You have been handed the role. The previous treasurer has moved on, the bank mandate still lists two people who left the school last year, and the new chair has never seen a statement. Nobody has been careless. The account has carried on as normal, and the paperwork has not caught up.
This guide is for the volunteer in that position at a parent teacher association (PTA). It is general information for treasurers, not legal or banking advice. Your bank, and the Charity Commission or your relevant regulator if your PTA is registered, will have the final word on who can do what.
Who can see the account and who can sign
Start with a plain list. Ask the bank, in writing, for the current mandate: the names of everyone authorised to operate the account, what each person can do, and whether two signatures are needed above a set amount. Ask for the last twelve months of statements too, so you can see how the account has really been run.
Then ask the school, or whoever keeps the PTA's records, for the constitution, the last approved accounts and any list of officers the committee has minuted. Where the names do not match, write the mismatch down. A gap is not a crime, but the committee should know about it and decide how to close it.
Most banks will want a formal change of signatories, backed by evidence from the committee. Follow their process rather than trying to shortcut it. If a signatory cannot be contacted, or two people disagree about who should sign, take advice before you move any money.
Setting up the cash book around the real account
Your cash book should match the bank, not the other way round. Start with one bank list: every line that has gone through the account, with the date, a description, the amount in or out, and the balance after it. The opening balance should be the figure on the bank statement for a date the committee agrees, not a number you estimate from memory.
Then add funds. Most PTAs need three or four. General, class trips and the summer fair float are common. A fund is simply a label on each line saying what the money is for. Keep the list short, because every extra fund is another thing to explain at handover.
Money given for a named purpose, such as a donation towards playground equipment, should sit in its own restricted fund from the start. Moving it later means reconstructing why it was there, and that is the sort of job that falls to the next treasurer.
A monthly routine that fits between school runs
Once a month, set aside an hour. Import or enter the bank lines since your last session. Then tick each one against a receipt, an invoice, an email or a committee minute. Where you cannot find evidence, do not guess. Mark the line as unexplained and add it to a list.
Keep that list short by asking the person who spent the money or collected it. Most gaps close with one message. Any that do not go to the next committee meeting as a single question, not a pile of them.
At the end of each session, check that the cash book balance equals the bank balance, allowing for anything still clearing. If it does not, find the difference before you do anything else. A small difference left alone tends to become a large one by the summer.
What to give the committee each term
Keep the report to one page. Four lines do most of the work:
- opening balance
- money in and out, by fund
- closing balance
- any restricted money, with its named purpose beside it
Add a short note under anything unexplained. The committee does not need every transaction. It needs to know that the figures agree with the bank, and where the money in each fund has gone. Say plainly what you have not yet done. A line such as 'card payments from the autumn sale are still to be matched to the bank' is more useful than silence.
Keeping a trail a new treasurer can follow
Assume that whoever takes over in September has never seen this account. Leave them three things. First, a note on each fund saying what it is for and who approves spending from it. Second, the bank list, with every line you have reconciled marked. Third, a record of who approved each large payment, with the minute reference where you have one.
Keep copies of statements and receipts somewhere the next person can reach, not only on your own phone. If the PTA has a shared drive or a committee email account, use that, and write down where things are kept. Your successor will be grateful, and so will any independent examiner who asks to see the records.
Where Vasker fits
Vasker is bookkeeping for unpaid UK treasurers of clubs, charities, PTAs, Scout groups and CASCs (community amateur sports clubs). The free plan gives you a starter cash book with one fund, which is enough to set up the account and enter the first bank lines. Standard, at £59 a year, adds full books, reports and multiple funds, so each part of the bank list can sit in its own fund and the committee report can be produced from the same figures.
Signing up takes a few minutes. There is no sales call and no setup fee. You create the organisation, add the funds the committee has agreed, and enter the first bank lines.
Start free: create your PTA's account and enter the first bank lines tonight, then decide on the paid plan once you have seen how the cash book works for your own account.
Two things to know before you start
The cash book needs an internet connection, so you will not be able to work on it somewhere without signal. Every account uses two-factor authentication. Set that up on a device the committee trusts, not on a phone that might leave with the outgoing treasurer.