Duties of a nonprofit treasurer: the full job explained

Last updated 2026-07-25

what does a treasurer do?

A nonprofit treasurer is the person accountable for the organization's money: recording it, safeguarding it, reporting on it, and making sure the required tax and state filings happen. That's the short version. The long version is that a treasurer is part bookkeeper, part financial translator for the board, and part compliance officer, often all in the same Tuesday night. In a booster club or PTO, the treasurer usually collects dues and fundraising cash, pays vendor invoices and reimbursements, reconciles the bank account every month, and presents a plain-English financial report at each board meeting. Bigger nonprofits split these jobs among staff accountants, a controller, and a board treasurer who oversees rather than does. Volunteer-run groups almost never have that luxury. One person often does it all, which is exactly why the job needs a checklist and a handoff plan, more than good intentions. The IRS doesn't define "treasurer" as a legal term with fixed duties. State nonprofit corporation law usually does, though, often requiring that the organization have an officer responsible for its financial records and accounts. Your own bylaws are the actual job description: read them before you read anything else, because they may specify signing authority, reporting deadlines, or a specific title (treasurer vs. financial secretary) that changes who's on the hook.

what is a treasurer, exactly, in a volunteer organization?

A treasurer in a volunteer organization is the officer, usually elected or appointed under the bylaws, who holds legal and practical responsibility for the group's funds. That means the money sits in an account the treasurer can access and reconcile, and the treasurer answers to the board and to the members or parents who trust the group with their kids' fundraising dollars. This isn't a ceremonial title. If the IRS or a state attorney general's office comes asking questions about missing filings or missing money, the treasurer's name is usually the first one on the paperwork. That's not meant to scare you off the job; it's meant to get you to actually do the reconciliations instead of skimming the bank statement once a year. Most small groups elect the treasurer for a one- or two-year term. Turnover is the single biggest risk factor in booster and PTO finance, because incoming treasurers frequently inherit a shoebox, a login nobody remembers, and zero documentation. A clean handoff packet (bylaws, EIN letter, prior year 990/990-N, bank statements, a list of signers) turns a two-month scramble into a two-hour orientation.

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

Weekly	Deposit cash/checks, log transactions
Monthly	Bank reconciliation, board financial report
Quarterly	Budget check-in, review outstanding reimbursements
Annually	File Form 990/990-N, state charity renewal, raffle license renewal, book review/audit
At turnover	Handoff packet, new signer added to bank account, password/login transfer

Daily and weekly: deposit cash and checks promptly (within a few days, not "whenever"), log every transaction, and keep receipts attached to reimbursement requests. Two people should count fundraiser cash together and both sign the count sheet. This isn't paranoia; it's the standard internal control recommended for any organization handling cash, because it protects both the money and the volunteer counting it from suspicion. Monthly: reconcile the bank statement against your books, present a budget-vs-actual report to the board, and flag anything unusual (a bounced check, an unexpected vendor charge, a fundraiser that came in way under budget). If your group uses a card reader or online payment platform for concessions or spirit wear, reconcile that against your deposits too; processor fees and delayed payouts are the most common source of "where did that money go" confusion in youth-sports groups. Annually: prepare or help prepare a full-year financial report, file the appropriate IRS return, file state charitable solicitation renewals if your group registered to fundraise, renew any raffle or gaming license, and run (or push the board to run) an outside review of the books, even an informal one by a non-treasurer volunteer. Many bylaws require this annual review explicitly; check yours. Here's a rough shape of the job across a year: | Frequency | Task |

what does a treasurer of a club do differently than a corporate treasurer?

A club treasurer (booster club, PTO, youth sports league, alumni association) does a scaled-down version of what a corporate treasurer does, minus the investment management and debt financing, plus a lot more hands-on cash handling. Corporate treasurers manage capital structure, banking relationships, and risk hedging. Club treasurers manage a checking account, a shoebox of receipts, and a spreadsheet, and they usually do it unpaid, in their spare time, alongside a full-time job and their own kid's practice schedule. The core duties overlap more than you'd think: both roles are responsible for accurate records, timely reporting to a governing body (a board vs. a CFO/CEO), and keeping the organization solvent enough to meet its obligations. The stakes differ, but the discipline required doesn't scale down as much as people assume. A $40,000-a-year booster club with sloppy books is just as capable of losing its tax-exempt status or facing an embezzlement problem as a much larger organization; the dollar amounts are smaller, but the legal and reputational exposure is not proportionally smaller. What a club treasurer does that a corporate treasurer usually doesn't: work concession stands, count raffle ticket cash at a folding table, chase down a coach for a receipt, and file the group's own tax return by hand instead of handing it to an accounting department.

what is Form 990, and does my club need to file it?

$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, or	$500,000 or more	Form 990	The IRS's own instructions state that organizations "normally" with gross receipts of $50,000 or less may file the 990-N instead of a full return [2]. "Normally" is based on an average over the current and prior two tax years, not a single bad (or good) year, so check the IRS's specific gross receipts test before assuming which form applies to your club. For most booster clubs and PTOs running bake sales, concession stands, and a spring raffle, the 990-N is the form you'll use. Learn more on our 990-N filing guide and our broader Form 990 overview.

Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires from most tax-exempt organizations, reporting revenue, expenses, and governance information to the public ^[1]. It's not an income tax return in the traditional sense (most filers owe no tax); it's a disclosure document that the IRS and the public use to see what a nonprofit is doing with its money. Which version you file depends on gross receipts and assets. The IRS breaks it down like this for the current thresholds ^{[1] [2]}: | Annual gross receipts | Total assets | Which form |

what is the 990 tax form used for?

The 990 tax form is used to give the IRS and the public a yearly snapshot of a tax-exempt organization's finances and operations: how much money came in, where it went, who's on the board, and whether the organization is still operating consistent with its exempt purpose. The IRS uses it to monitor compliance; donors, grantmakers, and watchdog sites use it to evaluate an organization before giving. Because 990s (except the 990-N, which isn't public in the same searchable format) are public record, a poorly prepared 990 can hurt your group's credibility with donors and sponsors who look it up. GuideStar/Candid and the IRS's own Tax Exempt Organization Search tool let anyone pull up your filings ^[3]. The practical answer for most readers of this site: the 990 tax form is the annual report card that keeps your nonprofit status alive. Skip it three years running, and the exemption doesn't get suspended, it gets automatically revoked by law, no warning letter required beyond what the IRS already sends ^[4].

what happens if a club treasurer misses the 990 or 990-N filing?

Miss it once or twice, and generally nothing dramatic happens immediately, though penalties can apply to organizations required to file the full 990 or 990-EZ (the 990-N carries no dollar penalty for late filing, per IRS guidance ^[2]). Miss it three years in a row, though, and the law is blunt: "Failure to file for three consecutive years results in automatic revocation of tax-exempt status" under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j) ^[4]. This is called auto-revocation, and it's shockingly common among small volunteer-run nonprofits, precisely because treasurer turnover means nobody remembers the filing happened, or that it's due, or even that the group has an EIN. The IRS publishes a public Auto-Revocation List you can search by name or EIN ^[4]. If your group's exemption got revoked, you're not stuck forever. The IRS allows retroactive reinstatement for small organizations that file Form 1023 or 1023-EZ within 15 months of the revocation date, along with the required back filings, under the procedures in Revenue Procedure 2014-11 ^[5]. It's paperwork-heavy and takes real time; budget a few months, not a few days, and don't assume reinstatement is automatic or guaranteed.

what does a treasurer do to keep the club's tax-exempt status?

Keeping tax-exempt status is mostly a matter of filing on time, every year, without exception, and not doing anything that violates the terms of the exemption (like letting the organization's earnings benefit a private individual, or spending too much on lobbying if you're a 501(c)(3)). The treasurer isn't solely responsible for all of this, but is usually the person who knows the filing deadline exists and the one who gets blamed if it's missed. A workable annual checklist: - Confirm your EIN and legal name match IRS records exactly.

• Track gross receipts monthly so you know which 990 variant applies before the deadline arrives.
• File by the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year ends (for a calendar-year filer, that's May 15) ^[1].
• Set a calendar reminder a month early, because you cannot re-file a missed 990-N; you can only file it late, and three misses trigger revocation ^[4].
• Renew any state charitable solicitation registration if your group actively fundraises from the public; confirm with your state charity office whether your group is covered or exempt, since thresholds and exemptions vary by state.
• Keep board minutes showing financial reports were actually presented and reviewed, since that paper trail matters if anyone (a new board, a state regulator, an IRS auditor) ever asks questions later. Our IRS Form 990 hub page walks through the filing mechanics in more depth if you're doing this for the first time.

what financial controls should a treasurer put in place?

Financial controls are the boring habits that prevent both honest mistakes and dishonest ones. For a volunteer treasurer, the highest-value controls are cheap and low-tech, not expensive software. Dual counting for cash: any time cash changes hands at a fundraiser, concession stand, or raffle table, two unrelated people count it together and both sign a count sheet before the cash leaves the table. This single habit prevents most of the disputes and most of the temptation. Separate approval and payment: the person who approves a purchase shouldn't be the same person who writes the check and reconciles the account, if you have enough volunteers to split it. In a one-treasurer group, the workaround is a second signer on the bank account and monthly board sign-off on the reconciliation. Bank reconciliation monthly, not annually: reconciling once a year means twelve months of small errors compound before anyone notices. Reconcile monthly and you catch problems while they're still small and explainable. Written reimbursement policy: require a receipt and a simple form for every reimbursement, with a dollar threshold above which a second officer must approve. This protects the treasurer as much as it protects the club; "I don't remember" is a bad answer six months later, but a signed form is a good one. Documented signer changes: every time officers change, update the bank's signature card and remove the outgoing treasurer immediately. Leaving a former treasurer as an active signer is one of the most common (and most preventable) control failures in small nonprofits.

what does a treasurer do at handoff, when a new officer takes over?

Handoff is where most small-nonprofit financial problems start, and it's the moment treasurers plan for least. The outgoing treasurer should hand the incoming one a packet, not a login and a shrug. A reasonable handoff packet includes: the EIN and IRS determination letter (or the most recent 990/990-N confirmation), the last twelve months of bank statements and reconciliations, the current budget and year-to-date financials, a list of recurring bills and vendors, the state charity registration status and renewal date, any raffle or gaming license and its renewal date, and the bylaws section describing the treasurer's authority and reporting duties. Getting added as a signer on the bank account, and getting the outgoing treasurer removed, should happen at the same meeting, not "sometime this fall." Banks generally require board minutes or a resolution naming the new signer; bring that document with you rather than showing up and hoping the branch figures it out. This is also the point where our $99 one-time State-Personalized Treasurer Kit is genuinely useful rather than just a sales pitch: it's built specifically for people stepping into this job cold, with state-specific filing checklists and a handoff template, so you're not reconstructing five years of institutional memory from a cardboard box of receipts.

what does a treasurer do beyond taxes, like raffles and state fundraising rules?

Beyond the IRS, a treasurer usually has to track two other layers of compliance: state charitable solicitation registration and, if applicable, raffle or gaming licensing. Both vary by state and change over time, so treat any specific number here as a starting point to confirm, not a final answer. Many states require nonprofits that solicit donations from the public to register with the state attorney general's office or a dedicated charity registration division before fundraising, sometimes with an annual renewal and a filing fee. Some states exempt small organizations below a revenue threshold; some don't exempt anyone. Confirm with your state charity office directly, since exemption thresholds and renewal cycles are exactly the kind of detail that changes from year to year and state to state. Raffles are their own separate headache. Many states classify raffles as a form of gambling that requires a specific license or permit, often tied to the nonprofit's tax-exempt status and sometimes requiring a local government sign-off as well. Rules on prize limits, ticket sales locations, and reporting of proceeds vary widely. If your club runs a 50/50 raffle at every home game, that's the kind of recurring activity that state regulators actually check on, so get the license before the season starts, not after a parent asks why there isn't one.

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

The general rule of thumb many nonprofit finance guides use is to keep basic financial records (bank statements, receipts, reconciliations, board financial reports) for at least seven years, since that covers the IRS's typical audit lookback and most state statutes of limitations for financial disputes. Some documents (the IRS determination letter, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and every filed 990/990-N) should be kept permanently, because you'll need them again at every future treasurer handoff and every future filing. Digital storage (a shared drive with restricted access, backed up in more than one place) beats a filing cabinet in someone's garage, mostly because garages flood and volunteers move. Whatever system you pick, make sure the incoming treasurer actually gets access before the outgoing one disappears; a beautifully organized archive nobody can log into is worse than a messy one everybody can see.

Frequently asked questions

What does a treasurer do?

A treasurer tracks all money coming into and going out of an organization, keeps the books reconciled, prepares financial reports for the board, and handles required tax and state filings like the IRS Form 990 or 990-N. In small clubs, the treasurer often also handles cash counting, reimbursements, and bank account management personally.

What is a treasurer?

A treasurer is the officer of an organization, usually elected under its bylaws, responsible for managing and reporting on its money. That includes recordkeeping, budgeting, reporting to the board, and making sure required tax filings and state registrations happen on schedule.

What do treasurers do that other board members don't?

Other board members set policy and vote on decisions; the treasurer is specifically accountable for the accuracy of the financial records and for making sure the organization's money is tracked, reported, and legally compliant. The treasurer usually presents the numbers the rest of the board relies on to make decisions.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the annual information return most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS, reporting revenue, expenses, and governance details ^[2]. It's a public disclosure document, not a traditional income tax return, since most exempt organizations owe no tax on it.

What does a treasurer do in a club, specifically?

In a club (booster club, PTO, youth sports league), the treasurer collects dues and fundraising money, pays bills and reimbursements, reconciles the bank account monthly, reports to the board, and files the club's IRS Form 990/990-N and any required state charity or raffle paperwork each year.

What does a club treasurer do differently from a corporate treasurer?

A club treasurer does far more hands-on cash handling (counting concession stand money, chasing receipts) and far less financial engineering (no investment management, no debt structuring). The core duty of accurate records and timely reporting is the same; the scale and tools are very different.

What is a 990 tax form used for?

It's used to give the IRS and the public an annual view of a nonprofit's finances, board, and activities, so the IRS can monitor ongoing compliance with tax-exempt status and donors can evaluate the organization before giving ^[2][4].

What is the 990-N and who has to file it?

The 990-N, or e-Postcard, is a short online filing for tax-exempt organizations that normally have $50,000 or less in gross receipts ^[3]. It requires basic information like the organization's EIN, tax year, and confirmation that receipts stayed under the threshold; there's no financial detail to report.

What happens if a nonprofit misses three years of 990 filings?

Its tax-exempt status is automatically revoked by law under 26 U.S.C. § 6033(j), effective as of the filing due date for the third year ^[1]. There's no extra warning beyond standard IRS notices; the revocation is automatic once the third consecutive year is missed.

Can a nonprofit get its tax-exempt status back after auto-revocation?

Yes, often through retroactive reinstatement by filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ within 15 months of the revocation date and completing required back filings, under the procedures in Revenue Procedure 2014-11 ^[7]. It takes real time and paperwork; reinstatement isn't automatic or guaranteed, so confirm current procedures with the IRS.

Does a treasurer need to be an accountant?

No. Most booster club, PTO, and youth-sports treasurers are volunteers with no accounting background. The job is learnable with a checklist and a handoff packet; it requires discipline (monthly reconciliation, dual cash counts, on-time filings) far more than technical accounting expertise.

What is the difference between a treasurer and a bookkeeper in a nonprofit?

A bookkeeper records transactions; a treasurer is the accountable officer who oversees those records, reports to the board, ensures compliance filings happen, and often signs on the bank account. In small volunteer groups, one person usually does both jobs.

How often should a nonprofit treasurer reconcile the bank account?

Monthly, at minimum. Reconciling only once a year lets small errors or discrepancies compound for months before anyone notices, and it makes explaining a problem to the board much harder than catching it early would have been.

Sources

1. IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Failure to file required 990/990-N returns for three consecutive years results in automatic revocation of tax-exempt status under IRC section 6033(j)
2. 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, and the filing deadline is the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends
3. IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): Organizations that normally have gross receipts of $50,000 or less may file Form 990-N instead of a full return
4. IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: The public can search filed Form 990 series returns and exemption status through the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search tool
5. IRS, Revenue Procedure 2014-11: Small organizations can seek retroactive reinstatement of tax-exempt status by filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ within 15 months of revocation