For PTAs and friends groups
Accounts that survive the committee changing every year
Event takings banked and recorded properly, money raised for the playground or the park kept apart and tracked to the penny, and everything left in good order for whoever takes over when your time on the committee is up.
Free for 30 days, no card needed. Then £5 a month or £50 a year, everything included.
Why a PTA's books are harder than they look
The sums are simple. Doing them with a new team every couple of years is not.
- The whole committee changes every couple of years. Children move up, parents move on. Each new treasurer inherits a spreadsheet they did not build and a folder they cannot find, and starts again from scratch.
- Most of the money comes from events. The summer fair, the quiz night, the raffle. Cash floats go out, takings come back in tins, and it all has to be counted, banked and recorded without anybody being counted twice.
- The money was raised for something. Parents gave for the new playground, the friends group raised for the bandstand. Keeping that money apart from the general pot, and showing what is left of it, is what keeps people giving.
- The school or the council wants to see the figures. And the committee wants to know, before it promises the head another £2,000, whether the money is really there.
What The Charity Office does for a PTA or friends group
Records that survive the handover
Everything lives with the group, not with the person. The new treasurer gets their own login, the old one is removed, and every payment, receipt and note on the budget is still there with the reasons attached.
Event takings banked the right way
Keep a cash account for the float and the tins. Record the takings against it, then move the money to the bank when it is paid in - counted once, and the bank balance still reconciles.
Money raised for a project, tracked to the penny
Set up the playground or the bandstand as a project with its target. Mark payments towards it and see what has been spent, what is owed and what is left, however many school years it takes.
A budget for the year ahead
The events you expect to run and what they usually raise, against what you have promised to fund. The cashflow shows whether a promise can be kept before the committee makes it.
Minutes and actions the next committee can read
Agendas, minutes and who agreed to do what by when, kept together. The next chair can read what was decided last year instead of asking around the playground.
Licences and insurance on one list
The lottery registration for the raffle, the music licence for the disco, the event insurance - each with its renewal date and a reminder before it is due.
What it costs
£5 a month, or £50 a year
One price with everything in it: the money, the forecast, the trustees, the meetings, the compliance records, the grants and the GDPR records. No charge per trustee, and the charity is billed rather than whoever signed up, so the subscription stays put when the committee changes.
Questions people ask
We are not a registered charity. Can we use it?
Yes. Plenty of PTAs and friends groups are below the registration threshold, and the same paperwork applies. It is written for registered charities, so a few words on the screens may not quite be yours, and the charity number can be left blank.
How do we hand over to a new treasurer?
Invite the new treasurer with their own login and the treasurer's role, then remove the old one. Nothing they entered moves or disappears, because the records belong to the group.
Can the whole committee see the accounts?
Yes. Give each committee member a trustee login and they can see all the money and change none of it. Only the treasurer, or whoever you choose, can enter payments.
Does it sell raffle tickets or take payments for events?
No. There are no ticket sales, no donation pages and no online payments. It records the money after it has been taken, however it was taken.
What does it cost a PTA?
The same as any charity: one price, shown on this page, with everything in it and every committee member included. Many groups pay annually so it goes through the accounts as one line, and a group without a card can pay by bank transfer.
Set it up before the next handover
Start free, put this year's events and the project you are raising for in, and leave your successor something they can follow.