Running your PTA
3Take charge of spending
All spending must be agreed upon by the committee before any purchases are made . The school can ’ t buy something and then expect your PTA to reimburse them afterwards , so make sure they ’ re aware of this .
4
Get it in writing
A lot of PTAs are moving away from chequeonly , dual signatory accounts . If this is something you ’ re considering , you ’ ll need to create an expenses policy so that all purchases are pre-approved and documented by the committee . There is an expenses policy template available on Your PTA Expert hub that you can use as a starting point .
5
Put it on plastic
Rather than expecting committee members to buy things using their own money , you might want to think about providing a pre-paid card . Remember : you ’ ll need to keep hold of receipts to back up all money spent .
RESOURCES
Our blog post , A New Way of PTA Banking , details the benefits of using pre-paid cards : parentkind . org / pta-banking
6
Stay up to date
The Treasurer should update the rest of the committee with a report at every meeting . The whole committee , regardless of role , are legally responsible for managing the funds of the association and should always be aware of what they have in the bank .
Turn to page 12 to read more about the role of Treasurer
7
Keep on top of admin
Your financial records need to be kept for a minimum of six years , plus the current year . We have resources on financial reporting on our website that can help you stay organised .
8
Check , check and double check
Get your accounts independently examined every year , no matter what your level of income . This will pick up any potential problems quickly and show your members that you ’ re responsible and transparent . You don ’ t need to pay an accountant to do this for you – just make sure the examiner isn ’ t a committee member or related to a committee member . If you ’ ve got parents who are accountants or have a sound financial background and are willing to volunteer to do this , that would be ideal . They need to make sure that everything tallies , there are no gaping holes and what you ’ ve spent fits the objectives of the association as stated in your constitution .
And if you ’ re still struggling to get your head around the numbers ...
... we ’ re here to help . Call our PTA Community Advisers for one-to-one support on 0300 123 5460 or by emailing info @ parentkind . org . They ’ re here for you Monday to Friday , 9am to 5pm . Photo : Shutterstock
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