One of the most time consuming Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) or Parent Teacher Association (PTA) volunteer positions is that of Treasurer.
Tasked with safeguarding the school parent group’s money, providing regular reporting, and tracking every penny of the group’s money, adds up to a big job!
Let’s explore the best PTO Treasurer software and finance management program to help cut the workload down to size and make recruiting volunteers for this position easier.
Why Use PTO Treasurer Software
Being a PTA Treasurer or a PTO treasury officer requires regular financial housekeeping, along with transparent and accurate money management.
Yet many PTO /PTA Treasurers don’t come into the position with formal accounting or bookkeeping experience.
Using PTO Treasurer software minimizes the time involved to effectively and accurately manage a PTO’s money.
Manually tracking every transaction on a paper and pencil register or even a simple spreadsheet is time consuming, and mistakes are easy to make.
For inexperienced Treasurers, a strong PTO Treasurer software program adds reassurance that transactions are being tracked accurately and no detail is overlooked.
What to Look for in PTO Treasurer Software
Not all PTO Treasurer software is created the same.
Here are some factors to consider in choosing the best finance manager for your PTO/PTA:
Learning Curve
The best PTO Treasurer software has a low learning curve so that the Treasurer can confidently track the group’s finances without first having to watch hours of training videos to understand how to use the program.
This is especially important for first time PTO Treasurers without formal bookkeeping training.
Type
Is it necessary to use professional accounting software?
No.
PTOs don’t need complicated software to accurately manage PTO finances.
It actually needs a straightforward and simple, yet comprehensive system that organizes everything and is easy to manage.
A program designed specifically for PTOs that matches how PTO / PTA leaders and volunteers think.
Not something that was originally for some other sort of organization and has been adapted to sort of meet the needs of PTOs.
Budget Creation
A budget creation tool is an essential feature of any good PTO finance management program since having a budget is essential for keeping a PTO financially on track.
For PTO/PTAs, a budget provides a snapshot picture of the group’s financial health and spending priorities.
Monthly Report Templates
Look for a a PTO finance manager with a variety of treasurer report templates, including monthly, year to date, as well as end of year statements.
Monthly and year to date Treasurer reports are essential for transparency.
End of year statement are helpful for annual audit preparations.
Technology Needs
Modern PTO finance management programs don’t run on a single computer installation like used to be commonplace.
Instead, they work using an internet browser login.
This means your PTO won’t need to buy or maintain a computer for the Treasurer, further cutting down on administrative costs for your group.
Transferability
Another factor to consider when choosing a PTO finance manager is how easy it is to transfer the accounting program from one Treasurer to the next.
Healthy PTOs rotate volunteers through positions, including the Treasurer role.
So it makes the most sense to have a PTO finance management program that’s easy to transfer from one volunteer to another.
Cost
Look for a PTO finance manager that doesn’t come with a subscription fee.
Too many money management programs come with an annual subscription, costing hundreds of dollars a year to use.
This takes money away from spending on the students, teachers and school staff, lessening the PTO’s impact on the school community.
Instead, choose a finance manager with a one time investment.
The Best PTO Treasurer Software: The Treasurer’s Finance Manager
Given the above factors in choosing a finance management program for your school parent group, the best PTO Treasurer software is the Treasurer’s Finance Manager.
The program is powered by straightforward PTO Treasurer spreadsheet anyone can use, no matter their accounting or bookkeeping experience level.
How the Treasurer’s Finance Manager Works
The Treasurer’s Finance Manager meets all PTO/PTA money management needs:
Learning Curve
The Treasurer’s Finance Manager features a low learning curve, enabling new users to get started in minutes.
There’s no wasted time trying to figure things out with this system.
The Treasurer’s Finance Manager is very easy to use.
This system has been designed by a PTA Treasurer who used it with multiple PTAs, then streamlined it to make it easy for any PTO, non-profit booster club, social group, scouting or member based organization to use.
The Treasurer’s Finance Manager’s set up and use is very accessible.
It’s a straightforward spreadsheet based system where all you have to do is input numbers.
The math is literally taken care of for you, making it perfect for math-challenged treasury officers.
The linked spreadsheets have all of the formulas done for you, leaving you to customize the sheets with your parent teacher organization’s information, with calculations done automatically for you.
Type
The Treasurer’s Finance Manager was designed by and for PTO/PTA volunteers.
The program actually came about after I voluntold my husband as Treasurer of our children’s middle school PTA.
The previous PTA Treasurer was using a basic spreadsheet to track the finances, but it didn’t connect to the PTA’s budget, requiring manually creating monthly reports.
It was essentially a running list of income and expenses, which was an upgrade from a paper and pencil tally, but not quite enough to effectively capture a sense of the PTO financial situation.
My spreadsheet loving husband created an ingenious system of linked spreadsheets that connected the transaction register to the budget, enabling report creation with just two clicks.
Budget Creation and Tracking
Creating an annual budget for your parent teacher organization and tracking it throughout the year is easy using the budget tool baked into the Treasurer’s Finance Manager.
It’s a robust accounting program set up for up to 50 distinct income source and expense categories, making it super easy to tailor to your group.
Simply enter your categories and the anticipated income or expense amounts and watch how the budget instantly comes together.
Maintaining the budget is simple and requires no action on your part.
The Budget Tracker auto-updates in real-time as entires are made in the transaction register.
This means you’ll always know exactly where your group stands financially at a glance.
If you really want to get nerdy with your tracking, enter in the previous numbers for up to the past two years to see how this year’s finances are stacking up!
Monthly Report Templates
When it comes to generating monthly Treasurer reports, the Treasurer’s Finance Manager is hands down the best option available for PTO/PTA Treasurers!
For concise and accurate financial records reporting, simply select the starting and ending dates for the report and watch as the report literally generates itself.
All the essential information needed for a transparent and comprehensive financial reports is automatically loaded and you can simply print the report and the with you to the meeting.
No need to manually compile an income statement or a transaction report.
All of the pertinent information is pulled into the print-ready report for you.
Want to see the financial data for a different time period?
Just select the desired date range in the month selector and you’ll get exactly the information you’re looking for, providing you with the ultimate level of flexible reporting.
In addition to the monthly report option, there’s an End of Year Statement that gives a snapshot look at up to three different account all on one page.
Year end audit preparation is pretty much non-existent as long as you keep the transaction register up to date since each monthly report as well as the end of the year statement will be a complete picture of your group’s financial information.
Manage Multiple Accounts in One Place
The Treasurer’s Finance Manager can handle up to three separate accounts of your choosing.
This is perfect for groups that must separately track membership income or have multiple savings or CD accounts.
Technology Needs
The Treasurer’s Finance Manager is flexible enough to work in Google Sheets, meaning you can access the program from anywhere with an internet connection.
No need to purchase a PTO computer to handle money management anymore, this program works on any browser, even on a phone or tablet.
What’s more, you can give other PTO officers permission to view the program, so they can see for themselves where finances stand, but not have access to change anything.
This provides the greatest amount of transparency and is a good choice for groups that have strong anti-theft and embezzlement procedures in place.
Transferability
The beauty of the Treasurer’s Finance Manager is that it’s so easy to pass down to the next Treasurer, no matter if they’re a PC or Mac user.
Transitioning the program to the new PTO Treasurer is simple!
Simply pass along the PTO Treasurer login info or tap the share button and you’re all done with giving the incoming Treasurer the access they need.
Nothing else is needed, no password resetting necessary.
Cost: Initial, Premium Features and Updates
With the Treasurer’s financial workbook, there’s no annual subscription to pay each year.
It’s a one time purchase with zero strings attached going forward.
Alternative PTO accounting software costs anywhere up to $900 per year!
That’s an outrageous amount of money to spend on the overhead of running your PTO.
I know you’d much rather spend that on something for the kids or school staff.
One the high end of the spectrum, alternative software is bloated with features you don’t need and won’t use as PTO Treasurer.
At the low end of the spectrum, alternative software lacks the capability to enter in custom budget numbers.
When you choose the Treasurer’s Finance Manager, your one time purchase gives you lifetime access to the finance management program for life.
That means your PTA /PTO will never spend another dime on accounting programs.
No monthly fee or annual subscription fees involved.
Unlike other PTO finance managers, there’s never an additional fee to access premium features or upgrade to the newest version of the program.
Updates are free and you’ll get access to not only fantastic customer service but also any and all features right from the start.
Get the Treasurer’s Finance Manager
Ready to make the switch to the best PTO money management program?
Head here to get your copy of the Treasurer’s Finance Manager.
Over to you!
And now you know all about the very best PTO accounting software that will be such a game changer for both you and your PTO/PTA, the Treasurer’s Finance Manager.
The system has all the features you expect, plus a few more that make your life as a Treasurer infinitely easier and with peace of mind you have it all of your parent group’s financial management needs covered now and going forward!
Using a finance manager program is a smart decision to streamline your work and reduce the load for the PTO Treasurer position.
