What it is
The account is a summary of the cash book. It answers three questions that members ask at the annual meeting:
- Where did our money come from this year?
- What did we spend it on?
- How much do we have now, in cash and in the bank?
It counts money only when it moves. A subscription is counted in the year it is paid to the club, and a bill in the year the club pays it. Accountants call this the cash basis; see the Wikipedia article on the cash method of accounting.
What the annual report shows
A receipts and payments account for a small club normally has these parts, in this order:
- A heading: the name of the organisation and the financial year covered, with its first and last day.
- Receipts: one line for each category of money in (for example subscriptions, donations, fundraising, grants) and a total.
- Payments: one line for each category of money out (for example hall hire, equipment, insurance) and a total.
- Receipts less payments: the surplus or shortfall for the year.
- A statement of balances: for cash and for bank, the balance at the start of the year, plus receipts, less payments, giving the balance at the end of the year.
- Signatures: the treasurer and, where your rules ask for one, an independent examiner or auditor, each with name, signature and date.
The closing balances should match the cash counted in the tin and the bank statement dated on the last day of the year, after allowing for cheques that have not yet cleared.
The layout as a template
This is the shape of the page. The amounts are left out here; the worked example shows the same layout filled in with a sample year.
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| One line for each category of money in | 0.00 |
| Total receipts | 0.00 |
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| One line for each category of money out | 0.00 |
| Total payments | 0.00 |
| Cash | Bank | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at start of year | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Add: receipts | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Less: payments | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Balance at end of year | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
What it leaves out
Because it counts only money that moved, a receipts and payments account does not show:
- money owed to the club, such as unpaid subscriptions;
- bills the club has received but not yet paid;
- the value of things the club owns, such as equipment or stock.
Some rules ask for a separate list of what the organisation owns and owes alongside the account. If yours do, prepare that list yourself; the tool on this site does not produce it.
Is this the right kind of accounts for your organisation?
Many small clubs, societies and associations are free to use receipts and payments accounts, and many constitutions say so. Larger organisations, companies and some registered charities must instead prepare fuller accounts that also count money owed and owing. The limits differ from country to country and change over time.
- Read the finance section of your own constitution or rules first.
- If your organisation is a registered charity or a company, check the regulator's current guidance for your country before the year end.
- In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service publishes guidance for tax-exempt organisations on its Charities and Nonprofits pages.
Prepare yours from a cash book
The Treasurer's Cash Book on this site works out every figure above from the entries you type: totals by category, total receipts and payments, and opening and closing balances for cash and bank. You can see all of them on screen for free.
A $12 licence key adds the printable Receipts and Payments report, on A4 or US Letter paper with signature lines, and CSV export. See exactly what is free and what the key unlocks.