Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
A nonprofit treasurer manages the group's money: tracking income and expenses, keeping bank records straight, preparing financial reports for the board, and making sure the right IRS Form 990 variant gets filed each year. In small groups like PTOs and booster clubs, the treasurer often also handles raffle paperwork and cash counting at events.
What does a treasurer do?
A nonprofit treasurer is the person responsible for tracking the organization's money and reporting on it honestly and on time. That's the whole job in one sentence. Everything else is detail. In practice, that means keeping the checkbook (or the bank portal) reconciled every month, categorizing income and expenses so anyone can see where money came from and where it went, and preparing a simple financial report for board meetings. It also means signing checks or approving electronic payments, usually alongside a second signer, and keeping receipts organized enough that if someone asks 'what did we spend on uniforms last year,' you can answer in five minutes, not five hours. For a nonprofit that's incorporated with a board, the treasurer is technically an officer with fiduciary duties. Nonprofit board members, including officers like the treasurer, generally owe the organization a duty of care and a duty of loyalty under state nonprofit corporation law, and many states model this on frameworks like the Revised Model Nonprofit Corporation Act. That's a fancy way of saying: act carefully, act honestly, and don't use the group's money for yourself. At the federal level, if the organization is tax-exempt, the treasurer usually ends up being the person who makes sure Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N actually gets filed. The IRS doesn't care whose 'job' that is on paper; it cares that the form got filed by the deadline [1].
What is a treasurer? (the short definition)
A treasurer is the officer of an organization who is legally and practically responsible for its financial records, reporting, and controls. That's true whether it's a Fortune 500 company, a homeowners association, or a five-person PTO board running a bake sale fund. The title sounds bigger than the job often is. In a small booster club, 'treasurer' might mean one volunteer with a shoebox of receipts and a spreadsheet. In a larger nonprofit with paid staff, the treasurer might oversee a finance committee and a bookkeeper, while still being the one who signs off on the numbers that go to the board and the IRS. What doesn't change with size: the treasurer is the person accountable when someone asks 'where did the money go' or 'why didn't we file our taxes.' That accountability is the actual core of the role, more than any specific task list.
What do treasurers do day to day, month to month, and year to year?
Breaking the job down by time horizon makes it less overwhelming, especially for someone who just inherited the binder from a departing treasurer with zero notes. Daily or weekly: deposit checks and cash promptly, log incoming payments (dues, sponsorships, concession sales), and pay bills that are due. Keep a simple running list of every transaction, even if it's just a spreadsheet row. Monthly: reconcile the bank statement against your records, prepare a profit-and-loss summary for the board, flag anything unusual (a bounced check, a duplicate charge, a donor who hasn't paid an invoice), and file receipts so they're retrievable later. Quarterly or seasonally: review the budget against actual spending, check whether any state charitable solicitation registration or raffle license needs renewal, and confirm upcoming events (raffles, silent auctions, tournaments) have their cash-handling plan set before the event, not after. Annually: close out the fiscal year, prepare or hand off records for the tax filing (Form 990 series), present an annual financial report to the membership or board, and, if the group requires it, help coordinate an outside review or audit. Many state charity offices set their own audit or review thresholds tied to annual revenue, so check your specific state's charitable solicitation rules; confirm with your state charity office for the current dollar threshold in your state. The rhythm matters more than any single task. A treasurer who does a little bit every week never has a scary March scramble.
What does a treasurer do in a club, PTO, or booster organization?
Club and booster treasurers have a version of the job that's leaner but higher-stakes in a different way: less oversight, more cash, and a total volunteer turnover risk every year or two. What does a club treasurer do specifically? Collect dues and fundraiser proceeds, pay vendors (uniform companies, tournament fees, venue rentals), keep a ledger the whole board can understand, and report a balance at every meeting. Most booster and PTO treasurers also run the concession stand cash box, the raffle table, or the online payment link for a fundraiser, which means cash-handling controls (two people counting money, a deposit log, a receipt for every payout) matter just as much as bookkeeping. What does a treasurer of a club do that a corporate treasurer doesn't? Usually, everything, alone. There's rarely a bookkeeper, a controller, or an accounting department backing up a volunteer treasurer. That's exactly why cash controls and clean handoff documentation matter so much more in small nonprofits than in large ones: there's no second line of defense if the treasurer makes a mistake or disappears mid-season. If your club runs raffles, the treasurer is typically the one who applies for or renews the state raffle or charitable gaming license, tracks ticket sales against a numbered roll, and reports proceeds. Raffle rules vary enormously by state; confirm with your state charity office or gaming commission before running one.
What is Form 990 and why does the treasurer care?
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations must file with the IRS to report income, expenses, and organizational details. It's not an income tax return in the way an individual's Form 1040 is; it's more of a public transparency filing that shows donors, the IRS, and the public how the organization used its money [1]. There are several versions depending on size: the full Form 990 for larger organizations, Form 990-EZ for mid-sized ones, and Form 990-N (the 'e-Postcard') for small organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less [2]. The treasurer usually determines which version applies based on the group's total gross receipts and assets for the year. What is the 990 tax form used for, practically? It tells the IRS the organization is still operating, still exempt, and not secretly funneling money to insiders. It also becomes public record. Anyone, including a parent deciding whether to trust your booster club with their kid's fundraiser money, can look up your filed 990s through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search [3]. Missing three years of required 990 filings in a row triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status, no warning letter required beyond what the IRS already publishes: 'Organizations that do not file required Form 990-series returns for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status' [4]. That single sentence is the reason so many small booster clubs and PTOs suddenly discover, years later, that they haven't been tax-exempt since some treasurer quietly stopped filing. For more on which version applies to your group, see form 990 and form 990-n.
What is the 990-N and who has to file it?
Form 990-N, sometimes called the e-Postcard, is the simplest version of the annual filing, meant for small tax-exempt organizations whose gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less per year [2]. It's free to file and takes about ten minutes online through the IRS's e-Postcard system. The form asks for basic information: the organization's legal name, EIN, tax year, mailing address, name of a principal officer, and confirmation that gross receipts are still under the threshold [2]. There's no financial detail beyond that confirmation, which is exactly why it's so easy to forget: there's no accountant nudging you because there's no complicated return to prepare. That ease is a trap. Because 990-N filing feels trivial, it's the filing most likely to get skipped by a volunteer treasurer juggling a full-time job and a kid's soccer schedule. But skipping it for three straight years is exactly what triggers automatic revocation under the rule described above [4]. If your organization's revenue grew past $50,000, you likely need Form 990-EZ or the full Form 990 instead; check current thresholds directly at irs.gov since they can be adjusted. See 990n for more detail on eligibility and filing steps.
What happens if the treasurer misses a 990 filing?
Nothing happens after one missed year. The real danger is cumulative: three consecutive missed years trigger automatic revocation of federal tax-exempt status, with no appeal for the missed years themselves [4]. Once revoked, the organization owes income tax on its revenue going forward, loses the ability to tell donors their gifts are tax-deductible, and may lose eligibility for state exemptions tied to the federal one (state sales tax exemption, some state charity registration exemptions). Reinstatement is possible through the IRS's streamlined or standard retroactive reinstatement process, described in Revenue Procedure 2014-11, but it takes real paperwork and, for some categories, a filing fee [5]. The first thing any new treasurer should do, especially one taking over an existing organization, is check the group's status on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool [3]. It takes two minutes and tells you immediately whether you're dealing with a normal filing catch-up or a full reinstatement project.
What financial controls should a treasurer put in place?
Financial controls are the boring stuff that prevents both honest mistakes and dishonest ones. For a volunteer-run nonprofit, a handful of basics cover most of the risk. Require two signatures on checks above a set dollar threshold. Never let one person both collect cash and record it without a second person verifying the count. Reconcile the bank statement every month, not every quarter. Keep the checkbook, the bookkeeping records, and the bank login access separated from any single person's total control when the organization is big enough to have more than one active officer. For cash-heavy events (concession stands, raffles, car washes), use a simple count sheet: two people count the cash box at the start and end of the event, both sign it, and the total gets deposited within a day or two, not held at someone's house for a week. Budget-to-actual review at every board meeting catches problems early. If spending on 'uniforms' is 40% over budget in month three, that's a conversation to have in month three, not at year-end when the money's already gone. None of this requires accounting software or a CPA. It requires consistency and a second set of eyes.
How does a treasurer hand off the role to the next person?
A clean handoff is the single most underrated part of the treasurer job, and the one most often skipped entirely. Outgoing treasurers who just disappear leave the next volunteer guessing, sometimes for months, about basic things like bank login access or where last year's tax filing is. A real handoff includes: bank account access transferred (more than shared passwords, actual authorized signer changes at the bank), the prior year's 990 filing confirmation, current budget and financial statements, the receipt/expense filing system explained in plain language, any state charity registration or raffle license renewal dates, and a list of recurring bills and their due dates. Write it down. Even a two-page memo saved as a PDF beats an oral handover at a coffee shop that nobody remembers three months later. Many organizations benefit from a standing 'treasurer transition checklist' kept in the same folder every year, updated by whoever's leaving.
Is a nonprofit required to have a treasurer?
Most states require nonprofit corporations to have certain officers, and treasurer (or an equivalent financial officer, sometimes combined with secretary) is common, but exact requirements vary by state nonprofit corporation statute. Some states allow one person to hold multiple officer titles; others require separate people for president and treasurer. Even when state law is flexible, the IRS Form 990 itself asks for the names of officers including anyone functioning as treasurer, and funders, banks, and insurance companies routinely ask who the treasurer is before releasing money or coverage. Practically speaking, if your organization handles money, you need someone functioning as treasurer whether or not the bylaws use that exact word.
What skills or qualifications does a nonprofit treasurer need?
No license or certification is legally required to be a nonprofit treasurer. Most booster club and PTO treasurers are parents or volunteers with no formal accounting background, and that's normal, not a red flag. What actually matters: basic comfort with spreadsheets or simple accounting software, willingness to reconcile a bank statement monthly without putting it off, comfort asking questions (of the bank, the IRS, the state charity office) instead of guessing, and enough organizational discipline to keep receipts and records where someone else could find them if needed. For larger nonprofits with six or seven figure budgets, boards often look for a treasurer with some bookkeeping or finance background, sometimes a CPA on the board in an advisory capacity. That's a judgment call based on the organization's size and complexity, not a legal requirement in most states.
Where can a new treasurer get help getting organized?
Start with the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search to confirm your current filing status, then figure out which Form 990 variant applies based on gross receipts [1][2][3]. Check your state's charity registration office or attorney general's charities division for any state-level filing or raffle licensing requirements, since these run completely separate from the federal 990 process and vary by state. For groups that want a structured starting point rather than piecing together IRS pages and state forms from scratch, BoosterLedger's $99 one-time State-Personalized Treasurer Kit bundles the federal filing checklist with your specific state's charity and raffle paperwork, built for volunteer treasurers who don't have a bookkeeper on speed dial. It's not tax or legal advice, and it doesn't guarantee any filing outcome or exemption status; it's a starting point that saves the hours of Googling most new treasurers spend in their first month. Whatever tools you use, the sequence is the same: confirm exemption status, confirm which 990 version you owe, confirm state charity/raffle registration, then build your monthly reconciliation habit. Do those four things and you're ahead of most volunteer treasurers.
Frequently asked questions
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks an organization's income and expenses, keeps bank accounts reconciled, prepares financial reports for the board, and ensures required tax filings like Form 990 get submitted on time. In small nonprofits, the treasurer often also handles cash-handling at events and state charity registration paperwork.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is the officer responsible for an organization's financial records, reporting, and controls, whether that organization is a large nonprofit, a small booster club, or a school PTO. The title carries fiduciary responsibility under most state nonprofit corporation laws, even for unpaid volunteers.
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS reporting income, expenses, and governance details. It's public record, viewable through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, and comes in several versions (990, 990-EZ, 990-N) depending on the organization's gross receipts.
What is the 990 tax form used for?
The 990 tax form reports a tax-exempt organization's financial activity to the IRS and, because it's public, to donors and the general public. It's not an income tax bill; it's a transparency filing that shows how the organization raised and spent money during the year.
What is the 990-N and who needs to file it?
Form 990-N (the e-Postcard) is a free, short online filing for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It asks for basic identifying information and confirmation of the receipts threshold, and takes about ten minutes to complete on the IRS website.
What does a treasurer do in a club or booster organization?
A club or booster treasurer collects dues and fundraiser proceeds, pays vendors, keeps a ledger the board can follow, reports balances at meetings, and often manages cash boxes at concession stands or raffle tables. Unlike corporate treasurers, most work alone without a bookkeeping department behind them.
What happens if a nonprofit misses filing its 990 for three years?
The IRS automatically revokes tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of missed required 990 filings, with no appeal for those missed years. Reinstatement requires a formal application process, sometimes with a fee, described in IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-11.
Does a nonprofit treasurer need to be a CPA or accountant?
No. Most volunteer treasurers at PTOs, booster clubs, and small nonprofits have no formal accounting background. What matters more is consistency: monthly bank reconciliation, organized receipts, and willingness to ask the bank, IRS, or state charity office questions instead of guessing.
How is a nonprofit treasurer different from a bookkeeper?
A bookkeeper records transactions; a treasurer is accountable for the organization's overall financial health, reporting, and compliance, and often does the bookkeeping personally in small nonprofits. In larger organizations, a treasurer may oversee a bookkeeper or accounting staff rather than entering transactions directly.
What financial controls should a small nonprofit treasurer set up?
Require two signers on checks above a set threshold, reconcile bank statements monthly, never let one person both collect and record cash unsupervised, and use signed count sheets for cash-heavy events like raffles and concession stands. These basic controls catch both honest errors and theft.
How does a treasurer hand off duties to the next person?
A good handoff transfers actual bank signer authority (more than shared passwords), the prior year's tax filing confirmation, current financial statements, an explanation of the filing system, and a list of upcoming renewal deadlines like raffle licenses. Writing this down as a saved checklist prevents information loss between volunteers.
Is every nonprofit required to have a treasurer?
Most state nonprofit corporation laws require certain officer roles, often including treasurer or an equivalent financial officer, though exact rules vary by state. Even where law is flexible, funders, banks, and the IRS Form 990 itself expect a named person functioning as treasurer.
Sources
- IRS, Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File: Most tax-exempt organizations must file an annual Form 990-series return with the IRS, with the specific version determined by gross receipts and assets
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations, Form 990-N (e-Postcard): Form 990-N is for organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less and requires basic identifying information
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Organizations that fail to file required returns for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status
- IRS, Revenue Procedure 2014-11: Describes the streamlined and standard processes for retroactive reinstatement of tax-exempt status after automatic revocation
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: Public tool to confirm an organization's current tax-exempt status and view filed 990s
- IRS, About Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: The Form 990-series return is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of the organization's accounting period