Congratulations, you're the treasurer. Someone just handed you a checkbook, a shoebox of receipts and a password on a sticky note. Here's how to get control of the money in your first month.
Week 1: Get the keys
- Update the bank signature cards: add yourself and remove the outgoing treasurer.
- Get your own online banking login. Don't keep using the old one.
- Collect the checkbook, debit cards, cash box, receipt books and any payment apps such as Square, PayPal or Venmo.
- Gather the documents: bylaws, the IRS determination letter, the EIN, last year's financials and tax filing, and insurance policies.
Week 2: Understand the money
- Reconcile the last three months of bank statements. Don't skip this. It's where the surprises live.
- List every account and its balance.
- Identify restricted funds, meaning money donors gave for a specific purpose, and track them separately.
- Find the budget and every bill due in the next 90 days.
Week 3: Put safeguards in place
Most nonprofit money problems aren't theft. They're loose habits that make honest mistakes impossible to catch. A few simple controls protect the money and protect you.
- Two unrelated people count every collection or event's cash, and both sign the count sheet.
- Deposit money intact and promptly. Never pay expenses out of the cash box.
- Have a second board member review the bank statements every month.
- Require two approvals for large payments.
- Never run the organization's money through a personal account.
Week 4: Report and calendar
Give your first treasurer's report: cash balances, income and expenses against the budget, and anything the board needs to decide. Then put these deadlines on the calendar:
- IRS Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-N: due the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year ends, which is May 15 for a calendar year. Churches are not required to file.
- Donor acknowledgments: any single gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment, and year-end statements go out in January.
- 1099s for independent contractors who meet the IRS reporting threshold: due January 31.
- State filings: annual reports and charity registration, which vary by state.
When to call an accountant
Get professional help if you have payroll, significant grants or business income, or if the books don't reconcile and you can't find out why. An hour of an accountant's time is cheap compared to untangling a mess.
Start with a system instead of a shoebox
The Treasurer Pack has a workbook for budget, transactions and donors, a monthly report, a two-person cash count sheet and an IRS-ready donation letter.