What does the treasurer of a club do? full job breakdown

Last updated 2026-07-24

what does a treasurer do, in plain terms

A treasurer is the person who keeps a club's money honest. That means recording every deposit and every payment, reconciling the bank statement every month, and being able to tell the board, at any meeting, exactly how much cash the group has and what it owes. It sounds simple. It rarely is, because most volunteer treasurers inherit a shoebox, a login nobody wrote down, and a filing history that's a mystery. The job has three layers: bookkeeping (recording transactions), reporting (telling the board and members what's going on), and compliance (filing with the IRS and, often, the state). If you're new to this, don't panic about doing it perfectly on day one. Do panic a little about finding out whether the group's tax-exempt status is still active, because that's the thing that quietly breaks and nobody notices for years.

what is a treasurer, and where does the role come from

A treasurer is an officer of an organization, usually elected or appointed under the group's bylaws, responsible for its money. Most nonprofits, PTOs, and booster clubs write the treasurer role directly into their bylaws or articles of incorporation, spelling out who has check-signing authority and how often financial reports go to the board. Legally, a treasurer typically also counts as a fiduciary. That's a fancy word for someone who has to act in the organization's best interest with its money, not their own. State nonprofit corporation laws (check your secretary of state's nonprofit division) usually require officers to act with reasonable care, and board members, including the treasurer, can be personally on the hook if they're grossly negligent or self-dealing. There's no single national job description because bylaws vary by group. But the core duties (recordkeeping, reporting, filing) show up in almost every constitution and bylaws template used by PTAs, booster clubs, and small nonprofits.

what do treasurers do day to day, week to week, year to year

Recording transactions	Weekly	30-60 min
Bank reconciliation	Monthly	30-45 min
Board financial report	Monthly	30 min prep
Annual IRS filing (990-N)	Yearly	15-30 min if organized
Annual IRS filing (990-EZ)	Yearly	Several hours, or a preparer
Handoff to next treasurer	Yearly	1-2 hours

Daily or weekly: deposit checks and cash promptly, log every transaction (date, amount, purpose, who approved it), and keep receipts. Monthly: reconcile the bank statement against the books, and give the board a written report, even if it's one page. Quarterly or per-event: if the club runs concessions, a raffle, or a big fundraiser, the treasurer usually reconciles cash-count sheets from event volunteers against deposits, and makes sure two people counted the money, not one. Annually: prepare or gather what's needed for the tax filing, present a year-end financial summary at the annual meeting, and hand over a clean set of books to the next treasurer (or to yourself, next year). This is also when a club figures out if it owes a state raffle license renewal, sales tax filing, or charitable solicitation registration, depending on the state. Here's a rough time breakdown for a typical small booster club treasurer: | Task | Frequency | Typical time |

what does a treasurer do in a club specifically (booster clubs, PTOs, youth sports)

In a booster club or PTO, the treasurer's job usually includes a few things that don't show up in a generic corporate finance role: cash handling from bake sales, concession stands, and raffles; tracking dues or player fees from dozens of families; and managing a checking account that often has more than one signer for a reason (never let one person be the only signer on the account). These groups are almost always small nonprofits, often exempt under IRS section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4), sometimes never formally incorporated at all, just a group of parents with a bank account. That informality is exactly why treasurer turnover causes so many problems. The outgoing treasurer graduates their kid out of the program, hands off a login and a Ziploc bag of receipts, and the incoming treasurer discovers three years of unfiled 990s. A club treasurer also typically writes and enforces a simple cash-handling policy: two people count event cash together, deposits happen within a few days, and nobody reimburses themselves without a receipt and a second signature. If your club doesn't have this in writing, that's the first thing to fix, and a financial-controls checklist is worth building even for a five-person board.

what is Form 990, and does a small club actually have to file it

990-N (e-postcard)	Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less	Confirm current threshold with the IRS
990-EZ	Gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000	Confirm current threshold with the IRS
990 (full)	Gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or assets of $500,000 or more	Confirm current threshold with the IRS
990-PF	Private foundations	All private foundations, regardless of size	Those dollar thresholds come from IRS guidance and have shifted over time, so confirm the current numbers with the IRS [2] before you file. Read more on the form 990 and 990 tax form requirements, or the specifics of irs form 990 if your club's receipts have grown past the e-postcard threshold.

Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS. It's not an income tax return in the traditional sense (exempt orgs usually don't owe income tax), it's a disclosure document: revenue, expenses, assets, and governance, all reported to the IRS and made public. Most tax-exempt organizations must file some version of the 990 every year, and "an organization may lose its tax-exempt status if it does not file a required return or notice for three consecutive years," per the IRS ^[1]. That three-year rule is the single most important fact for a new treasurer to know, because it's how thousands of small clubs lose their exemption every year without ever getting an audit letter first. Which version you file depends on gross receipts and assets: | Form | Who files it | Rough threshold |

what is a 990 tax form, in plainer language than the IRS uses

Think of it as your club's annual report card to the federal government. It says how much money came in, where it went, who got paid, and whether the organization is still doing what it told the IRS it would do when it applied for exemption. It is public. Anyone can look up a nonprofit's 990 through the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search tool or through sites like ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, which republishes filed 990s. A parent, a donor, or a rival booster club can pull your filing and see exactly what the treasurer spent on team travel last year. That public visibility is a reason to keep records clean even in years when the filing itself, the 990-N, only takes fifteen minutes. Sloppy books eventually become a sloppy public document, and sloppy public documents make donors nervous.

what is "the 990" versus 990-N, 990-EZ, and 990 full form

"The 990" is often used loosely to mean any version of the family, but technically there are four main variants, and which one applies depends entirely on your club's gross receipts and total assets, not on how big or well-known the organization feels. 990-N is the electronic notice ('e-postcard') for the smallest orgs, gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It asks for basic identifying information only (legal name, EIN, address, confirmation the organization still qualifies), and it's filed through the IRS's own online system ^[2]. 990-EZ is a short paper-style form for mid-size orgs. 990 (full form) is for larger orgs and demands much more detail: compensation of officers, program service accomplishments, governance policies. 990-PF is specifically for private foundations, regardless of size. A lot of new treasurers assume that because their club is small and volunteer-run, no filing is required at all. That's the most expensive assumption in the whole job. Even the smallest club, if it's recognized as tax-exempt, almost always owes at least the 990-N every year. Skipping it for three straight years is what triggers automatic revocation of the exemption under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j) ^[3].

what happens if a club treasurer misses the 990 filing deadline

One or two missed years usually just means a late notice and no real penalty for 990-N filers, since there's no monetary penalty for a late e-postcard, but three consecutive missed years is different: the IRS automatically revokes the organization's tax-exempt status, no warning letter required beyond the original filing requirement itself. Once revoked, the organization owes income tax on its revenue going forward (unless and until it's reinstated), donations are no longer automatically deductible, and many grantors and school districts won't cut a check to a group without confirmed exempt status. The IRS publishes an Auto-Revocation List that's searchable, and if your club's name is on it, that's your evidence. Reinstatement is possible but takes real paperwork: typically a new Form 1023 or 1023-EZ application, sometimes back-filed 990s, and often a user fee. The IRS has a streamlined retroactive reinstatement process for organizations that file within 15 months of revocation and meet certain conditions, described in Revenue Procedure 2014-11 ^[4]. Outside that window, the process is longer and less forgiving. If you suspect your club might be on the list, check the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search before doing anything else. It's free and takes two minutes.

what does a treasurer do beyond the IRS filing (raffles, sales tax, insurance)

Federal filing is only one compliance track. Many booster clubs run raffles, 50/50s, or bingo nights, and most states require a separate charitable gaming or raffle license before you can legally sell a single ticket. Rules on ticket caps, prize limits, and reporting vary enormously by state, so confirm with your state's charity office or attorney general's charitable gaming division before your first event. Some states also require charitable organizations to register with a state charity office or attorney general before soliciting donations at all, separate from anything the IRS wants. And if your club sells concessions or merchandise regularly, sales tax collection and remittance might apply depending on state rules. A treasurer who only thinks about the IRS is missing half the compliance picture. The other half lives with your state's charity regulator, and it's worth a phone call or a look at their website every year, because thresholds and requirements shift.

what does a treasurer do to protect the club from fraud or mistakes

The single biggest control gap in volunteer-run clubs is one person having sole access: sole signer on the bank account, sole login to the accounting software, sole possession of the checkbook. That's not usually a sign of a dishonest treasurer, it's a structural risk that makes fraud invisible and errors uncatchable. Basic controls that cost nothing: require two signatures on checks above a set dollar threshold, have someone other than the treasurer open the bank statement each month, count event cash with two unrelated people present, and give the board a monthly written report even when nothing unusual happened. An annual internal review, even an informal one where a board member other than the treasurer looks over the books, catches most problems early. A full external audit is expensive and usually unnecessary for a club with a five-figure budget, but a basic review costs almost nothing but a Saturday afternoon.

what should a new treasurer do in the first 30 days

Get the login credentials to the bank account, the accounting software (or spreadsheet), and any online payment processor (Venmo, PayPal, Square). Pull the last three years of bank statements and compare them against whatever books exist. Check the club's status on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and the Auto-Revocation List ^[5]. Find the club's EIN, its bylaws, and its most recent 990 filing (or figure out that none was filed). Ask the outgoing treasurer, in writing if possible, for anything they know about outstanding bills, pending reimbursements, or upcoming filing deadlines. This is exactly the gap a State-Personalized Treasurer Kit is built for: a $99 one-time packaged set of state-specific forms, filing checklists, and handoff templates, so a first-time volunteer treasurer doesn't have to reconstruct all of this from scratch by googling at midnight. It's not a substitute for an accountant or a lawyer, just a faster starting point.

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

At minimum: bank statements, canceled checks or check images, deposit slips, receipts for every expense, board meeting minutes approving major spending, and copies of every 990 or 990-N filed. The IRS generally recommends keeping records that support items on a return until the statute of limitations for that return runs out, and suggests longer retention for records tied to property or in case of amended returns. A practical rule many small nonprofits use: keep everything for at least seven years, and keep 990 filings and incorporation documents permanently. Digital storage makes this cheap; there's no good excuse anymore for a lost paper folder being the reason a club can't reconstruct three years of transactions. Good records aren't just about compliance. They're what lets an exhausted volunteer treasurer hand the job to the next exhausted volunteer treasurer in under an afternoon instead of a month.

Frequently asked questions

What does a treasurer do?

A treasurer tracks all money coming in and out of an organization, reconciles bank accounts, reports finances to the board regularly, and handles required government filings, including the IRS 990 series for tax-exempt groups. The exact duties depend on the organization's bylaws, but recordkeeping, reporting, and compliance are the constant core.

What is a treasurer?

A treasurer is an elected or appointed officer responsible for an organization's money: recording transactions, managing bank accounts, reporting to the board, and often filing required tax and state paperwork. Most nonprofit bylaws define the treasurer's authority, such as check-signing limits and reporting frequency.

What does a club treasurer do that's different from a corporate treasurer?

A club treasurer usually handles more cash directly (dues, concessions, raffle proceeds) and works with volunteers instead of paid staff, so cash-handling controls matter more. They also typically manage the club's IRS 990 filing themselves rather than handing it to a finance department.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires from most tax-exempt organizations, reporting revenue, expenses, and governance details. Failing to file any required version for three consecutive years triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status under IRC section 6033(j).

What is a 990 tax form?

It's the informational return, not an income tax bill, that tax-exempt organizations file yearly to disclose their finances to the IRS. It's also public: anyone can look up a nonprofit's filed 990 through the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search.

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

The 990-N, or e-postcard, is the simplest annual filing, for organizations whose gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. It's filed online through the IRS system, asks only basic identifying questions, and takes most treasurers under 30 minutes once they have their EIN and prior-year data handy.

What happens if my club never filed a 990 before?

Check the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and the Auto-Revocation List to see if the club's exemption is still active. If it's been revoked, you'll likely need to file a reinstatement application (Form 1023 or 1023-EZ) and possibly back-file missed returns; confirm the current process with the IRS.

Does a small volunteer-run booster club really need to file taxes?

Yes, almost always, even if it owes zero tax. Tax-exempt organizations still owe an annual informational return, at minimum the 990-N, and skipping it for three straight years causes automatic loss of exempt status with no advance warning letter.

Can one person be the only signer on a club's bank account?

It's legal in most cases but it's a bad control. Best practice is at least two authorized signers, with signatures required above a set dollar threshold, so no single volunteer has unchecked access to the club's money.

How long should a treasurer keep financial records?

A common practical minimum is seven years for receipts and bank statements, tied loosely to IRS statute-of-limitations guidance on supporting documents. Keep incorporation papers, bylaws, and every filed 990 permanently since they're needed for every future audit or handoff.

Do club treasurers need a raffle license before running a 50/50 or raffle?

In most states, yes, some form of charitable gaming or raffle license or registration is required before selling raffle tickets, with rules on ticket caps and prize reporting varying by state. Confirm requirements with your state's charity office or attorney general's charitable gaming division before your first event.

What's the fastest way to check if a club's tax-exempt status is still active?

Search the organization's name or EIN in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool, and separately check the IRS Auto-Revocation List. Both are free, public, and take about two minutes.

Sources

1. IRS, Annual Filing and Forms: an organization may lose its tax-exempt status if it does not file a required return or notice for three consecutive years
2. IRS, Which Form to File: gross receipts thresholds determining whether an organization files 990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990
3. IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: automatic revocation of tax-exempt status occurs after failing to file for three consecutive years under IRC 6033(j)
4. IRS, Revenue Procedure 2014-11: streamlined retroactive reinstatement process available for organizations that apply within 15 months of revocation
5. IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: public tool to check an organization's current tax-exempt status and revocation history