It is the second week of July. The summer fair has been counted, the float tin is in a kitchen drawer, and the term has finished. The committee has scattered for the holidays, and nobody has opened the bank statement since the last cheque cleared. The new chair starts in September and will expect to see where the money stands. This is the point where a parent teacher association (PTA) treasurer either closes the year properly or leaves the next volunteer to work it out from a shoebox of receipts.
This guide covers the summer close-down and the year-end figures. For setting up the account at the start of the year, see our guide to first half-term setup. For handing over the role itself, see the guide on handover before the committee meets. This one sits between them.
Why the summer close-down gets missed
Most PTA years end in the middle of the holidays. The last event money arrives in late June or early July, and the bank takes a few days to show everything. By the time the sums are done, the people who ran the events have moved on to their own summers.
The fix is not complicated. Set one week, usually the last week before the school breaks up or the first week after, and treat it as a fixed task. Book an hour with whoever signs off the bank account. Print the year's statements or have them open on screen. Work through the steps below in order, and write down anything you could not settle so the new chair knows what is still open.
A last-week checklist
Start with the bank. Tick every line on the cash book against the final statement for the account, including any savings or second account. Where a transaction appears on one side but not the other, write down the date, the amount and the reason. A cheque not yet presented is normal. A payment you cannot identify is not, and it needs chasing before the books close.
Next, look at floats. A float is cash or a small balance held for an event, such as change for a tombola or a bake sale. Count what is physically left, match it to the cash book, and either bank it or record where it went. A float that is still sitting in a tin in July is one of the most common reasons a year-end figure does not match.
Then list everything owed in both directions. That means unpaid invoices from suppliers, deposits you have not yet refunded, outstanding payments from parents for trips or uniform, and money promised by a local business or a grant that has not arrived. Put each item on one sheet with a name, an amount, a date and a status. This list is what turns a bank balance into a true picture of the year.
Funds to close or carry forward
Most PTAs raise money for a named purpose. A playground fund, a library refresh or a leavers' book fund is only spent on what it was raised for. At year-end, each of these needs a decision: is the purpose complete, and if so, is any surplus returned to general funds or moved to a restricted balance? Or is the purpose still underway, so the money carries forward in its own lane?
Keep the lanes separate in the cash book. If a playground fund has £1,200 left and the committee has not yet agreed the next phase, do not fold it into general funds to make the total look tidier. Record it as carried forward, name the purpose and note the date of the minute that agreed it. A new chair who finds money that cannot be explained will spend a term untangling it.
If your PTA is a registered charity or your constitution sets rules on restricted money, check those rules before moving anything. This is general information about keeping records, not legal or tax advice.
The year-end figures your PTA needs
The committee will want two things: an income and expenditure statement for the year, and a short note explaining it. The income and expenditure statement should show this year's figures with last year's beside them. A comparison column is what turns a list of numbers into something a parent can read at the AGM. If a fair made more this year, the committee should be able to see why. If the fair made less, the same comparison shows that too.
The covering note can be short. Three or four sentences will do: what the money was raised for, what it was spent on, what is carried forward and why, and anything still owed. Avoid jargon. A parent who has never been on a committee should be able to follow it on one reading.
Putting a balance snapshot in the file
Once the figures are agreed, record a balance snapshot at the close of the year. This is a dated record of what each fund and account held at that moment. It is the reference point for next year's opening balances.
The snapshot should be a record, not a rewrite. Do not go back into last year's cash book and change its opening balances to make the figures line up. If a figure was wrong, record a correction with a date and a reason. A clean chain of opening and closing balances is what lets an examiner or a successor trust the book.
Who needs to see it
Three groups usually need the year-end pack. The head teacher, or whoever the school has nominated, should see the income and expenditure and the list of funds, particularly where school premises or school-related spending is involved. The new chair needs the full pack before the first committee meeting. Any independent examiner or checker your constitution asks for will need the cash book, the bank statements and the supporting records, along with the snapshot.
Check your constitution for the rules on examination or independent checking. Some PTAs must have accounts examined every year. Others only need to show accounts to the membership at the AGM. Do not assume either way without reading it.
What to leave in the handover folder
The handover folder should contain what the next treasurer will need in their first week. That means the signed-off year-end income and expenditure, the covering note, the balance snapshot, the list of open items and owed money, the bank reconciliation for the final statement, the list of funds with their purposes, and the minutes that agreed any carry-forward. Add a note on where the bank logins and signatories are kept, without writing any passwords into the file.
If receipts are kept on paper, say where the box is and how it is ordered. A handover is much easier when the next person knows that everything from June is in one envelope.
Where Vasker helps
Vasker is Gift Aid and bookkeeping software for UK organisations that can claim Gift Aid, and a cash book for any club or organisation that wants one. For a PTA, the year-end tools are the part most worth a look. The income and expenditure report can show the year beside the previous one, which is the comparison the AGM will ask for. There is also an annual return figures view, an independent examiner ZIP for anyone checking the accounts, and a treasurer handover ZIP that bundles the year's records for the next person. The year-end balance snapshot records closing balances without rewriting the opening balances, so last year's book is left as it was.
Vasker needs a connection to keep the cash book, so do not plan on using it offline. Your data stays in the account, and every account uses two-factor authentication.
If you are starting next year's cash book, you can create your free account and enter opening balances from the snapshot. The free plan (£0) gives a starter cash book with one fund. If your PTA keeps several named funds, the Standard plan (£59 a year) covers full books. If the PTA also takes donations and is an organisation HMRC accepts as eligible to claim Gift Aid, the Gift Aid gap calculator at https://vasker.co.uk/gift-aid-gap-calculator/ gives a rough planning estimate. It is free, needs no account, and is not a claim.
Check your constitution and guidance
Everything above is general information for volunteer treasurers. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice. Check your PTA's constitution first, because it sets the rules for signatories, examination and the AGM. Ask the school whether it has any guidance on school-linked funds. If your PTA is a registered charity, read the Charity Commission guidance for England and Wales, or the equivalent for Scotland or Northern Ireland. For Gift Aid and small donations, check the current HMRC Charities Online guidance rather than relying on this page, because the rules and rates can change.