Club treasurer’s report template, and what the treasurer does

What’s in the template

• Summary. Income, spending, the surplus or deficit and the year-end balance in two sentences.
• Income and expenditure. A table by category, with this year and last year side by side.
• Balances. Bank, cash, money owed each way, subs paid in advance and restricted funds.
• Membership, grants and reserves. Member numbers, each grant and what it was for, and the reserves the committee aims to hold.
• Looking ahead. Next year’s budget and any proposal to change subscriptions.
• Proposals for the AGM. Wording to approve the accounts and appoint an examiner.

Club treasurer duties

The treasurer looks after the club’s money on behalf of the committee. The committee as a whole is responsible for the club’s finances; the treasurer keeps the records and tells the committee where things stand. In a typical year that means:

• Keeping the books: recording every payment in and out, with receipts, and reconciling to the bank statement each month.
• Running the bank account with at least one other signatory, and making sure payments are approved the way the constitution says.
• Collecting subscriptions and fees, and following up members who haven’t paid.
• Paying the club’s bills on time: venue hire, affiliation and insurance, coaches and officials.
• Reporting to each committee meeting: the balance, anything unusual, and how income and spending compare with the budget.
• Preparing the budget for the year and helping the committee set subscriptions.
• Keeping track of grants: what each one was for, how it was spent, and any report the funder needs.
• Producing the year-end accounts, getting them independently examined, and presenting them at the AGM.
• Dealing with HMRC if the club has taxable income, and with Gift Aid if the club is a CASC or charity that claims it.
• Handing over cleanly: bank mandates, passwords, records and the cash tin, when someone else takes on the role.

How to write the treasurer’s report

1. Close the year off

   Make sure every payment is in the ledger and the bank reconciles at the year-end date. If you use the free treasurer workbook, the figures are on its Year-end summary sheet.

2. Get the accounts examined

   Give the examiner the ledger, bank statements and receipts in good time before the AGM notice goes out. Fix anything they find before the report is circulated.

3. Lead with the summary

   Most members read two sentences and the table. Say what came in, what went out, the surplus or deficit, and what the club holds now, compared with last year.

4. Explain the big movements

   If hall hire went up or a grant paid for equipment, say so. Members trust figures they can follow.

5. Send it with the AGM notice

   Circulate the report and accounts before the meeting, so members can come with questions rather than read it for the first time on the night.

What the rules say

For an unincorporated club, your constitution decides what accounts are needed, who examines them and when they go to the AGM. Your governing body may ask for accounts as part of affiliation, and funders often ask for the latest accounts with a grant application.

A registered charity must follow the Charity Commission’s accounting and examination rules, and a registered CASC must keep records that show it stays within HMRC’s conditions (HMRC’s CASC guidance). If either applies, read those first.

Common mistakes

• Presenting a bank balance with no income and expenditure account, so members can’t see how the club got there.
• Leaving out last year’s figures, which is the comparison members look for first.
• Not mentioning money that is spoken for, such as unspent grants or subscriptions paid in advance for next season.
• Asking the AGM to approve accounts nobody has examined.

Questions

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