Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
A treasurer tracks income and expenses, keeps bank records straight, reports finances to the board, and (for tax-exempt groups) makes sure the group files its IRS Form 990-series return every year. There's no license required, but skipping the annual IRS filing for three straight years causes automatic revocation of tax-exempt status.
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer is the person a club, booster group, or PTO trusts to track every dollar that comes in and goes out. That's the one-sentence version. In practice the job splits into four buckets: bookkeeping (recording deposits and payments as they happen), banking (reconciling the bank statement against your own records every month), reporting (telling the board and members where the money stands), and compliance (making sure required tax filings and state registrations actually get done on time). Most booster and PTO treasurers are unpaid volunteers serving a one or two year term. There's no state or federal license to be a nonprofit treasurer. What you do need is a system: a shared spreadsheet or accounting tool, a designated bank account with more than one authorized signer, and a habit of reconciling monthly instead of scrambling every June. If your organization filed for federal tax-exempt status, the treasurer usually also owns the IRS reporting job: figuring out which version of Form 990 applies and filing it every year without fail. That single task is where most volunteer treasurers get into trouble, because it's easy to assume 'somebody already did that' when nobody did.
What is a treasurer, exactly?
A treasurer is an elected or appointed officer responsible for an organization's money. That's distinct from a bookkeeper or accountant, who might be hired help, and distinct from the board president, who oversees strategy but usually isn't the one reconciling receipts. Most bylaws define the treasurer's role in a paragraph or two: maintain financial records, present a report at each meeting, prepare or oversee the annual budget, and ensure compliance with tax and reporting obligations. If your group doesn't have bylaws that spell this out, that's worth fixing at the next board meeting, because 'treasurer duties' left undefined tend to become whatever the previous person happened to do, good habits and bad ones alike. The IRS itself doesn't license or certify treasurers. It just expects the organization, through whoever is designated, to file accurate and timely returns. Confirm your own state's nonprofit corporation law and your bylaws for any specific officer requirements, since a handful of states have residency or age rules for corporate officers generally.
What do treasurers do day to day, month to month, and year to year?
| Monthly | Reconcile bank statement, report to board |
|---|---|
| Quarterly | Review budget vs. actual, check state registration status |
| November | File Form 990-N (or 990-EZ/990) if fiscal year ended June 30 |
| Spring | Draft next year's budget with the board |
| June | Close out the fiscal year, prep handoff binder for incoming treasurer |
Day to day: deposit checks and cash promptly (many groups require deposits within 48 to 72 hours of an event), log every transaction with a date, amount, and purpose, and keep receipts filed by category. Month to month: reconcile the bank statement against your ledger, report a simple income-and-expense summary to the board, and flag anything unusual (a bounced check, a missing deposit, a vendor invoice that doesn't match a purchase order). Year to year: prepare an annual financial report for the membership, help build next year's budget, hand off clean records to your successor, and file the year's federal tax return. For most small booster clubs and PTOs, that federal filing is the IRS Form 990-N e-Postcard, due by the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year ends [1]. Miss that filing three years running and the IRS automatically revokes your organization's tax-exempt status, no warning letter required beyond what's already in the statute [2]. Here's a rough shape of the treasurer calendar for an organization on a July 1 to June 30 fiscal year: | Timeframe | Task |
What is Form 990?
| 990-N (e-Postcard) | Gross receipts normally ≤ $50,000 | Simplest, online only [1] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 990-EZ | Gross receipts < $200,000 and assets < $500,000 | Short form | |
| 990 (full) | Gross receipts ≥ $200,000 or assets ≥ $500,000 | Full form [4] | |
| 990-PF | Private foundations | Regardless of size | Most small booster clubs, sports leagues, and PTOs land in the 990-N bucket. Confirm your organization's actual gross receipts against current IRS thresholds each year, since a big fundraiser or grant can push you into 990-EZ territory without anyone noticing until filing season. For a fuller walkthrough of which form applies and how to file it, see form 990 and irs form 990. |
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS. It's not a bill and usually doesn't result in the organization owing tax. It exists so the IRS, and the public, can see how a tax-exempt group spends its money [3]. There are several versions depending on your organization's gross receipts and assets: | Form | Who files it | Threshold (approximate) |
What does a treasurer of a club do that's different from a corporate treasurer?
A club or booster treasurer is doing the same core job as a corporate treasurer, minus the payroll department, the auditors on retainer, and usually the paycheck. The scale is smaller but the risk of a mess is arguably higher, because there's no finance team backing you up and turnover happens every year or two as kids age out of the program. The practical differences: club treasurers often handle physical cash from concession stands and raffles, more than checks and electronic payments. They frequently need a second signer on every check because the board, not a CFO, holds the ultimate authority. And they're usually volunteers learning the job from a predecessor's notes (or lack of notes), not from formal accounting training. That's why a clean handoff matters so much in this world. A treasurer who keeps organized digital records, a written procedures memo, and copies of the last three years' 990 filings hands their successor a massive advantage over one who hands over a shoebox.
What does a club treasurer do with cash from fundraisers?
Cash handling is where booster and PTO treasurers get burned most often, not through malice but through sloppy process. The fix isn't complicated: always have two people count cash at the end of an event, both signing a tally sheet before the money leaves the building. Deposit that cash within a few days, never let it sit in someone's car or kitchen drawer for two weeks. Separate the person collecting money from the person recording it, when you have enough volunteers to do that. If your group is too small for that split, at minimum require a second signature on the deposit slip and keep the original tally sheet attached to the deposit record. If your group runs raffles, most states require a separate charitable gaming license or registration before you can legally sell tickets, and rules on prize limits, recordkeeping, and reporting vary widely by state. Confirm current requirements with your state's charity regulator or attorney general's office before your next raffle, because operating one without the required license can create real legal exposure for the organization and, in some states, for the individual running it.
What is a 990 tax form used for, and does my club actually have to file one?
A 990 tax form is the IRS's mechanism for making tax-exempt organizations report their finances annually, even though most of them owe no income tax. If your organization has a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) and was recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) or another exempt category, you almost certainly have to file something in the 990 series every year, regardless of how small your budget is [1]. The common trap: a booster club forms, gets an EIN, maybe even gets 501(c)(3) status, and then nobody files anything for a few years because the group is small and 'doesn't owe taxes anyway.' The IRS doesn't care whether you owe tax. It cares whether you filed the informational return. Three consecutive years of no filing triggers automatic revocation under Internal Revenue Code Section 6033(j), added by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 [2]. If your group was never formally recognized as tax-exempt at all (some small booster clubs operate for years on just an EIN, assuming nonprofit status without ever filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ), that's a separate problem worth sorting out, since tax exemption isn't automatic just because you're a volunteer group raising money for kids.
What is the 990, and which version does my organization need?
"The 990" is shorthand nonprofit people use for whichever version of the annual return applies to them; 990-N, 990-EZ, 990, or 990-PF. The IRS's own guidance describes the 990-N as required for "most small tax-exempt organizations whose gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less" [1]. Determining which one you need takes about five minutes: pull your last three years of gross receipts (not net, gross, meaning total income before expenses), average them, and compare against the thresholds above. If you're right at a threshold or your income jumped because of an unusually good fundraiser year, err toward the more detailed form or ask a tax preparer familiar with nonprofits. For deeper explainers on each version, see 990 tax form, 990n, and form 990-n.
What happens if a treasurer misses the 990 deadline?
One missed deadline usually just means a late filing, sometimes with a small penalty for the larger 990/990-EZ forms (990-N itself carries no monetary penalty for a single late filing, but that changes once you hit three straight years) [1][2]. Three consecutive missed years is the real cliff. At that point the IRS automatically revokes the organization's tax-exempt status, effective as of the filing due date of the third year. The IRS publishes the full list of automatically revoked organizations, and getting back on it requires filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ again (a new exemption application), sometimes with retroactive reinstatement available if you can show reasonable cause [2]. Here's the part that surprises new treasurers: state-level consequences often follow. Some state charity registration offices will flag or suspend an organization's registration once they see IRS revocation, which can affect your ability to legally solicit donations or run raffles in that state. Confirm status with the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool and with your state's charity office as soon as you suspect a lapse [5].
What records does a treasurer need to keep, and for how long?
At minimum: bank statements, deposit records, receipts for every expense, board meeting minutes referencing financial decisions, copies of every 990-series filing, and your state charity registration paperwork if applicable. The IRS recommends keeping records that support items on a return for as long as they might be relevant to an audit, and generally suggests a minimum of three years, longer if you underreported income or filed a claim for a loss [6]. In practice, most nonprofit finance guides recommend keeping core financial records (bank statements, tax filings, board minutes) for at least seven years, and keeping formation documents (articles of incorporation, IRS determination letter, bylaws) permanently. Digital records work fine as long as they're backed up somewhere the next treasurer can actually access, more than on a departing volunteer's personal laptop. A shared drive folder, organized by fiscal year, with subfolders for bank statements, receipts, filings, and board minutes, solves 90% of handoff problems before they start.
What controls should a treasurer put in place to avoid fraud or mistakes?
You don't need a corporate audit committee to run a tight ship. A few basic controls cover most of the risk: Require two signatures on checks above a set dollar threshold (many small nonprofits set this around $500 to $1,000, though there's no universal standard; pick a number the board agrees fits your budget). Never let one person both collect cash and record the deposit without a second set of eyes. Reconcile the bank statement monthly, not annually. Require receipts for reimbursements, no exceptions for board members. Rotate who counts fundraiser cash so it's never the same two people every time. An annual internal review, even an informal one where a board member other than the treasurer looks over the books before the annual meeting, catches most problems early. A full external audit is usually overkill for a small booster club unless your state requires one above a revenue threshold or a funder requires it as a grant condition; confirm any audit threshold with your state charity office, since several states require audited or reviewed financials once an organization crosses a set annual revenue figure.
How do you hand off the treasurer job to the next person?
A good handoff takes an afternoon and saves your successor months of guessing. Walk them through the bank account and confirm they're added as an authorized signer (and the outgoing treasurer is removed). Hand over the login to whatever bookkeeping tool or spreadsheet you use. Give them copies of the last three years of 990 filings, the current year's budget, and the reconciled bank statement through the most recent month. Write a one-page memo covering anything unusual: a grant with reporting requirements, a raffle license that needs renewal, a vendor who always invoices late. That memo is worth more than any amount of formal training, because it captures the stuff that never made it into the bylaws. This is exactly the gap a State-Personalized Treasurer Kit is built to close: a one-time $99 packet that pulls together your state's specific filing and raffle-license requirements alongside a handoff checklist, so a brand-new volunteer isn't starting from a blank page. It's a reference tool, not a substitute for a CPA or attorney, but it saves the hours most new treasurers spend just figuring out which form applies to them.
Frequently asked questions
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks all money coming in and going out for an organization, reconciles bank statements, reports finances to the board, helps build the budget, and, for tax-exempt groups, makes sure the annual IRS Form 990-series return gets filed on time every year.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is the officer, usually elected or appointed under an organization's bylaws, responsible for its financial recordkeeping, reporting, and tax compliance. It's not a licensed title; requirements come from your own bylaws and applicable tax and state nonprofit law.
What do treasurers do at board meetings?
Treasurers typically present a financial report showing income, expenses, and current bank balance since the last meeting, flag anything unusual like a bounced check or budget overage, and answer questions from other board members before the board votes on any financial matters.
What does a treasurer do in a club like a booster or sports club?
In a club setting, a treasurer manages dues and fundraiser income, pays vendor invoices (uniforms, equipment, tournament fees), handles cash from concession stands or raffles with a second-person verification step, and files the club's annual IRS return if it holds tax-exempt status.
What does a club treasurer do differently from a corporate treasurer?
A club treasurer usually works without a finance department, handles more physical cash from small events, and is often a volunteer learning the role from a predecessor rather than from formal training. The core duties (tracking money, reporting, compliance) are the same, just at a smaller scale.
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the IRS's annual information return for tax-exempt organizations. It reports income, expenses, and activities so the IRS and public can review how the organization uses its money. Most small groups file the simplified 990-N e-Postcard version instead of the full form.
What is a 990 tax form and does every nonprofit need to file one?
A 990 tax form is the annual IRS filing required of most organizations with federal tax-exempt status, regardless of whether they owe any tax. Nearly every organization with an EIN and recognized exempt status must file some version of it yearly, even very small booster clubs and PTOs.
What is the 990 e-Postcard (990-N)?
The 990-N is the simplest version of Form 990, filed online through the IRS website, meant for organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less per year. It asks for basic identifying information rather than detailed financials, and takes most treasurers under ten minutes to complete.
What happens if my club never filed a 990 and it's been years?
If three consecutive years pass without any 990-series filing, the IRS automatically revokes tax-exempt status. Reinstatement requires filing a new exemption application (Form 1023 or 1023-EZ), sometimes with an option for retroactive reinstatement if you can show reasonable cause for the lapse.
Does a treasurer need any certification or license?
No federal or state license is required to serve as a nonprofit treasurer. Some organizations' bylaws set eligibility rules (must be a current member, must be 18 or older), but there's no accounting credential required. Financial skills help, but the job is learnable.
How long should a treasurer keep financial records?
Most nonprofit finance guidance recommends keeping core financial records like bank statements and tax filings for at least seven years, and permanent formation documents (IRS determination letter, articles of incorporation, bylaws) indefinitely. The IRS itself suggests a minimum three-year retention tied to audit exposure.
Do treasurers need to worry about raffle licensing?
Yes, if the organization runs raffles for fundraising. Most states require a separate charitable gaming or raffle license before ticket sales begin, with rules on prize caps and reporting that vary widely. Confirm current requirements with your state's charity regulator or attorney general's office before each raffle.
Sources
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): 990-N threshold of $50,000 gross receipts and filing deadline of 5th month after fiscal year end
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: three consecutive years of non-filing triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status
- IRS, Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File: purpose of Form 990 as the annual information return for tax-exempt organizations
- IRS, Form 990 Resources and Tools: thresholds distinguishing 990-EZ and full Form 990 filers
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: tool for confirming current tax-exempt and revocation status of an organization
- IRS, How Long Should I Keep Records: IRS recordkeeping retention guidance, generally three years minimum