Club treasurer spreadsheet template

What’s in the template

• Start here. Club name, the first day of your financial year and the opening bank and cash balances.
• Ledger. 600 rows for payments in and out, with a category list, Bank or Cash, running bank and cash balances, and a Reconciled column to tick against statements.
• Categories. 11 income and 15 spending categories that suit most clubs, with room to add your own.
• Monthly summary. Income and spending by category for each month of the year, with checks for uncategorised or misdated rows.
• Bank reconciliation. Enter the statement date and balance, and it shows whether the ledger agrees, allowing for items not yet cleared.
• Year-end summary. The income and expenditure account and closing balances for the treasurer’s report, with a column for last year’s figures.

Who it’s for

It suits a volunteer treasurer at a small or medium club: one bank account, perhaps a cash tin, and accounts kept on a cash basis, which means recording money when it actually comes in or goes out. That’s how most amateur clubs keep their books, and it’s what most members expect to see at the AGM.

If your club employs staff, is registered for VAT, owns property or is a registered charity with more complex reporting rules, use proper accounting software or ask an accountant, and treat this workbook as a cash book alongside it.

How to use it

1. Fill in the four yellow cells

   On the Start here sheet, enter the club’s name, the first day of its financial year (your constitution should say), and the bank and cash balances on the day before the year starts.

2. Record every payment in the ledger

   One row per payment, in date order. Put the amount in the Income or the Expenditure column, never both, choose Bank or Cash and pick a category. Give each receipt or invoice a reference number and write it on the paper copy too.

3. Reconcile when each statement arrives

   Tick each ledger row that appears on the statement with a Y. Then put the statement date and closing balance on the Bank reconciliation sheet. The difference should be £0.00; if not, the sheet lists the usual reasons.

4. Read the summaries

   The Monthly summary shows where the money went each month, which helps when the committee asks whether you can afford something. The Year-end summary gives the figures for the treasurer’s report.

5. Start a new copy each year

   At the year end, save the workbook as last year’s, make a fresh copy, and carry the closing balances across as the new opening balances.

What the rules say

No single law sets out how an amateur club keeps its books. Your constitution does: it usually sets the financial year, says who can sign payments, and requires accounts to be presented to the AGM and examined by someone independent. Sport England’s club support service recommends at least two signatories for payments and keeping personal money separate from the club’s (Buddle).

Tax is the other reason to keep good records. An unincorporated club pays Corporation Tax on profits from trading with non-members and from investments such as bank interest, and must register with HMRC within three months of starting to receive that kind of income (HMRC). Money members pay the club for their own membership is generally not taxed, because a club can’t make a taxable profit from its own members.

A registered Community Amateur Sports Club has its own limits on trading and property income, and a registered charity has its own accounting rules, so check the CASC tax relief rules or the Charity Commission’s guidance if either applies to you.

Common mistakes

• Paying club bills from a personal account “just this once”. It makes the records impossible to follow and puts the treasurer in an awkward spot.
• Recording the net amount from a card or Direct Debit payout instead of the full subscription and the fees separately. Record both, so the fees show up as a cost.
• Leaving reconciliation until the year end, when a missing £40 from March is very hard to find.
• Not keeping receipts. Every payment out should have a receipt or invoice the examiner can match to a ledger row.
• Mixing up restricted grant money with general funds. Note what each grant is for and report what is unspent.

Questions

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