Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
A treasurer tracks every dollar in and out, keeps bank and cash records straight, prepares budgets, and files the group's annual IRS return (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N). In a booster club or PTO, that usually means reconciling accounts monthly, reporting to the board, and making sure the group doesn't lose its tax-exempt status by missing a filing deadline.
what does a treasurer do?
A treasurer is the person responsible for a group's money: tracking it, protecting it, and reporting on it honestly. That's the one-sentence version. The longer version is that a treasurer sits at the intersection of bookkeeping, compliance, and trust. For a state government, a state treasurer manages public funds, invests state cash, issues debt, and oversees banking relationships for the whole state. That's a different job with a different scale, but the core function is identical to what a volunteer treasurer does for a 40-family booster club: know where the money is, know where it came from, know where it's going, and be able to show anyone who asks. Most people searching this term aren't running a state government. They're a parent who just got handed a shoebox of receipts and a login to a bank account they didn't open. This article is written for that person. A treasurer's job breaks into four buckets: recordkeeping (every transaction, logged and reconciled), reporting (to the board, to members, to the IRS), controls (making sure no single person can move money without a second set of eyes), and compliance (filing the right form on time so the group keeps its tax-exempt status). Skip any one of these and the group is exposed, either to fraud, to an IRS problem, or to a state registration lapse.
what is a treasurer, exactly?
A treasurer is an officer, usually elected or appointed by a nonprofit board, who is legally and practically responsible for the organization's finances. Nonprofit bylaws typically name the treasurer as an officer position alongside president, vice president, and secretary. The IRS doesn't require a specific title structure for small tax-exempt organizations, but it does require that whoever signs the group's tax return and financial statements can vouch for their accuracy. In practice, that's the treasurer, sometimes with a countersignature from the president. A treasurer is not automatically an accountant. Most booster and PTO treasurers are volunteers with zero formal bookkeeping training. That's fine, as long as the group builds simple, repeatable habits: a shared ledger, monthly reconciliation, receipts for everything, and two signers on every check over a set dollar amount. None of that requires a CPA license. It requires consistency.
what do treasurers do day to day and month to month?
Day to day, a treasurer deposits money (concession cash, membership dues, fundraiser proceeds), pays bills, and logs every transaction somewhere durable, not on a sticky note. Month to month, the job shifts to reconciliation and reporting. A reasonable monthly cycle looks like this: - Reconcile the bank statement against the internal ledger, line by line
- Total cash received from any events (concessions, raffles, car washes) and match it to deposit slips
- Pay recurring bills and reimbursements, with receipts attached
- Prepare a short financial report for the board meeting: cash on hand, money in, money out, budget vs. actual
- File away every receipt, invoice, and bank statement in a folder that the next treasurer can actually find Annually, the job adds bigger tasks: preparing or reviewing the budget for the coming year, coordinating any outside financial review or audit the bylaws require, and filing the group's IRS Form 990 (or 990-N postcard for smaller groups) by the deadline, which is the 15th day of the 5th month after the organization's fiscal year ends [1]. For a calendar-year group, that's May 15.
what does a club treasurer do differently from a corporate treasurer?
A corporate or municipal treasurer often manages investment portfolios, debt issuance, and cash flow forecasting on a large scale. A club treasurer manages a checking account, maybe a savings account, and a spreadsheet. The scale is different, but the accountability standard isn't. Both are stewards of money that isn't theirs. Both have to answer to a board or an oversight body. Both can get in real trouble if records go missing or numbers don't add up. What's specific to booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports groups is the volunteer turnover problem. A state treasurer's office has staff, continuity, and institutional systems. A booster club treasurer is often a parent who does the job for one or two years while their kid is in the program, then hands it off to whoever volunteers next. That makes documentation and handoff even more important than in a paid role, because there's no professional continuity to fall back on. See our handoff guide for what a clean transition actually requires.
what is Form 990 and why does the treasurer file it?
| 990-N (e-Postcard) | Smallest orgs | Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less [3] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 990-EZ | Mid-size orgs | Gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 [4] | |
| 990 (full) | Larger orgs | Gross receipts $200,000 or more, or total assets $500,000 or more [4] | A booster club or PTO with a small annual budget, say under $50,000 in gross receipts, usually qualifies for the 990-N, which just requires eight basic data points online: legal name, address, EIN, tax year, confirmation that receipts are under the threshold, and a statement that the org hasn't terminated [3]. Bigger boosters or PTOs with concession stands, big fundraisers, or facility fees often cross into 990-EZ territory and need real financial statements to file correctly. Learn more about Form 990 and how the 990-N actually works. |
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS to report income, expenses, and activities. The IRS states plainly: "Tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts and section 527 political organizations file this form to provide the IRS with the information required by section 6033" [2]. Which version a group files depends on gross receipts and assets: | Form | Who files it | Threshold (approx.) |
what is the 990 tax form used for?
Form 990 isn't a tax bill. Most tax-exempt groups don't owe income tax, so this isn't about calculating what you owe. It's a transparency document: the IRS uses it to confirm the organization is still operating within its exempt purpose, and the public can use it to see how a nonprofit spends its money. That second part matters more than treasurers usually expect. Sites like GuideStar and ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer publish 990 data, so parents, donors, and even competing programs can look up your booster club's finances. If your 990 shows a $40,000 balance sitting untouched while the team asks parents for uniform money, expect questions. The consequence of not filing is serious and automatic. Under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j), an organization that fails to file the required 990-series return for three consecutive years automatically loses its tax-exempt status, with no appeal for the lapse itself [5]. The IRS publishes a searchable list of auto-revoked organizations, and reinstatement means reapplying, sometimes with retroactive relief available and sometimes not, depending on the situation. Confirm your reinstatement path with the IRS and, if relevant, your state charity office, since some states also require a copy of your IRS determination letter.
what does a treasurer do in a club specifically (booster club, PTO, youth sports)?
In a booster club, PTO, or youth sports league, the treasurer's job usually covers six concrete responsibilities: 1. Opening and managing the bank account, ideally with two authorized signers, not one 2. Recording every fundraiser's income and expenses separately, so the board can see which fundraisers actually make money 3. Reimbursing coaches, teachers, or volunteers for approved purchases, with receipts required before payment 4. Handling cash from concessions, gate admissions, or raffles with a documented count process, ideally two people counting together 5. Filing the annual IRS return (990-N, 990-EZ, or 990) and any required state charitable registration renewal 6. Presenting a clear financial report at board or membership meetings, so nobody is surprised at year-end A raffle adds another layer. Most states require a separate charitable gaming or raffle license before a booster club or PTO can legally raffle off a gift basket or a signed jersey, and the rules (license type, fees, reporting) differ significantly by state. Confirm requirements with your state's charity regulator or attorney general's office and your local raffle licensing authority before running one, and see our raffle guides by state for specifics.
what does the treasurer of a club actually control, and what should the board control?
The treasurer manages the money. The treasurer should never be the only person who can see or move the money. That distinction is the single most common failure point in volunteer-run groups. Good control structure looks like this: the treasurer prepares reports and pays routine bills, but two signers approve checks above a set threshold (commonly $250 to $500 for small groups, though bylaws set the exact number), the board reviews financial reports monthly, and someone other than the treasurer reviews the bank statement at least once a year, ideally through a basic financial review or a small independent audit. Nonprofit governance guidance from state charity regulators generally recommends this kind of separation of duties precisely because a single unchecked signer is how embezzlement happens in small nonprofits, not through sophistication, just through nobody else looking. See our financial controls guide for a full checklist your board can adopt in one meeting.
what happens if a treasurer doesn't file the 990 or 990-N on time?
Missing one year usually isn't fatal. Missing three years in a row is, because that triggers automatic revocation under IRC 6033(j) with no advance warning letter required by law, though the IRS does send reminder notices in practice [5]. Once revoked, the organization is listed publicly on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search auto-revocation list, and donations made after the revocation date are no longer tax-deductible to donors until the group is reinstated. Reinstatement generally means filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ (or Form 1024 for non-501(c)(3) groups) again, along with any delinquent 990s, and paying the applicable user fee. The IRS offers streamlined retroactive reinstatement for small organizations that apply within 15 months of the revocation date, if certain conditions are met, but confirm current eligibility and fees directly with the IRS, since these details change [6]. This is the single biggest reason a new treasurer should check filing status in the first week on the job: pull up the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool and confirm your EIN is actually listed as exempt, not revoked.
how does a new treasurer get up to speed fast?
Start with three things: the EIN, the last filed 990 or 990-N, and the bank statements for the last twelve months. If any of those three is missing, that's priority one, not the budget for next year's fundraiser. Check the group's status on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search [7] to confirm exemption is active, not revoked. Then pull the state's charity registration status, if your state requires charitable solicitation registration, through your state attorney general's charities office; many states require annual renewal separate from the IRS filing. Build a simple twelve-month calendar: bank reconciliation monthly, board report monthly, 990-series filing annually by the deadline, state registration renewal annually (date varies by state), and any raffle license renewal tied to your event calendar, not the fiscal year. If you want this pre-built instead of assembling it from six different .gov pages, BoosterLedger's $99 State-Personalized Treasurer Kit sets up the calendar, forms, and reconciliation templates specific to your state and your fiscal year, so you're not guessing which deadlines apply to your group.
treasurer vs. bookkeeper vs. board president: who does what?
| Treasurer | Tracks all money, reports to board | Usually yes (one of two signers) | Usually yes, or oversees it | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper (if paid or separate volunteer) | Data entry, reconciliation support | No | No, prepares data for treasurer | |
| Board president | Overall governance, approves budget | Sometimes, as second signer | No, but co-signs the return in some bylaws | Small booster clubs and PTOs often don't have a separate bookkeeper; the treasurer does both jobs. That's fine for a small budget. Once a group is handling six figures a year (concessions, sponsorships, big tournaments), it's worth considering a paid bookkeeper or accountant to support the volunteer treasurer, not replace the oversight role. |
These three roles get confused constantly in small nonprofits, and the confusion is exactly where money goes missing or reports go undone. | Role | Core job | Signs checks? | Files the 990? |
Frequently asked questions
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks all money coming into and out of an organization, reconciles bank accounts, reports finances to the board, and handles required tax filings like IRS Form 990 or the 990-N postcard. For booster clubs and PTOs, that also means managing fundraiser cash, reimbursing volunteers, and keeping records the next treasurer can pick up without starting from zero.
What is a treasurer?
A treasurer is an elected or appointed officer responsible for an organization's money: recording transactions, safeguarding funds, and reporting financial status to the board and, for tax-exempt groups, to the IRS. The title exists at every scale, from state government treasurers managing public funds to a volunteer parent managing a $15,000 booster club account.
What do treasurers do that's different from what the board president does?
The treasurer manages and reports on the money; the president oversees overall governance and often acts as a second check on spending. In a well-run group, the treasurer never has sole, unchecked control over funds. Board approval, a second signer on checks, and periodic financial review keep the roles distinct and reduce fraud risk.
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS under Internal Revenue Code section 6033, reporting income, expenses, and activities. Smaller organizations may file the simpler 990-EZ or the 990-N e-Postcard instead, depending on gross receipts and total assets, per IRS filing thresholds.
What is the 990 tax form used for?
It's used to show the IRS and the public that a tax-exempt organization is still operating within its exempt purpose and to disclose basic financials. It is not an income tax bill. Sites like ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer publish 990 data publicly, so donors and parents can see how a group spends its money.
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 with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It requires only basic information: legal name, EIN, tax year, mailing address, and confirmation the organization hasn't terminated, filed directly through the IRS website.
What does a treasurer do in a club, like a booster club or PTO?
A club treasurer opens and manages the bank account, tracks each fundraiser's income and expenses separately, reimburses approved purchases with receipts, handles cash counts from events like concessions, files the group's annual IRS return, and reports finances at regular meetings. In many states, running a raffle also requires a separate charitable gaming license.
What does a club treasurer do if the group has never filed a 990 before?
Check the group's EIN status on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool first to see if it's ever been recognized as exempt. If there's no EIN or no exemption on file, the group may need to apply for tax-exempt status before 990 filing applies; confirm the correct path with the IRS.
What happens if a treasurer misses the 990 deadline?
Missing one year's deadline usually just means filing late; missing three consecutive years triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j), with no advance appeal for the lapse itself. Reinstatement requires reapplying to the IRS, sometimes with retroactive relief available depending on how quickly you act.
Does a booster club treasurer need to be a CPA?
No. Most booster club, PTO, and youth sports treasurers are volunteer parents with no accounting background. What matters is consistency: reconciling the bank account monthly, keeping receipts for everything, and having a second person review or co-sign significant transactions. A CPA can help for larger budgets or a formal audit, but it isn't required for the role itself.
Who reviews the treasurer's work?
The board should review financial reports at every meeting, and someone outside the treasurer's role (another officer or an outside reviewer) should check the bank statements and books at least annually. Many bylaws call this an internal financial review; some larger organizations require a formal independent audit.
Can one person be both treasurer and president of a small booster club?
It's legally possible in many bylaws but it's a bad practice for financial controls, since it removes the built-in check between spending authority and oversight authority. Most nonprofit governance guidance recommends against combining these roles even in very small organizations, precisely because it removes a second set of eyes on the money.
Sources
- IRS, Annual Exempt Organization Return: Due Date: 990-series returns are due the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends
- IRS, About Form 990: definition and purpose of Form 990 under section 6033
- IRS, e-Postcard (Form 990-N): 990-N gross receipts threshold and required information fields
- IRS, Form 990 Resources and Tools: gross receipts and asset thresholds distinguishing 990-EZ from full Form 990
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: three consecutive years of unfiled returns triggers automatic revocation under IRC 6033(j)
- IRS, Application for Reinstatement and Retroactive Reinstatement Procedures (Rev. Proc. 2014-11): streamlined retroactive reinstatement available for small organizations applying within 15 months of revocation
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: tool to confirm an organization's current exemption or revocation status