A Primer For Managing Booster Club Accounting

Introduction

Proper fundraising is the backbone of a successful booster club. Additionally, in order to have a strong and healthy make up of this backbone your club needs to implement the right tools and people for managing booster club accounting and finances.

If your booster club uses the right accounting tools you will be able to utilize various resources that can strengthen, bring value, and  provide tremendous help for your booster club.

Process of Managing Booster Club Accounting

Managing your club’s accounting is a marathon not a sprint. You will want to implement both the right tools, procedures, and people for the ongoing task. Two huge ways to help out as you manage a booster club’s finances are through organization and keeping your accounting numbers up to date.

1.     Organize funds by activity/category

In managing booster club accounting, one of the best ways to track funds and simplify work is to have each expense and cost organized by different categories. Some examples of these funds that you will need to track and organize are:

• Donations/gifts
• Club related sales of merch
• Fundraiser revenue

Having your different funds organized allows you to easily see how much you have from each category as well as know what activities are failing or flourishing.

2.     Keep Numbers Up to Date

Keeping your numbers up to date will entail making sure that all activities such as fundraisers and receivable payments have been calculated and deposited. Additionally make sure your club has all your current expenses up to date as well. You want to have all of your numbers up to date to be certain that you know the financial health of your club. Additionally, the amount of cash or funds on hand should be recorded at all times for proper review or examination.

Implement a Booster Club Treasurer

To make sure you get the right job done you want to start with the right person. In any booster club there should be someone who is in charge of handling the booster club’s finances and accounting. A great idea for booster club finances is to create a treasurer position for your club.

A booster club treasurer is responsible for booster club finances and all other monetary aspects of the club. The treasurer is responsible for:

• Managing all money associated with the booster club
• Preparing the club’s annual budget as well as budgets for events and fundraisers
• Staying up to date and recording all financial transactions internally, and externally

By creating a treasurer position, your club can be sure that you have a responsible, trustworthy person who is committed to managing your clubs finances in the best way.

Managing Booster Club Expenses

A regular task you will experience as you run a booster club is handling the expenses. Your club will have various expenses that will be a part of operating the club. However, if you are not careful it is easy to become overwhelmed and sink by the expenses. By knowing what expenses are necessary and what expenses are not you will be able to sail on top of your expenses instead of letting them sink your club.

1.     Essential Expenses

What will represent most of your expenses and be reported while managing booster club accounting is operational expenses. These are expenses that are necessary for the club to operate, or at the beginning when you start a booster club, and will need to paid for by the club. Some examples of these include: supplies for fundraisers (supplies, rentals, space to hold it) and in certain cases individual contractors when outside help or assistance is needed.

2.     Non Essential Expenses

An example of non-essential expenses are expenses for volunteers. As a booster club, all volunteers should NOT be paid. In the event that a contractor is used it should be a professional outside of the club, not a club member who is then paid for contract work with the club.

Tools For Managing Booster Club Accounting Properly

The best help with managing booster club accounting is software that will help simplify tasks. Accounting software allows a booster club to streamline financial tasks such as: Square Inc

• Bookkeeping: storing banking reports, transactions, registers
• Contracts: agreements between internal and external parties and statements
• Budgeting: an estimate of income and expenses specifically for your club’s needs
• App/Software Integrations: link with popular payment platforms such as VISA, Square Inc, PayPal, etc.
• Document Storage: House all financial statements, reports, inventory sheets
• Tax Sheets: tax related forms for donors and the club itself

Some great accounting software you can use for managing booster club accounting include: Money Minder, Aplos, and Sage Intacct. All three were built as accounting software for nonprofits and should be easy to use with your club.

When choosing an accounting software, as you manage a booster club you will need to properly analyze what software will work best for your club’s needs.

If your club is fortunate to have a tech savvy treasurer or members, a great alternative to purchasing an accounting software is making your own system using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. With the right know how, these spreadsheet programs can be used and customized to handle most of your clubs finances.

How Accounting Helps

In addition to organization, there are many other benefits of properly managing booster club accounting. One is that, proper accounting allows transparency. By having your expenses and funds properly calculated and up to date you are able to show your school or other administration what goes on in your club if needed, allowing your club to be honest and accountable.

Additionally, accounting helps convey key information that will give direction for your booster club. For example, let’s say a club is having fundraisers back to back to back to raise money. However, the costs to promote and have the fundraising events exceeds how much the events are pulling in. By keeping the numbers of both the revenue and expenses of the fundraisers, the club should be able to see that they need to cut back on the fundraisers due to the large costs.

Good Accounting is Synonymous with Success

When you excel in managing booster club accounting you will have a great benefit. You and your club will be able to have transparency within as well as keep vital information organized and stored away. By implementing the right tools such as a booster club treasurer, and accounting software your club’s finances will be well known to you and allow you to make informed decisions for your club.