club treasurer

[carmalee]

Anyone got any experience of this office? I've been asked to take this on and would be interested to know how involved it is.

[hc4361]

Useful, basic info here.
http://www.ehow.com/a...n-club-treasurer.html

Collecting the subs can be tiresome and time consuming.

[carmalee]

thanks hc4361 - have been on a "job description" website similar to the one you offered (thank you) - I didn't phrase my question correctly, sorry - am looking for 1st hand experiences - your comment about sub collection is exactly what I'm looking for. If I take it on I want to be prepared for any little hidden surprises!

[hc4361]

Bickering. Endless bickering about what funds should be spent on, if subs should be raised and suspicious members questioning your every payment.

Inconvenience of having to deposit cash. If you work full time it can be a burden.

You must be well organised and keep on top of things. Never accept cash without making a note of it - you will forget who gave it to you and what it was for.

It can look very good on your cv, if that is important to you.

If you are a worrier, get over anxious or stressed, turn the post down. If you enjoy a challenge and have good people skills, you'll enjoy doing it.

Consider realistically how much time it is going to take up, and if you have the time to deal with it.

If it's a large club with weekly meetings it will be far more demanding than a small club with quarterly meetings, obviously.

If you have a particular drum to bang within your club, turn it down. The conflict will be too great.

Look at the other committee members - is there anybody you have trouble dealing with? Remember you will be accountable so if you are a timid sort of person, don't do it.

It's impossible to predict how involved it will be without knowing the nature and size of the club, but I hope I've given you things to think about.

[paddywak]

I've been the Treasurer of a small fishing club for years, and hc's post post covers most things. However I'll try and give you a few tips, when I first took the job on the worst thing was collecting fees there are always a few people who don't want to pay until they're forced too I cured this by pushing a rule through to the effect that if you weren't paid up to date a week before any fishing trip you didn't go. Also you Must keep accurate accounts of everything for two reason one if you don't look out you'll find your self loosing out it's surprising how much you spend on stamps, paper, phone calls etc though a lot of this has been cut due to the use of e-mail, but mainly because it's not your money and you are accountable for every penny. If I'd got a quid for every hour I've spent going through my paper work to find a couple of pounds I'd lost I'd be living in Spain, other wise it's pretty much a matter of common sense especially if you are taking over an established post and don't have to bother setting up accounts

[paddywak]

In regards to hc's second post I have to agree whole heartedly. When I first took the post we had 24 members; membership being governed by the size of the fishing boats we booked which carried either 8 or 12 passengers and some of the members and committee were to put it politely *** fortunately due to many reasons we are now a small tight group of friends who meet in the pub every Friday, it makes thing's a lot easier

[carmalee]

thanks a bundle for the two very full and extremely helpful replies - there's certainly a lot to think about - both posts have prompted me to give it a lot more thought before accepting. I really can't thank you both enogh for taking the time and trouble to anser so comprehensively. Many, many thanks

[Buenchico]

As someone else who has done the job for several clubs (and who has served on countless other committees, but usually as secretary rather than as treasurer). I'll add that you might need to EXPLAIN the accounts to people, rather than just REPORT on them. There are plenty of committees where the treasurer could present monthly reports, each of which showed that expenditure exceeded income on a regular basis, without anyone on the committee taking any notice until the treasurer reported that the club was bankrupt (and then it would all be blamed on the treasurer!).

So you need to be prepared to make yourself unpopular by concluding your report with the suggestion that it's time for a big increase in subscriptions!

[wildwood]

If, after carefully considering the advice above, you do decide to take the job on, you might want to insist on having two signatories for any cheque to be signed and, depending on the members number, present a finance sheet of the incoming and outgoings funds at a regular time frame. You need to show total transparency to protect yourself.

You also need to consider if you are able to ignore the sometimes very snide commends from one or two members (the type who never turn up for the work-bees) for the good of the club.

[carmalee]

two more very good points - thank you Buenchico and Paddywak - I'm so pleased I ask for this advice instead of blindly accepting the role. Think I may just stay as a committee member - time for a little more pondering I think.

[boxtops]

If petty cash is involved, make sure that people can't dip into it without providing a chitty - if this happens, reduce access to the PC tin!
I work with a couple of small organisations (not as treasurer, but I see what they do) and echo what's been said already. Be aware that depending on the status of the group, you will need to produce proper end of year accounts which should be audited, certainly this will apply if the organisation is a charity as you have to submit annual accounts to the Charity Commission. It may also depend on the state of the books when you take them over - one new Treasurer found that very few records had been kept as they should, and had to agree to draw a line under previous years and start again on a fully documented basis. It's not something to be taken on lightly, carmalee - the wind of change is not always well received by dyed-in-the-wool existing committee members, but it's very rewarding when it all starts to come together.

[TonyV]

carm - if you have the time and patience then it can be a sattifising role - it depends on your committee and chairman

[bednobs]

it might be worth finding out why the person who is doing it now doesn't want to do it any more!

[carmalee]

Gosh there are all sorts of point being brought up and it's so, so helpful - it's one thing to google in 'being a treasurer' - which I did - it's quite another to have hands on experiences - istill undecided!

[Dodger666]

I recently resigned as treasurer of our local walking club after doing the job for 14 years. I stopped doing it only because my knee cartllages have gone and I no longer walk with the group although I remain a member for social reasons. The problem I had was not being able to see people face to face to collect and pay out. The funds came in second hand with bits of scribbled paper which usally made little sense.

I agree that you must make a note straight away of all monies paid to you whether cash or cheques. You may end up as I did occasionally paying in cheques and not knowing who gave it to you. Write all the details on the paying in slip you will retain in your book. Don't wait until you have loads of cheques to pay in as you may not have room on the slip unless you can write on the back of the slip.

If possible use something like MS Money to enter all your income and outgoings and give them a catergory. Then at the end of year it's a simple matter for MS Money to tell you how much you've had in and spent on a particular catergory. Then if you are able transfer the figures into MS Excel or similar and let it produce your balance sheet.

Finally if your comittee has regular meetings you will probably have to balance your accounts to present at each meeting. If you don't have regular meetings it will help you to balance the accounts regularly for your own benefit. It will make end of year balancing easier otherwise you may have 12 months records to sift through looking for an error.

[JMR27]

Hi carmalee I'd suggest keeping a receipt book. Every time a member gives you money for subs or special events give them a receipt for the cash/cheque.

[carmalee]

jmr27 - sorry about the delay in getting back - actually thought this thread was dead but very grateful for the suggestion - to be honest, think I'm not going to do it - I did always swear I'd never go on a committee again but somehow got conned into this but it doesn't mean I have to take the treasurers post. Thanks again