One book, two balances
You do not need a separate petty cash book. A simple cash book keeps two balances side by side: one for cash in hand and one for the bank account. Each entry belongs to one of the two.
The cash book on this site works this way. Step 1 asks for the cash in hand and the bank balance at the start of the year, step 2 asks "Cash or bank?" for every entry, and the list of entries shows both balances after each line.
The tool has one cash account. If your club keeps cash in two places, the cash balance is the two added together.
What to write for each cash entry
- Money in: give a numbered receipt for cash you are handed and write the same number in the cash book.
- Money out: ask for a till receipt or a signed note before you hand over cash, and write a number on it.
- The full amounts: if you collect cash and pay a bill from it on the same day, record the whole amount collected as money in and the bill as money out. Never record only what was left.
- The day it happened: write the entry the same day.
A sample year of cash entries
These are the four cash entries of the invented Riverside Gardening Club, taken from the page A worked example of a treasurer's annual report. The club is a sample, not a real organisation. Its eight bank entries are left out here.
| Date | Receipt no. | Description | Money in | Money out | Cash balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb 2025 | R002 | Donation from a member | 25.50 | 75.50 | |
| 20 Mar 2025 | R003 | Cake sale | 310.10 | 385.60 | |
| 14 Jun 2025 | P01 | Summer fair costs | 120.45 | 265.15 | |
| 5 Dec 2025 | P02 | Stamps and envelopes | 15.30 | 249.85 |
The check is the same sum as for the bank: 50.00 + 335.60 - 135.75 = 249.85. The cash receipts are 25.50 + 310.10 and the cash payments are 120.45 + 15.30.
Count the tin
- Count the notes and coins, with a second person present when you can.
- Compare the amount with the cash balance in the book on that day.
- Write the count, the date and both names on a slip and keep it with the records.
Count once a month, and always on the last day of the financial year and at a handover to a new treasurer.
When the tin and the book differ
- A receipt was given but never entered, or was entered twice.
- A cash payment was made without a receipt and forgotten.
- An entry was marked Bank when it was really Cash, or the other way round.
- Cash was paid into the bank and not recorded.
If you cannot find the reason, do not adjust the tin from your own pocket. Tell the committee, have the difference recorded in the minutes, and enter it in the book as a line of its own with a plain description.
Paying cash into the bank
Banking the takings is not income or spending: the money has only changed place. Record two lines on the same day with the same amount, one for money out of Cash and one for money into Bank, both described as "Cash paid into bank" and both in the same category. The two cancel out in the totals.
Bank cash promptly. When the paying-in slip comes back, agree the cash book to the bank statement to see that it arrived.
Keep cash and bank in one place
The Treasurer's Cash Book on this site keeps the cash and bank balances for you and shows both after every entry, with the totals by category. That part is free and works in your browser, with no account.
A $12 licence key adds two things: the print layout of the annual report, with signature lines, and CSV export. See exactly what is free and what the key unlocks.