Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
A treasurer's report is a short written update (usually one page) showing cash on hand, income and expenses since the last meeting, and account balances, given to the board at each meeting. It's the paper trail your Form 990 or 990-N depends on later. Below is a full sample layout plus line-by-line notes.
What does a treasurer's report actually look like? (sample template)
| Beginning balance (as of last report) | $4,812.33 | |
|---|---|---|
| Income: concession stand sales | $612.00 | |
| Income: membership dues | $340.00 | |
| Income: spirit wear sales | $210.50 | |
| Total income | $1,162.50 | |
| Expenses: concession supplies | $187.44 | |
| Expenses: tournament entry fees | $450.00 | |
| Expenses: bank fee | $8.00 | |
| Total expenses | $645.44 | |
| Ending balance | $5,329.39 | |
| Checking account balance (bank statement) | $5,329.39 | |
| Savings/reserve account balance | $2,100.00 | |
| Total organization funds | $7,429.39 | That's the core. Some clubs add a short narrative underneath: "Concession revenue up from last month due to the home tournament. Uniform order paid in full, invoice attached." A few lines of plain English save the board from asking questions in the meeting. The report should always state the reporting period ("March 1 to March 31") and the date prepared. Attach the bank statement or at least note that the ending balance was reconciled against it. A treasurer's report that doesn't tie to an actual bank statement is just a guess, and boards should push back on that. If your group has multiple funds (general fund, a scholarship fund, a specific team's account), list each separately rather than lumping them together. Commingled numbers are one of the most common handoff headaches for a new treasurer. |
Most booster club and PTO treasurer's reports fit on one page. They cover the period since the last meeting, not the whole year, and they always reconcile to a bank statement, more than a checkbook register. Here's a working sample you can copy into a spreadsheet or word doc: | Line item | Amount |
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks the money coming in and going out, keeps the bank accounts reconciled, reports balances to the board on a regular schedule, and keeps the records that eventually feed the group's tax filing. That's the job in one sentence. Everything else is detail. In practice, for a volunteer booster club or PTO, that usually breaks down into: collecting and depositing cash and checks (concessions, dues, fundraisers), paying approved bills, keeping receipts and invoices organized (paper or scanned), giving a report at each board meeting, and either filing the group's IRS return each year or handing clean records to whoever does. A good treasurer is not the group's sole decision maker on spending. Most bylaws require board approval for anything over a set dollar threshold, and two signatures on checks above a certain amount is a common control (not universal, but common). The treasurer's job is to execute what the board approves and to say clearly when something doesn't add up. One thing new treasurers often miss: the treasurer's report and the tax filing are the same data at two different zoom levels. If your monthly reports are sloppy, your annual [990](/articles/treasurer-basics/990) or 990-N will be sloppy too, because there's no other source to pull from.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is the officer of a club, PTO, or booster organization responsible for its money: cash, bank accounts, and the records proving where every dollar came from and went. It's an elected or appointed board position, usually unpaid in a volunteer youth-sports or school-parent group, and usually has a term length set in the bylaws (one year and two years are both common). The treasurer isn't automatically the person who decides how money gets spent. That authority usually sits with the full board or with whatever spending policy the bylaws set out. The treasurer holds the checkbook and the ledger, follows the board's decisions, and reports back on what actually happened financially versus what was budgeted. In a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) status, the treasurer's records also become the source for the organization's required annual filing with the IRS, whether that's a full Form 990, the shorter 990-EZ, or the postcard-sized 990-N for small orgs. The IRS states that most tax-exempt organizations, other than churches and certain church-affiliated groups, must file some version of Form 990 annually [1].
What do treasurers do day to day and month to month?
Day to day, a treasurer deposits money quickly (don't let cash from a concession stand sit in a car trunk over a weekend), records each transaction with enough detail to explain it later, and keeps receipts for anything paid out. Month to month, or before each board meeting, the treasurer reconciles the bank account against the ledger, prepares the treasurer's report shown above, and flags anything unusual, a bill that's overdue, a fundraiser that came in short, a reimbursement that's missing a receipt. Year to year, the treasurer closes out the fiscal year, prepares or hands off records for the annual IRS filing, and (if the group runs a raffle or similar game) handles state charitable gaming paperwork, which is a separate requirement from the federal tax filing. Rules on raffle licensing vary a lot by state; confirm with your state's attorney general or gaming/charity office before running one. A practical rhythm that works for most small clubs: weekly deposits, monthly reconciliation and report, quarterly budget-to-actual check-in with the board, annual filing prep starting at least two months before the deadline.
What a treasurer does in a club (booster club or PTO specifically)
In a booster club or PTO, the treasurer's job looks a little different from a treasurer at a large nonprofit, mostly because of cash volume from small, frequent transactions: concession sales, spirit wear, car washes, dues collected in $20 and $40 chunks at a folding table. That means cash-handling controls matter more here than fancy accounting. A basic control set that works for volunteer-run groups: two people count cash at the end of any event, both sign a count sheet, the money gets deposited within a day or two (not held at someone's house), and no single volunteer both collects and records the same funds without a second set of eyes. A club treasurer also usually manages a small number of vendor relationships (uniform companies, tournament organizers, concession suppliers) and needs receipts or invoices for each payment, since "I paid the coach back for uniforms" without a receipt is exactly the kind of thing that causes problems at handoff or during an IRS review. Many booster clubs and PTOs are recognized under a group exemption or file their own 501(c)(3)/501(c)(4) application; either way the treasurer's clean monthly numbers are what makes the annual filing painless instead of a scramble.
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS to report income, expenses, and activities. It's not a bill; tax-exempt orgs generally don't owe income tax on mission-related revenue, but the IRS still requires the annual report so the public and the agency can see how the organization operates. The IRS's own overview states organizations must file the version of Form 990 matching their gross receipts and assets: the full Form 990 for larger organizations, Form 990-EZ for mid-size organizations, and Form 990-N (the e-Postcard) for the smallest [2]. Form 990 asks for a lot: revenue by source, program expenses versus administrative expenses, compensation for key people, and a list of the organization's activities during the year. For a small booster club, most of that is thin or zero, but the form itself doesn't shrink just because the club is small, which is exactly why the 990-N exists as a simpler option for tiny organizations. See Form 990 and IRS Form 990 for filing detail.
What is the 990 tax form and which version does a small booster club file?
| $50,000 or less | any | Form 990-N (e-Postcard) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than $200,000 | Less than $500,000 | Form 990-EZ (or full 990) | |
| $200,000 or more | $500,000 or more | Form 990 (full form) | Most small booster clubs and PTOs, running concession stands and a couple of fundraisers a year, land in the 990-N category. The IRS is direct about the consequence of skipping it: "Organizations that do not file for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status" [4]. That's not a warning, it's an automatic revocation with no extra letter first for most small orgs, which is why treasurer's reports matter even when the annual filing itself takes ten minutes online. See 990 tax form and form 990-n for the filing walkthrough. |
The "990 tax form" is shorthand people use for any version of the IRS's annual information return for tax-exempt organizations: Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N. Which one a group files depends on gross receipts and total assets, not on the group's size or how well-known it is. Here's the general breakdown the IRS uses [2] [3]: | Gross receipts (normally) | Total assets | Which form |
What is the 990 (the short version people mean when they just say "the 990")
When people say "the 990" without qualifying it, they usually mean whichever version of the annual return their organization files, most often the 990-N for a small club. It's the same filing discussed above; "the 990" is just the common shorthand. The 990-N specifically only asks for eight items: the organization's legal name, any other names it uses, mailing address, website (if any), Employer Identification Number (EIN), the name and address of a principal officer, the tax year, and confirmation that annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less [3]. There's no financial detail required on the 990-N itself, which is part of why it's easy to file but also why a real, dated set of treasurer's reports matters: if the IRS or your own board ever asks for backup, the 990-N alone proves nothing. One detail that trips up new treasurers: the 990-N must be filed using the organization's own EIN and must be submitted through the IRS's own portal, not a random third-party site. Confirm the current filing portal on irs.gov before your deadline. See [990](/articles/treasurer-basics/990) and 990n for more.
How does the treasurer's report connect to the annual 990 filing?
Your treasurer's reports across the year are the raw material for the 990. If you file 990-N, you technically don't need financial detail on the form itself, but you still need your own internal numbers straight to answer the gross receipts question honestly and to have something to show if a board member, auditor, or the IRS ever asks. If your group is big enough to file 990-EZ or the full 990, the connection is direct: those forms ask for total revenue, total expenses, and net assets, which is exactly what a running set of treasurer's reports adds up to across twelve months. A treasurer who's been reconciling monthly can pull those totals in an afternoon. A treasurer starting from a shoebox of receipts in March, trying to reconstruct a year that ended in December, is in for a bad week. This is also where a State-Personalized Treasurer Kit earns its keep for a first-time treasurer: instead of guessing at a report format, you start from a template built around your state's requirements and a monthly rhythm, so the numbers you need for the 990 are already sitting there when the deadline comes. It's a $99 one-time tool, not a subscription, and it doesn't file anything for you or guarantee any tax outcome; you still confirm filing details with the IRS and, if you run games of chance, with your state charity office.
What if my group already missed a 990-N and lost its tax-exempt status?
Automatic revocation for missing three straight years of required filings is common among small volunteer groups, more common than most new treasurers expect, since nobody sends a reminder letter before it happens. The IRS publishes an Auto-Revocation List and a separate process to apply for reinstatement [4]. The general path back involves filing the missing returns, submitting a new exemption application (Form 1023 or 1023-EZ for many small 501(c)(3) groups, though eligibility rules apply), and in some cases paying a reduced user fee or requesting retroactive reinstatement if you act within a certain window after revocation. Revenue Procedure 2014-11 lays out the IRS's retroactive reinstatement procedures, including streamlined relief for organizations that were eligible to file Form 990-EZ or 990-N and apply within 15 months of revocation [5]. The exact steps, fees, and deadlines change and depend on your specific situation, so confirm the current process directly on irs.gov or with a tax professional before you file anything. While you're sorting that out, don't stop keeping treasurer's reports. Clean monthly records make the reinstatement paperwork faster and give your board something concrete to show parents or a school district asking what happened.
What controls should be in place before a treasurer signs off on a report?
A treasurer's report is only as good as the process behind it. A few baseline controls that catch most problems before they become big problems: Bank reconciliation every month, matched against the actual statement, not against what the checkbook says should be there. Two signers on the bank account, with a second signature required above a set dollar amount (the bylaws should state the number). A separate person, not the treasurer alone, receiving the bank statement or having online view-only access, so one person can't quietly adjust numbers between statement and report. Receipts or invoices for every expense over a small threshold (many clubs use $25 or $50 as the line where a receipt becomes mandatory). An annual review by someone outside the treasurer's role, even if it's just another board member spending an afternoon checking the year's reports against bank statements, not a full formal audit. None of this needs to be expensive or complicated for a PTO or booster club. It just needs to happen consistently, and it needs to be written down somewhere (bylaws, a simple financial policy doc) so it survives a change in treasurer.
Frequently asked questions
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks money in and out, reconciles bank accounts, gives regular reports to the board, and keeps records that support the group's annual IRS filing. In a volunteer club, the treasurer usually also handles deposits, bill payments, and receipt tracking, but spending decisions above a set dollar amount typically require board approval, more than the treasurer's say-so.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is the elected or appointed officer responsible for an organization's money and financial records. The role holds the bank accounts and ledger, follows spending decisions made by the board, and reports account balances and activity at regular meetings, usually on a term set by the bylaws.
What do treasurers do?
Treasurers deposit incoming money, pay approved bills, keep receipts, reconcile bank statements monthly, and report a running summary of income, expenses, and balances to the board. Annually, they close the books and either file the organization's IRS return (often Form 990-N for small groups) or hand off clean records to whoever does.
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS, reporting revenue, expenses, and activities for the year. The version required (990, 990-EZ, or 990-N) depends on the organization's gross receipts and total assets, per IRS filing thresholds.
What does a treasurer do in a club?
In a club setting like a booster club or PTO, the treasurer handles frequent small cash transactions (concessions, dues, spirit wear), makes sure two people count cash at events, deposits money promptly, keeps vendor receipts, and reports balances at each board meeting so the group always knows where it stands financially.
What does a club treasurer do?
A club treasurer manages the day-to-day money: collecting cash and checks, making deposits, paying approved bills, keeping the books reconciled against bank statements, and preparing a short treasurer's report for each meeting. At year end, the club treasurer's records feed the group's required IRS filing.
What is a 990 tax form?
The 990 tax form is the IRS's annual reporting form for tax-exempt organizations, filed instead of an income tax return since most exempt orgs owe no income tax. Which version applies (990, 990-EZ, or 990-N) depends on the organization's gross receipts and assets, per IRS thresholds published on irs.gov.
What is the 990?
"The 990" is common shorthand for whichever version of the IRS annual information return an organization files: the full Form 990, the shorter 990-EZ, or the 990-N e-Postcard for small organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less.
What does a treasurer of a club do?
The treasurer of a club is responsible for the club's bank accounts, cash handling, expense payments, receipt tracking, and financial reporting to the board or membership. It's an accountability role, not a spending-authority role; the treasurer executes what's been approved and reports the results honestly.
How often should a treasurer's report be given to the board?
Most bylaws call for a treasurer's report at every regular board meeting, commonly monthly, covering the period since the last report and reconciled against the actual bank statement. Some smaller or seasonal clubs report quarterly instead, but monthly catches problems (missing deposits, unexplained charges) far sooner.
Does a 990-N filing require submitting financial details?
No. The IRS 990-N (e-Postcard) asks for eight basic items, including legal name, EIN, mailing address, and confirmation that gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less; it does not require a revenue or expense breakdown on the form itself. Keeping detailed treasurer's reports separately is still necessary for your own records.
What happens if a booster club misses filing Form 990 for several years?
The IRS automatically revokes tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of missing a required Form 990-series filing, with no separate warning notice for most small organizations. Reinstatement requires filing missing returns and a new exemption application; confirm the current process and any fees with the IRS before proceeding.
Is a treasurer's report the same thing as an audit?
No. A treasurer's report is a routine summary given at each meeting; an audit or financial review is a separate, deeper check, often done annually by someone outside the treasurer's role, comparing the year's reports against bank statements and receipts to confirm accuracy.
Sources
- IRS, Annual Exempt Organization Return: Who Must File: most tax-exempt organizations other than churches must file an annual return with the IRS
- IRS, Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File: which version of Form 990 an organization files depends on gross receipts and total assets
- IRS, e-file for Charities and Non-Profits: gross receipts and asset thresholds distinguishing Form 990-N eligibility from 990-EZ and full 990
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: organizations that fail to file required Form 990-series returns for three consecutive years automatically lose tax-exempt status
- IRS, Revenue Procedure 2014-11: streamlined retroactive reinstatement procedures for small organizations that apply within 15 months of automatic revocation