Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
A nonprofit treasurer tracks money in and out, keeps clean records, files the right IRS Form 990 variant each year, reports finances to the board, and protects cash with basic controls like two-signer approval. For a small booster club or PTO, that's usually the 990-N postcard, a simple ledger, and a handful of receipts kept in order.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is the officer responsible for an organization's money: tracking it, reporting on it, and making sure it's handled honestly. In a nonprofit, that means keeping the books, paying bills, depositing donations and fundraising cash, and telling the board (and sometimes the state and the IRS) what the finances actually look like. It's an elected or appointed volunteer role in most booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports leagues. Nobody hands you a manual. You inherit a shoebox, a bank login, and maybe a spreadsheet from three treasurers ago, and you're expected to figure out the rest. The treasurer isn't the same as a bookkeeper or an accountant, though the job overlaps. A bookkeeper records transactions. A treasurer also signs checks, presents budgets, flags problems to the board, and answers for the numbers at the annual meeting. Bylaws usually spell out the specific duties, so the first thing any new treasurer should do is actually read the org's bylaws and any finance policy on file.
What does a treasurer do, day to day?
Day to day, a treasurer does four things on repeat: record transactions, reconcile the bank account, pay approved expenses, and deposit incoming money promptly. Add in monthly reporting to the board and annual filings, and that's most of the job. A realistic monthly cycle looks like this. Collect receipts and deposit slips. Enter every transaction into a ledger or accounting software, categorized (dues, concessions, uniforms, tournament fees, whatever fits your org). Reconcile the bank statement against your ledger so the numbers match, more than look close. Prepare a short financial report for the board meeting, usually a one-page summary: cash on hand, money in, money out, and anything unusual. Then there's the annual layer: budgeting for the coming season, filing the IRS return, renewing any state charitable registration, and handing over clean records if you're rotating out. If your group runs a raffle, add state raffle license renewal to that list, since most states treat that as a distinct annual step. The honest answer to "what does a treasurer do" is: less exciting than people expect, and more paperwork than people expect. It's not glamorous. It's also the job that keeps a volunteer group out of trouble with the IRS and out of a fight at the annual meeting over "where did the money go."
What does a club treasurer do differently from a corporate treasurer?
A club treasurer (booster club, PTO, youth sports league, alumni group) runs a much smaller, much more informal version of the same job as a big nonprofit's CFO-style treasurer, minus the audited financial statements and usually minus any paid staff. A club treasurer of a 15-family swim booster club is handling maybe $10,000 to $60,000 a year moving through concessions, spirit wear, and a couple of fundraisers. There's no controller, no finance committee with a CPA on it, no segregation-of-duties memo. It's one or two volunteers doing everything: writing checks, counting concession cash at 9 p.m. after a meet, and typing numbers into a spreadsheet on a Sunday. What doesn't change is the basic duty: keep accurate records, don't commingle personal and club funds, get board approval for spending above whatever threshold your bylaws set, and file whatever the IRS requires for your size. A club treasurer who skips the federal filing because "we're small" is the single most common way these groups end up losing their tax-exempt status, which the IRS calls automatic revocation for failing to file for three consecutive years [1].
What is Form 990, and does our group need to file it?
| Normally $50,000 or less | Form 990-N (e-Postcard) [2] | |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $200,000 gross receipts AND less than $500,000 total assets | Form 990-EZ or full Form 990 [3] | |
| $200,000 or more gross receipts, OR total assets $500,000 or more | Form 990 (full) [3] | |
| Private foundations (any size) | Form 990-PF [4] | Most booster clubs and PTOs land in the 990-N bucket. The IRS defines that threshold precisely: organizations may file the 990-N "if their annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less" [2]. "Normally" gets its own averaging rule for orgs less than three years old or with fluctuating income, detailed in the IRS instructions for the form. The deadline is the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year ends. For a calendar-year org (fiscal year ending December 31), that's May 15 [2]. Miss that deadline for three years running and the exemption is gone automatically, no warning letter, no appeal on the miss itself, per Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j) [1]. For a full walkthrough of choosing between the 990-N, 990-EZ, and full 990, see form 990 and irs form 990. |
Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS uses to check up on tax-exempt organizations: what they took in, what they spent, and whether they're still operating the way their exemption requires. Almost every 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(non-3) org has to file some version of it every year, even if it owes zero tax. There isn't one single form. The IRS scales the filing to your size: | Gross receipts | Which form |
What is the 990 tax form, exactly, and what's on it?
The 990 tax form is a public disclosure document as much as a tax filing. It's more than numbers for the IRS; it's the org's financial story, posted where donors, journalists, and state regulators can pull it up. The full Form 990 asks for a lot: a summary of mission and programs, a full statement of revenue and expenses, a balance sheet, compensation for officers and key employees, and a list of the largest contractors. The 990-EZ is a shorter version of the same idea for mid-size orgs. The 990-N is genuinely just eight data points: EIN, tax year, legal name and address, any other names used, a website if you have one, confirmation that gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, and a statement that the org hasn't terminated [2]. Whichever version applies, the filing becomes public record. Sites like ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer pull directly from IRS 990 data, and anyone, including a parent in your booster club, can look up your filings by EIN. That's a good argument for treating the 990 as a communication tool, more than a compliance chore: numbers that look sloppy or unexplained invite questions at the next meeting. See 990 tax form and 990n for the filing steps themselves.
What happens if we filed late or never filed at all?
If your org went three consecutive years without filing any version of the 990, the IRS auto-revokes the exemption on the filing due date of the third missed year, no notice required by the statute itself [1]. You'll usually find out because the org shows up on the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search tool or because a bank, sponsor, or state charity office asks for exemption proof you can no longer produce. The fix is called reinstatement, and the IRS has a formal process for it, including a streamlined option for small orgs that would have qualified for the 990-N. Revenue Procedure 2014-11 lays out four reinstatement paths depending on your size and how promptly you're applying after revocation [5]. Retroactive reinstatement is possible for organizations that show reasonable cause for the filing failures, but it isn't automatic and it isn't guaranteed; confirm the current process and any fee with the IRS before you assume a specific outcome. This is exactly the situation where a new treasurer, inheriting a mess from a predecessor, needs to check the org's status on Tax Exempt Organization Search before doing anything else. See [990](/articles/treasurer-basics/990) and form 990-n for the filing itself once you're reinstated or current.
What does a treasurer of a club report to the board?
At minimum, a club treasurer reports cash on hand, income and expenses since the last report, and anything that looks off, at every regular board meeting. Annually, that expands to a full-year summary and a proposed budget for the next year. A workable monthly report fits on one page: beginning balance, total deposits, total disbursements, ending balance, and a short list of anything unusual (a bounced check, a fundraiser that underperformed, an unbudgeted purchase). Boards don't need forty line items every month. They need enough detail to catch problems early and enough consistency to compare month to month. Annually, most bylaws require (or good practice suggests) a year-end financial statement presented at the annual meeting, alongside the budget for the coming year and confirmation that the required IRS filing and any state charitable registration renewal are done. Some state attorneys general also require charitable organizations above certain revenue thresholds to register and file annual financial reports directly with the state, separate from the IRS; confirm the specific threshold and form with your state charity office, since these rules vary widely and change periodically.
What are the treasurer's cash-handling and control responsibilities?
Controls are the boring stuff that prevents the ugly stuff: two people counting concession cash, two signatures on checks over a set amount, and a bank reconciliation nobody skips. A minimum control set for a volunteer treasurer looks like this. Never let one person both collect cash and record it alone; count concession or gate money with a second volunteer present and have both initial the tally sheet. Require two signatures (or two-factor approval in your bank's app) for checks or transfers above a threshold the board sets, commonly somewhere in the $200 to $500 range for small clubs, though your bylaws should state the actual number. Reconcile the bank statement every single month, even when nothing seems wrong; that's the step that catches an error or a problem early instead of a year later. Keep the treasurer's personal accounts and the org's accounts completely separate, always, no exceptions for convenience. None of this requires expensive software. A shared spreadsheet with a locked prior-month tab, a dedicated nonprofit checking account, and a habit of depositing cash within a few days of an event covers most small orgs. The National Council of Nonprofits has a general overview of financial management practices worth reading alongside your own bylaws [6]. For a deeper set of practical controls built for volunteer treasurers, financial controls style resources on this site walk through the specific split-duty and reconciliation habits step by step.
What does a treasurer do when they take over from a predecessor?
A new treasurer's first job is a handoff audit, not bookkeeping: get the login credentials, the last three years of bank statements, the last filed 990, the EIN, and any state registration numbers, all before assuming anything is fine. Ask for, specifically: the EIN and a copy of the IRS determination letter if one exists, the last three filed 990s (or confirmation of 990-N filings, which don't generate a copy you can request the same way), bank statements and reconciliations for the last 12 to 24 months, any state charitable registration or raffle license numbers and their renewal dates, and the current bylaws and any finance policy. If any of that is missing, that's the first thing to fix, not a footnote. Check the org's status on the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search tool before you do anything else; it takes five minutes and tells you immediately whether you've inherited a healthy org or a revoked one. This is also the moment to set up (or reset) two-signer controls, since a transition is exactly when old habits either get fixed or get carried forward for another few years.
Do treasurers need to worry about state raffle or charitable solicitation rules too?
Yes, if your organization runs raffles, bingo, or any solicits donations from the public, you likely owe your state something beyond the federal 990, separate from and in addition to it. Most states require a specific license or permit before you can legally run a raffle, often tied to your nonprofit status and sometimes to a minimum period of existence (some states require the org to have existed for a year or more before it can be licensed to raffle). Separately, many states require charitable organizations soliciting donations from residents to register with the state attorney general's charity office or secretary of state, sometimes annually, sometimes with its own financial reporting threshold. These rules vary enormously by state and change periodically, so confirm the current requirement, fee, and threshold with your state's charity regulator or the office that issues raffle permits before running your fundraiser. The federal 990 and a state charitable registration are not the same filing and don't substitute for each other. A club can be perfectly current with the IRS and still be operating an unlicensed raffle under state law.
What's the fastest way to get organized if you're starting from zero?
Start with three things: an accurate ledger of the last 12 months (rebuilt from bank statements if needed), confirmation of your 990 filing status through IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, and a one-page policy covering deposit timing and two-signer approval. If you're inheriting years of gaps, prioritize in this order. First, confirm exemption status hasn't been auto-revoked; this affects everything else. Second, rebuild a clean 12-month ledger from bank statements, even if prior years stay fuzzy. Third, file whatever 990 variant is currently due and, if revoked, start the reinstatement process. Fourth, write down (even briefly) who can spend what without a vote, and who has to count cash together. That order matters because a filing gap or revocation is a bigger structural problem than a messy spreadsheet, and fixing the spreadsheet first while the exemption lapses further just wastes the effort. A lot of this is genuinely simpler with a template built for your specific state and org type rather than a generic checklist, which is the gap a $99 one-time State-Personalized Treasurer Kit is built to close: state-specific raffle and registration pointers, a filing calendar, and ledger templates already set up for a small booster club or PTO. It's not a substitute for actually reading your bylaws or checking with a CPA on anything unusual, but it removes a lot of the blank-page problem new treasurers face.
When should a treasurer bring in a CPA or attorney instead of handling it alone?
Bring in a CPA when gross receipts are approaching $50,000 (meaning you may need the 990-EZ instead of the 990-N), when the IRS has issued a revocation notice, or when the books don't reconcile and you can't find why. Bring in an attorney for anything involving a dispute over funds, a state investigation, or forming a separate legal entity. None of this article is tax or legal advice, and nothing here guarantees a particular filing outcome or that your organization will keep or regain tax-exempt status. IRS rules and state charity and raffle rules change, and they vary by state, so confirm specifics with the IRS and your state charity office before relying on any threshold or deadline mentioned here. A volunteer treasurer can handle the vast majority of a small club's books competently; the moments above are where paying a professional for an hour or two is cheap insurance against a much bigger problem later.
Frequently asked questions
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks all money coming in and going out of an organization, keeps the books reconciled, pays approved bills, deposits income promptly, reports finances to the board regularly, and files required IRS and state paperwork each year. In a small nonprofit or club, one volunteer usually does all of this with basic tools like a spreadsheet and a dedicated bank account.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is the officer or volunteer responsible for an organization's finances: recording transactions, safeguarding cash, reporting to the board, and ensuring required tax filings happen. It's distinct from a bookkeeper (who just records transactions) because a treasurer also signs off on spending and answers for the numbers publicly.
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS, reporting income, expenses, and activities. It scales by size: Form 990-N for orgs with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less, Form 990-EZ or full 990 for mid-size orgs, and Form 990-PF for private foundations. Filing is public record.
What is the 990 tax form used for?
It's used by the IRS to confirm a tax-exempt organization is still operating consistent with its exemption, and it's used by the public (donors, journalists, watchdog sites like ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer) to see how the organization spends its money. Even orgs owing zero tax generally must file some version every year or risk automatic revocation.
What does a treasurer do in a club, specifically?
A club treasurer collects dues and fundraiser proceeds, deposits them, pays approved expenses, keeps a simple ledger, reports cash position at meetings, prepares an annual budget, and files the club's IRS return (usually Form 990-N for small clubs). It's the same core job as a large nonprofit treasurer, scaled down and usually unpaid.
What does a club treasurer do that a regular member can't?
Typically the treasurer is the only person authorized to sign checks, approve reimbursements, or move money between accounts, per the org's bylaws. Regular members can still be involved in counting cash or reviewing reports, and good practice actually requires a second person present for cash counts, but disbursement authority is usually limited to the treasurer and maybe one other officer.
How often should a treasurer report to the board?
At every regular board meeting, with a short one-page summary of cash on hand, income, expenses, and anything unusual since the last report. Annually, that expands into a full year-end financial statement plus a proposed budget for the coming year, often presented at the annual meeting per the org's bylaws.
What happens if a nonprofit doesn't file Form 990 for several years?
The IRS automatically revokes tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of not filing any required 990 variant, per Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j), with no separate warning notice required. Reinstatement is possible through an IRS application process (Revenue Procedure 2014-11 outlines several paths) but isn't automatic or guaranteed, so confirm current requirements with the IRS.
Does a small booster club or PTO really need to file anything with the IRS?
Yes, almost always, if it's recognized as tax-exempt. Most small booster clubs and PTOs qualify for the simplest option, Form 990-N, which just requires eight basic data points and is due the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends. Skipping it for three straight years risks automatic revocation of tax-exempt status.
What records should a new treasurer get from the outgoing treasurer?
The EIN and IRS determination letter if available, the last three years of filed 990s or 990-N confirmations, 12 to 24 months of bank statements and reconciliations, any state charitable registration or raffle license numbers with renewal dates, and current bylaws or finance policies. Missing any of these should be the first thing the new treasurer fixes.
What cash-handling controls should a treasurer set up?
At minimum: never let one person both collect and record cash alone, require two-signature or two-person approval for spending above a board-set threshold, reconcile the bank account every month without exception, and keep personal and organizational funds completely separate. These basic splits catch errors and problems early instead of a year later.
Is a treasurer the same as a bookkeeper or accountant?
No. A bookkeeper records transactions; an accountant may prepare or review financial statements and tax filings. A treasurer is an officer who oversees all of that, signs off on spending, reports to the board, and is accountable for the organization's finances, even if a bookkeeper or accountant helps with the mechanics.
Sources
- IRS, Annual Reporting and Filing: Automatic revocation occurs after three consecutive years of not filing required Form 990 variants
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): Form 990-N eligibility (gross receipts normally $50,000 or less), required data fields, and filing deadline of the 15th day of the 5th month after fiscal year end
- IRS, Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File: Thresholds distinguishing Form 990-EZ from full Form 990 based on gross receipts and total assets
- IRS, About Form 990-PF: Private foundations of any size file Form 990-PF
- IRS, Revenue Procedure 2014-11: IRS reinstatement process after automatic revocation includes multiple paths depending on organization size and timing
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: Tool for checking an organization's current tax-exempt status and filing history