The bank statement shows 43 payments in September. The membership list says 51 members have paid. The committee wants to know where the other eight went. The figures in this piece are an illustrative example, not a real club's records, but most treasurers who keep subscription books have stood in this exact spot.
The answer is rarely that someone has stolen money or that the list is wrong. It is usually that the bank and the list count different things. The bank counts transfers. The list counts people. Reconciling the two is a job you can do in an evening once you know where the gaps tend to come from.
Why subscription money rarely matches the list
A few patterns turn up in almost every swimming club, bowls club, PTA or Scout group that collects fees by hand or by bank transfer:
- Part-payers. A member pays half the fee now and the rest after the next gala or bowls evening. The bank shows one payment, the list shows one member as unpaid.
- One payment for two people. A couple or a parent with two children sends a single transfer. The bank shows one line, the list shows two members paid.
- Family rates. One transfer covers three people on the family rate. The reference might be a surname, which is fine, but the amount does not equal any single member's fee.
- Late renewals. Someone pays in October for a season that started in April. The money is real, but it belongs to a different period from the one the committee is looking at.
- Cash handed over. The secretary collects cash at training on Tuesday, then banks it a fortnight later, sometimes mixed in with other money. The bank line is a round figure with no member attached.
None of these is unusual. The problem is that the cash book and the list only agree when someone has written down, for each bank line, which members it covers.
A three-column check before you tick the bank
Before you tick the bank in the cash book, take the month's bank credits and the current member list side by side. You only need three columns, plus a fourth for notes:
| Member | Amount due | Amount received | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member one | full adult fee | full adult fee | paid, bank line 14 September |
| Member two | full adult fee | half the fee | balance to follow after the next evening |
| Members three and four | family rate | one transfer covering both | single bank line, reference shows surname |
| Member five | full adult fee | nil | carried as arrears |
Work through the list one member at a time. For each bank credit, write down which member or members it covers. If one line covers several people, split it in your note rather than forcing it onto one name. If a member has paid part of the fee, record the amount they paid and carry the balance forward.
At the end of the check, every bank credit should be explained by a line on the list, and every member on the list should either be paid, part-paid with a balance noted, or carried as arrears. When the two sides agree, you can tick the bank with confidence. When they do not, you know exactly which line to chase before the committee asks.
The cash book runs online, so you need a connection while you work through it. Keep a copy of the list and the bank statement with the check sheet for the year-end pack.
Arrears are a list, not income
This is the point where many inherited books go wrong. A member who owes £30 has not paid £30 of income. Recording the unpaid fee as income overstates the year and makes the year-end figures harder to explain.
Keep arrears as a separate list of members who owe money. The cash book records what has actually come in. The arrears list records what is still owed and to whom. The two should never be added together in the same column.
At each committee meeting, report three things in plain figures:
- How many members have paid in full for the period, and how many are part-paid.
- How many members are carried on the arrears list, and the total still owed.
- The bank receipts for subscriptions in the period, with a line showing how they match the paid and part-paid members.
That third line is the one that answers the question from the start of this piece. If the bank shows 43 payments and the list shows 51 paid, the committee should see a short reconciliation: some members paid in a combined transfer, some have paid by cash that has not yet been banked, and some are part-paid. Reporting it that way keeps the conversation about the books, not about individuals.
Keeping next season's renewals separate
Renewals for next season often arrive before the current season has finished. A member who pays early for the next year is not a current-year income item. If you book it into this year's income, the year-end income and expenditure will look better than it is, and next year's opening position will be wrong.
Keep a separate line, or a separate fund if your constitution allows, for money received in advance. When the new season starts, move it into income in the period it covers. Your year-end figures and any independent examination will be easier to explain if this is done consistently. Our existing guides on year-end close-down and independent examination go into the detail.
What Vasker does here
Vasker keeps the members and subscriptions beside the cash book. When a bank payment comes in, you match it to a member, so the link between the bank line and the list is recorded rather than held in your head or in a spreadsheet tab. Arrears show as a list you can review at each meeting, separate from income.
The Free plan covers a starter cash book with one fund. Members, subscriptions, renewals and arrears sit on the Standard plan at £59 a year, which also covers full books, reports and grant matching. If you want to see how the matching works on your own list, create your free account and set up the organisation first. Start on the Free plan, then decide whether the member side is worth Standard for your club.
Gift Aid on subscriptions, briefly
A subscription is not automatically eligible for Gift Aid. Whether a membership fee can be claimed depends on the benefits members receive in return, and that is covered in our existing guides on membership renewals and on gift or fee rules. Read those before you assume any part of a subscription qualifies.
A note on the rules
This is general information for volunteer treasurers, not tax or legal advice. Check current HMRC guidance on Gift Aid and membership benefits, and the guidance from your regulator (the Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) for your own organisation.