As a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) Treasurer, there are things that you absolutely must have in your bag of tricks, chiefly, a specific set of PTO treasurer forms.
Using forms as treasurer templates will save a lot of time for you as the school parent group Treasurer, but also the fellow members of your group too!
Using a defined set of treasurer forms support a financially healthy group by providing a clear process to follow.
This helps all volunteers and members stay on the same page, reducing confusion about the proper procedure.
In turn, these treasurer forms makes it easier to prevent theft, fraud or embezzlement in your PTO.
Plus, these 11 forms make preparing for the annual PTO financial audit so much easier.
Let’s dive into the set of treasurer forms every PTO needs to use!
1+ 2: Deposit Forms
As PTO Treasurer, you’ll be handling a lot of cash and checks, especially during fundraisers and ticketed PTO events.
Ease the process of handling the money by providing a streamlined Deposit Form that’ll provide all the information needed for complete record keeping.
Depending on the situation and your PTO’s preference, you’ll need one of two different types of deposit forms: A simple deposit form or a more detailed, itemized deposit form.
Ask that officers and committee chairs submit completed deposit forms with all cash or check deposits, without exception.
Using deposit forms is a smart bookkeeping practice.
They create a paper trail for cash.
The form’s details let you as Treasurer how and where to account for the funds, setting the stage for a transparent Treasurer’s report.
3: Check Logger Form
A Check Logger form is an absolute must when depositing several checks at once to keep everything organized.
The check logger ensures no check turns up missing during the deposit process.
Plus, some banks require submission of a check log along with your stack of checks.
But in reality, it’s an easy way to track each check and can be super useful for quickly identifying checks returned for insufficient funds (aka bounced checks).
This form is essential for big fundraisers when you’ll have lots of checks to manage.
4 + 5: Payment Request and Funds Request Forms
When an officer or committee chair needs a check issued, insist that a completed Payment Request Form or Funds Request Form be submitted.
The forms provide all of the information the Treasurer needs to attribute expenses correctly and limits the likelihood of the PTO getting scammed.
How PTOs Get Scammed
With the rise of digital payments, some PTOs are falling victim to scammers.
Here’s how the scam generally works:
The scammer scrapes PTO leader names and emails from PTO or school websites.
They use the information to send the PTO Treasurer a payment request from another officer, spoofing the officer’s email so that it appears at first glance to be a legitimate request.
Several PTOs have mistakenly sent money to scammers and didn’t discover the mistake until it was too late.
6+ 7: Cash Box Request and Start Up Forms
The Cash Box Request Form streamlines the process of cash boxes. The PTO volunteer who needs the cash box can think through the specific denominations needed and the Treasurer won’t have to guess.
The forms also creates a a paper trail, showing why cash was withdrawn and provides back up for the accounting.
The auditor will like being able to see why cash was withdrawn and it’s another PTO theft safeguard.
8: Cash Counting Form
After an event, have multiple cash counters count up the cash and fill out the Cash Counting Form.
This form should stay with the cash and be signed by two volunteers and returned fully completed to the PTO Treasurer.
The Cash Counting Form is another tool to create a paper trail for cash and decreases the likelihood of money being taken by a volunteer since the cash can be counted and compared to the amounts listed on the form.
9: Bank Account Signers Tracker
Best PTO financial management dictates that there should be multiple people on the PTO bank account so that no single person is in charge of signing checks.
The dual signature system is one way to ensure the check is for a legitimate PTO expense since two volunteers will be taking a look at what they’re signing.
This gives the second signer a chance to ask questions, especially if the check is for a vendor they’re unfamiliar with or the check amount if high.
This Bank Account Signer Tracker makes it easy to see who’s on the PTO bank account at a glance.
My PTA has at least four members with check signing authority at all times: the current and past Treasurer, President, and Fundraising Chairs.
Past officers typically stay on the account until they leave the unit.
Once the volunteer is no longer a member of your PTO, they should be removed from the bank account.
10: Password Tracker
Treasurers have to track a lot of information, including passwords.
Eliminate any confusion and ease Treasurer transition with this Password Tracker form.
While I don’t recommend writing down the password for the bank account, using the tracking form the keep vendor information (think online printers and marketplaces like Vista Print and Amazon) is a great way to ensure you don’t have to set up PTO accounts again.
One PTO unit accidentally set up two different Cheddar Up accounts and it was a mess to get straightened out.
Even if only the company name and user name was listed on this form, the situation could’ve been avoided.
11: Bank Account Tracker
The last essential form all PTO Treasurers should have is the Bank Account Tracker Form.
This form provides space for the specific bank information to be noted in an easy to reference sheet.
One PTO “lost” a certificate of deposit and over $3,000 was being held by a bank for years.
The passbook had been lost and the bak required all volunteers who’d opened the account to come in person at the same time to close the account and withdraw the money.
The biggest problem was that so many years had passed (8 or 9!) that one of the volunteers had a falling out with the other volunteers and flat out refused to come to the bank.
In the end, the uncooperative volunteer was coxed by the school office administrator to sign an affidavit that was satisfactory evidence for the bank.
It took 10 months and many emails and many volunteers to recover the funds once the account was rediscovered.
Avoid this same drama by writing down all of the PTO’s bank accounts, whether checking, savings, CD, etc.
How to Organize the PTO Treasurer Forms
A huge aspect of actually using these treasurer forms is to organize them in a way that all PTO members are using them!
A low tech organization method is to print copies and add them to a Treasurer’s binder.
The Treasurer’s Binder, star resource in the Treasurer’s Success Kit is a done for you resource with the binder structure, plus all of these forms and even more to streamline and organize your work!
Watch this!
I talk about the essential PTO Treasurer forms in this video:
Over to you
One of the most important aspects of getting organized as a PTO Treasurer is to equip yourself with treasurer templates, tools and resources to do your job.
The PTO Treasurer forms highlighted in this post will save a lot of time and headaches.
The forms reduce the need for back and forth emails and text messages to clarify crucial details for payments, cash handling and PTO bank account and financial tool management.
Overall, they make the PTO Treasure’s job more straightforward and easier!
Resources for PTO Treasurers
Empower Your Role as Treasurer. Effective financial management shouldn’t be stressful. Instead of piecing together systems on the fly, imagine having a proven framework at your fingertips.
The Treasurer’s Success Kit provides that framework. This expertly designed system empowers you to manage your group’s finances with confidence and ease, saving you valuable time and eliminating unnecessary stress.
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- Simplified Record Keeping: Effortlessly manage past and present records.
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Transform your treasurer experience!
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