You have the spreadsheet, a shoebox of receipts and a login for the bank account that nobody has written down. It is the first evening in the role, and the previous treasurer has left a note that says "the rest is in the folder." The folder turns out to hold three versions of the subscriptions list and no record of which one the committee approved.
This is the point where many volunteers start looking for club treasurer software. The question is not which product has the longest feature list. It is what you need to do this year, in the evenings, without training as an accountant.
The first evening with the login
Before you choose anything, write down what you have inherited. Keep it short: which bank accounts exist, who can sign in to them, whether any Gift Aid claims have been made, and when the last examiner's report was signed off. That list tells you which jobs are urgent.
For most small organisations, the first month is about the cash book. You need a figure for the bank balance that matches the statement, and a record of what came in and went out. Everything else can follow from that.
Three jobs the software has to do
A treasurer's software needs to do three things well in its first year. Anything beyond these is a bonus.
The cash book
The cash book is the record of every payment in and out, with the date, the payee or payer, the amount and the fund it belongs to. It needs to reconcile with the bank statement at the end of each month. If the software cannot show you where the difference is, it is not helping you.
Look for a clear way to tag money by fund, such as general funds, a restricted grant or a fundraising pot. A committee will ask about restricted money at the AGM, and you will want to answer from the screen rather than from memory.
Members and subscriptions
You need to know who has paid, who owes, and who has been chased. A simple list with renewal dates and a note of arrears is enough for most clubs. Avoid software that wants a full membership database before it will record a single subscription payment.
If your club collects Gift Aid on membership fees, check the rules first. Membership subscriptions do not always qualify. Whether they do depends on the benefits members receive in return. This is general information, not tax advice, so check current HMRC guidance before you rely on it.
Year-end figures
At the end of the year you will need an income and expenditure account, ideally with last year's figures beside this year's so the committee can see what changed. Your independent examiner, or the person reviewing the accounts, will expect the figures to tie back to the cash book. Ask any software you consider how it produces that comparison, and whether it lets you look at the numbers before you sign anything off.
What can wait until the AGM
A great many reports exist in bookkeeping software. You do not need most of them in your first few months. A typical incoming treasurer needs the monthly reconciliation, a balance that matches the bank, and a one-page summary for the committee meeting.
Annual return figures, detailed budget variance reports and grant match tracking can wait until the year-end run. Choose software that lets you ignore them until you need them, rather than software that asks you to set them all up on day one.
Two-factor sign-in and Government Gateway details
If your club files Gift Aid or charity repayment claims, you will eventually need to send them to HMRC through Charities Online. That means a Government Gateway user ID and password. Ask any software provider how those details are handled.
Vasker's position is this. Vasker is listed by HMRC as commercial software for filing Gift Aid and charity repayment claims online through Charities Online. HMRC does not endorse or approve any software supplier. Vasker does not store Government Gateway passwords. The sender ID and password are typed only at the point of claim submission and then discarded. The treasurer or chair sends each claim with the organisation's own Government Gateway login.
Every Vasker account uses two-factor authentication. Turn it on from the first day, and write down who holds the recovery details. Two-factor sign-in protects the books from someone who has learned your password, so it matters most when the login has been passed on informally.
Whether you use a product or a spreadsheet, keep your Gift Aid records for at least six years. HMRC expects that, and a dispute can arrive long after the treasurer has changed.
The limits you should hear now
The cash book needs an internet connection. It does not work offline, so do not plan to reconcile on a train with no signal. The apps and the install option on the web both need the connection to record and read the books.
Software also does not replace judgement. It will not decide whether a payment is a donation or a subscription, and it cannot tell you whether a Gift Aid declaration is valid. Those decisions still sit with you and the committee. Check current guidance from HMRC, and from the Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI as relevant to your organisation.
Free and Standard plans
There are two places to start. The Free plan gives you a starter cash book with one fund, which suits a small club or a PTA with simple money. The Standard plan costs £59 a year and covers full books, members, subscriptions, reports and grant matching. Both plans let you test the cash book against your real bank statement before you decide.
There is no sales call and no setup fee. You create the organisation in a few minutes, and nobody needs to visit your hall to get you started.
If you would like to see the cash book with your own figures before the next committee meeting, Start free and create the organisation in a few minutes. You can move to Standard later if the books outgrow the starter plan.