee that reviews the books once a year, separate from the treasurer's monthly reporting. That's a strong practice; it means at least one other person, ideally not on the day-to-day banking, looks at the full year's activity before it's finalized.
How does a treasurer's job differ between a small club and a larger nonprofit?
Scale changes the tools, not the core duties. A five-person youth sports booster club with $18,000 a year in revenue and a fifteen-person nonprofit with $1.2 million a year both need accurate books, board reporting, and a timely IRS filing. What changes is complexity and staffing. Small clubs usually run on a spreadsheet or a basic tool like Wave, file the 990-N postcard, and have the treasurer personally touch every transaction. Larger nonprofits typically run QuickBooks or a nonprofit-specific accounting platform, may have a part-time or full-time bookkeeper or controller, file the full Form 990 with audited or reviewed financial statements attached, and often have a board-level finance committee that meets separately from monthly board meetings. Some states also require an independent audit above certain revenue thresholds (commonly triggered somewhere between $500,000 and $2 million depending on the state; confirm with your state charity office since the exact threshold and audit requirement varies by state). The good news for a first-time booster or PTO treasurer: your job is genuinely simpler than a large nonprofit's finance director role. The bad news: you're usually doing it completely alone, with no backup if you get sick, move, or just burn out mid-season. Building a clean handoff packet from day one solves that problem before it becomes one.
How does a new treasurer get started (first 30 days)?
The first month sets the tone for the whole term. A practical order of operations: 1. Get on the bank account as a signer and get online access, and remove any former treasurer who's no longer on the board 2. Pull the last 12 months of bank statements and reconcile them yourself, even if the prior treasurer says everything's fine 3. Confirm the organization's EIN and check its status on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool to make sure it's still listed as exempt and not on the Auto-Revocation List [5] 4. Find out which 990 variant was filed last year, and when, so you know your deadline (990-series returns are generally due the 15th day of the 5th month after the organization's fiscal year ends) 5. Check whether your state requires charitable solicitation registration and whether it's current (confirm with your state charity office, since requirements and renewal cycles vary widely) 6. Set up a simple monthly close routine: reconcile, report to the board, file the statement A state-specific reference makes this faster than researching each state rule from scratch. That's the whole idea behind BoosterLedger's $99 one-time State-Personalized Treasurer Kit: it's built to hand a new treasurer the filing calendar, forms, and checklists for their specific state instead of forty open browser tabs.
What records should a treasurer keep, and for how long?
At minimum, keep bank statements, canceled checks or check images, deposit slips, invoices and receipts for every expense, board meeting minutes, the annual budget, and copies of every IRS filing (990-N confirmation, 990-EZ, or 990) going back several years. The IRS's general guidance is to keep records supporting a return until the statute of limitations for that return runs out, which for most returns is three years from filing, but the IRS also notes some situations extend that (for example, records related to property should be kept until the period of limitations expires for the year the property is disposed of) . In practice, most experienced treasurers keep financial summaries and 990 filings permanently since they're small files and the cost of losing history (during an audit, a grant application, or an IRS inquiry) is much higher than the cost of storage. Bank statements and receipts for at least seven years is a reasonable working rule, though it's worth confirming with the IRS if your organization has any unusual circumstances, like unrelated business income or a prior audit.
What should a treasurer hand off to the next person?
A good handoff means the next treasurer isn't starting from zero, and it's the single biggest gift an outgoing treasurer can give the organization. At minimum, hand over: bank account access and signer changes completed before you leave (not "in progress"), the last three years of 990 filings and confirmation numbers, a current reconciled bank statement, the EIN and any state registration numbers, login credentials for accounting software, and a one-page written summary of what's due when. Organizations that skip this step are the ones that end up on the Auto-Revocation List two years later, because the incoming treasurer genuinely didn't know a filing was due, or didn't know who the prior treasurer even was to ask. If you're the one inheriting a mess, the 990n filing guide and form 990-n reference are the fastest way to figure out where the organization actually stands before you do anything else.
Frequently asked questions
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks a nonprofit's money: recording income and expenses, managing the bank account, reporting financial status to the board, and making sure the required IRS Form 990 (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990) gets filed every year. It's a fiduciary role with legal duty, more than a bookkeeping task.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is an elected or appointed board officer legally responsible for an organization's finances under the nonprofit's bylaws and state nonprofit corporation law. The role carries a fiduciary duty of care and loyalty, similar to other board members, but with specific responsibility for financial accuracy and reporting.
What do treasurers do that other board members don't?
Other board members oversee strategy and vote on major decisions; the treasurer specifically manages daily and monthly financial mechanics: bank reconciliation, expense tracking, budget monitoring, and preparing the numbers everyone else on the board relies on to make informed decisions.
What does a treasurer do in a club or a club treasurer specifically?
A club treasurer (booster club, PTO, youth sports) usually handles everything personally: deposits, cash counts from fundraisers, the ledger, the bank reconciliation, and the annual IRS filing, since most small clubs have no paid finance staff. Turnover is high, so clean records and handoff documentation matter enormously.
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS, disclosing revenue, expenses, compensation, and program activity. It's a public disclosure document, not an income tax bill, and it's the IRS's primary tool for verifying a nonprofit is still operating within its exempt purpose.
What is a 990 tax form used for?
It's used to report a nonprofit's financial activity to the IRS annually and to make that information public. Grantmakers, watchdog sites like Candid/GuideStar, and journalists routinely pull 990 data to evaluate an organization's finances, so filing accurately affects reputation as well as compliance.
What is the 990 filing threshold for small nonprofits?
Organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less can file the simplified Form 990-N e-Postcard instead of a full return, per IRS guidance. Cross that threshold and the organization generally needs to file Form 990-EZ or the full Form 990 depending on receipts and assets.
What happens if a treasurer forgets to file the 990?
One missed year usually just means a late filing with no automatic penalty for 990-N. But missing three consecutive years triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status under IRC section 6033(j), with no advance warning notice for that third miss. Reinstatement requires a new exemption application.
What does a treasurer of a club actually check every month?
A club treasurer should reconcile the bank statement against the ledger, review upcoming bills and event deposits, prepare a short financial report for the board meeting, and confirm no filing deadlines (state registration, IRS return) are approaching. Skipping this for even two or three months is the most common way small-club books go bad.
Does a treasurer need to be a CPA or accountant?
No. Most booster club, PTO, and youth sports treasurers are volunteers with no accounting background. The IRS and state nonprofit laws don't require a CPA credential for the treasurer role; they require accurate records, timely filings, and good-faith financial oversight consistent with fiduciary duty.
How is a treasurer different from a bookkeeper?
A bookkeeper handles data entry: recording transactions and reconciling accounts. A treasurer holds the fiduciary duty and board-level accountability for the organization's finances, even if a bookkeeper or accountant does the mechanical work. Hiring help doesn't transfer legal responsibility away from the treasurer.
What state rules should a treasurer check besides IRS rules?
Most states require charitable organizations that solicit donations to register with a state charity office or attorney general, and many require a separate raffle or gaming license for raffles specifically. Requirements and thresholds vary widely by state, so confirm current rules directly with your state charity registration office.
Sources
- IRS, Form 990 and Instructions: Form 990 Part VI asks organizations to disclose governance and financial oversight practices, including compensation-setting processes
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): Organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less can file Form 990-N instead of a full return
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Failure to file required 990 returns for three consecutive years results in automatic revocation of tax-exempt status
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: Organizations can check current exempt status and the Auto-Revocation List using the IRS's search tool
- IRS, How Long Should I Keep Records: Records should generally be kept until the statute of limitations for the related return expires, with extended retention for property-related records