Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
A club treasurer tracks all money coming in and out, keeps records, reports to the board, and files the group's annual IRS return (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N). For small booster clubs and PTOs, the job is really bookkeeping plus compliance, not accounting. Miss three years of 990 filings and the IRS automatically revokes the group's tax-exempt status.
what does a treasurer do, in plain terms
A treasurer is the person who owns the money side of an organization. Not fundraising ideas, not deciding what to spend on, the actual tracking: what came in, what went out, what's left, and whether the numbers match what the bank says. For a club, that breaks into four ongoing jobs. First, bookkeeping: recording every deposit and payment as it happens, not from memory three months later. Second, reporting: giving the board a clear picture at each meeting, usually a one-page summary of income, expenses, and balance. Third, controls: making sure no single person can move money without a second set of eyes (this is the part that prevents both fraud and honest mistakes). Fourth, compliance: filing whatever the IRS and your state require to keep the organization's tax-exempt status and legal standing intact. The title sounds finance-y, but most volunteer treasurers are really running a shoebox-to-spreadsheet operation: bank statements, a receipt folder, a simple ledger, and a calendar of deadlines. You don't need a CPA license. You need consistency and a system that survives you leaving the role. One thing that surprises new treasurers: the IRS doesn't care how small your group is or how casual it feels. A $50,000-a-year booster club and a $5,000-a-year PTA both have to file something with the IRS every single year, even if it's the free electronic postcard. Skip that for three years running and the exemption is gone automatically, no warning letter required [1].
what is a treasurer, exactly, and how is it different from a bookkeeper
A treasurer is an officer of the organization, usually elected or appointed under the bylaws, with authority and responsibility for financial oversight. A bookkeeper is a function, the actual data entry and reconciliation. In a small club they're almost always the same person. The distinction matters legally. As an officer, the treasurer has a duty to the board and, depending on state nonprofit law, can carry some personal exposure if money is grossly mismanaged or funds are misused. A hired bookkeeper for a large nonprofit usually just executes tasks under someone else's authority. For volunteer groups, think of it this way: the treasurer title comes with accountability to the group (you answer to the board, and often to the whole membership at an annual meeting), while the bookkeeping tasks are the mechanics anyone with the login and a spreadsheet could technically do. Some clubs split these, one person keeps books, another (the treasurer) signs off and reports. Most small clubs can't afford that split and combine both in one volunteer.
what do treasurers do day to day, week to week, month to month
Day to day, a treasurer deposits checks and cash, pays invoices, and files receipts. That's it, mechanically simple, but it has to happen consistently or the records fall apart within a season. Week to week, especially during fundraising season (concession stands, raffles, car washes), the job is reconciling cash counts against what was deposited. This is where two-person counting matters: one person counts, a second person verifies, both initial a tally sheet before the cash goes to the bank. Skipping this step is the single most common way small club treasurers get blamed for money that just went missing through sloppy handling, not theft. Month to month, the treasurer produces a report for the board meeting: opening balance, income by category, expenses by category, closing balance, and anything unusual. Good boards ask questions about this report. If nobody ever asks a question, that's actually a red flag for weak oversight, not a compliment on your bookkeeping. Year to year, the treasurer runs the annual cycle: closing the books for the fiscal year, preparing (or handing off to the next treasurer) a clean set of records, and filing the IRS return on time. For most booster clubs and PTOs, fiscal year ends match the school year, July 1 to June 30, though some run on the calendar year. Whatever the fiscal year, the IRS filing is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after it ends. Calendar year? That's November 15. School-year (June 30 close)? That's November 15 too.
what does a club treasurer do that's different from a corporate treasurer
A corporate treasurer manages investments, debt, cash flow forecasting, and banking relationships for a for-profit company, often with a finance team underneath. A club treasurer manages a checking account, maybe a savings account, and a spreadsheet. Scale is the whole difference. A booster club treasurer might handle $10,000 to $150,000 a year moving through concessions, spirit wear, and a couple of fundraisers. There's no investment strategy to speak of, no debt, usually no payroll (though some larger booster clubs do pay a part-time coach stipend or contracted coach, which then triggers 1099 or W-2 questions worth confirming with a tax preparer). What club treasurers deal with instead: cash-heavy fundraisers (concession stands, raffles), volunteer turnover (last year's treasurer may be unreachable by August), thin or nonexistent internal controls, and a board that may not include anyone with bookkeeping experience. The job is less "finance" and more "be the one adult who knows where the bank statements are."
what is form 990 and why does a small club need to care
| 990-N | Gross receipts normally ≤ $50,000 | 8 basic data points online, no financials | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 990-EZ | Gross receipts < $200,000, assets < $500,000 | Summarized income/expense/balance sheet | |
| 990 (full) | Gross receipts ≥ $200,000 or assets ≥ $500,000 | Full financial detail, program descriptions, compensation | Most small booster clubs and PTOs land squarely in 990-N territory. If your group is right on the edge, or had one unusually big fundraising year, it's worth confirming which form applies with the IRS or a tax preparer before you file the wrong one. See our overview of form 990 and the specific rules for 990n filing if you're not sure which bucket you're in. |
Form 990 is the annual information return that tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS. It's not an income tax return in the usual sense, since exempt organizations generally don't owe income tax, but it's how the IRS (and the public) can see what the organization took in, spent, and holds in assets [2]. There are several versions scaled to size. Form 990-N (the "e-Postcard") is for organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. Form 990-EZ is for organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000. The full Form 990 is required above those thresholds [3]. Confirm current thresholds with the IRS, since they've been adjusted before and could change again. | Form | Who files it | What it requires |
what is a 990 tax form, really, in one paragraph
Think of the 990 tax form as the public financial statement for a tax-exempt organization. Anyone can request or find a filed 990 (they're public record), which is part of why it exists: transparency in exchange for the tax exemption. A donor, a parent, or a school district can look up your booster club's 990 and see what it raised and spent last year. For a tiny club filing the 990-N, there's almost nothing to see beyond basic identifying information, since the e-Postcard doesn't ask for financial detail. For a group that has grown into 990-EZ or full 990 territory, the return shows real numbers: total revenue, total expenses, net assets, and (on the full 990) compensation for anyone paid over certain thresholds. See our 990 tax form explainer and the irs form 990 breakdown for a section-by-section walkthrough.
what is the 990, and what happens if you never file one
The 990, in whatever version applies, is the mechanism that keeps the IRS's exempt organization list accurate. Miss it and nothing happens the first year. Miss it two years running and still nothing happens. Miss it three years in a row and the exemption is revoked automatically by operation of law, with no appeal process for the revocation itself. The IRS states it directly: "Organizations that fail to file for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status. The revocation of the organization's tax-exempt status doesn't take place until the filing due date of the third year" [1]. This is the single most common crisis new treasurers inherit: they take over the books, go to file, and discover the group has been off the IRS exempt list for two years without anyone noticing. The fix, called reinstatement, exists and works, but it takes real paperwork: usually Form 1023 or 1023-EZ (for smaller organizations) filed with a reasonable-cause statement, plus the missed 990s, plus a fee. Organizations applying within 15 months of the revocation notice or the date on the Auto-Revocation List (whichever is later) can qualify for the streamlined retroactive reinstatement process described in Revenue Procedure 2014-11 [4]. Confirm current fees and forms with the IRS before you file, since amounts have changed over time (Form 1023-EZ's user fee has been $275 in recent years, but check the current figure directly on irs.gov).
how does a treasurer keep the club from getting into 990 trouble in the first place
Set a filing deadline reminder the day the fiscal year closes, not the month the return is due. Most groups that miss filings don't skip on purpose, they just lose track across a treasurer handoff or a busy season. Keep a one-page "compliance calendar" in the treasurer binder or shared drive: fiscal year end date, 990 filing deadline (5th month, 15th day after year end), state charity registration renewal date if your state requires one, and any raffle or gaming license renewal date. Confirm your state's specific renewal requirements with your state charity office or attorney general, since these vary widely and some states require annual charitable solicitation registration on top of the federal 990. Before you file anything, confirm the club's EIN is correct and matches IRS records exactly, confirm which 990 version applies based on the last two years of gross receipts, and confirm the group is still listed as tax-exempt on the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search tool. If it's not listed, stop and deal with reinstatement before doing anything else.
what happens at a treasurer handoff, and why it matters more than people think
Handoffs are where clubs lose institutional knowledge fastest. Outgoing treasurers move on because their kid graduated, they're busy, or they just finish their term, and often the handoff is a shoebox and a five-minute conversation. A real handoff needs: the current bank statement and reconciliation, the EIN and any IRS or state login credentials, the last three years of filed 990s (or proof of 990-N submission confirmations), the current fiscal year budget and year-to-date report, any raffle or gaming license documents, and a written note on any open issues (a pending reimbursement, an unresolved discrepancy, an upcoming deadline). A one-time State-Personalized Treasurer Kit built for your state, for $99, exists specifically for this moment: it gives the incoming treasurer the compliance calendar, the state-specific filing checklist, and the recordkeeping templates without them having to reconstruct it all from scratch. Whether you build that yourself in a shared folder or buy something pre-built, the point is the same: don't let the job live only in one person's head.
what does a treasurer of a club actually get evaluated on
Nobody grades a volunteer treasurer on GAAP compliance. What actually matters, in rough order: can the board trust the numbers reported at each meeting; is there a paper trail for every dollar in and out; did the required IRS and state filings happen on time; and can someone else pick up the books if the treasurer disappears tomorrow. The honest failure mode isn't fraud, it's disorganization. Receipts in a shoebox nobody can reconcile, a Venmo account mixed with a personal account, a raffle that never got the required state permit. These create real legal and tax exposure even when every dollar was spent honestly. If you're new to the role and overwhelmed, the highest-value first move is simple: open a dedicated bank account for the club if one doesn't exist, get a clean starting balance confirmed by the outgoing treasurer or a board vote, and start a basic monthly reconciliation habit before you touch anything else.
Frequently asked questions
what does a treasurer do in a club
A club treasurer tracks all money in and out, keeps bank and receipt records, reports finances to the board regularly, and handles required filings like the IRS Form 990 (or 990-N for smaller clubs). The role is bookkeeping plus compliance, not investment management.
what is a treasurer
A treasurer is an elected or appointed officer responsible for an organization's money: tracking income and expenses, reporting to the board, and ensuring required tax and legal filings happen on time. In small clubs, the treasurer usually does the bookkeeping personally rather than delegating it.
what do treasurers do that other officers don't
Treasurers uniquely handle the money: bank deposits, expense payments, reconciliation, and financial reporting. Other officers (president, secretary) handle meetings, minutes, and general leadership. Only the treasurer typically has direct authority over the bank account and files the group's IRS return.
what is form 990 and does every club have to file it
Form 990 is the IRS's annual information return for tax-exempt organizations. Nearly every tax-exempt club must file some version each year, even the smallest ones, which use Form 990-N (the e-Postcard). Confirm which version applies to your club's gross receipts with the IRS.
what is a 990 tax form used for
It's a public disclosure document, not an income tax bill. It shows the IRS and the public what a tax-exempt organization raised, spent, and holds in net assets each year, and it's how the IRS tracks whether an organization is still active and filing consistently.
what is the 990-N and who qualifies for it
The 990-N, or e-Postcard, is the shortest IRS filing option, for organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It's filed entirely online with about eight basic data points and requires no financial detail. Confirm the current threshold on irs.gov before assuming you qualify.
what happens if a club treasurer never files the 990
Nothing happens the first two years. After three consecutive years of missed filings, the IRS automatically revokes the organization's tax-exempt status, per the IRS's own published policy. Reinstatement requires new paperwork, missed filings, a fee, and possibly a reasonable-cause statement.
how is a club treasurer different from a bookkeeper
A treasurer is an officer with authority and accountability to the board, while a bookkeeper is a function (data entry, reconciliation). In small clubs one volunteer usually does both jobs, but legally the treasurer title carries more responsibility and, in some states, limited personal exposure for gross mismanagement.
does a booster club or PTO need a separate bank account
Yes, in almost every practical case. Mixing club funds with a personal account or an unofficial Venmo/CashApp makes reconciliation nearly impossible and creates real audit and trust problems. A dedicated account under the organization's EIN is a baseline financial control, not an extra step.
how much cash handling training does a new treasurer need
No formal training or license is required in most states, but basic controls matter: two people should count cash from fundraisers and both should sign a tally sheet before deposit. This single habit prevents most of the disputes and discrepancies small clubs run into.
what records does a treasurer need to hand off to the next person
Bank statements and reconciliations, the EIN, copies of the last three years of filed 990s or 990-N confirmations, the current budget and year-to-date report, any raffle or charitable gaming licenses, and a written note on open issues or upcoming deadlines. Missing any of these is how clubs lose track of compliance.
is a club treasurer personally liable if money goes missing
It depends on state nonprofit law and the specific facts, so this isn't something to guess at. Generally, honest mistakes carry little personal risk, but gross negligence or misuse of funds can create real exposure. Confirm your state's specific rules with your state's nonprofit or attorney general's office.
Sources
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Organizations that fail to file for three consecutive years automatically lose tax-exempt status, effective as of the third year's filing due date.
- IRS, Form 990 Series overview: Form 990 is the annual information return used by tax-exempt organizations to report finances to the IRS and the public.
- IRS, Annual Filing and Notice Requirements: Organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less may file Form 990-N; 990-EZ covers receipts under $200,000 and assets under $500,000.
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-11: Organizations applying within 15 months of revocation may qualify for streamlined retroactive reinstatement of tax-exempt status under Revenue Procedure 2014-11.
- IRS: Small clubs may qualify to file the shorter Form 990-EZ instead of the full Form 990.
- IRS: The IRS requires small exempt organizations to electronically file Form 990-N annually to maintain their tax-exempt status.
- IRS: The official Form 990 instructions detail what information a treasurer must report annually to maintain nonprofit compliance.