Booster Club Banking: Accounts, Signers, and Online Access

Account Basics

• Name and tax ID. Every account is titled in the club’s exact legal name and uses the club’s EINEINEmployer Identification Number: the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to the club. The club needs it to open a bank account, apply for 501(c)(3) status, and file its annual return.All terms, never an officer’s Social Security number.
• Never a personal account. Club money is never deposited in anyone’s personal account, even temporarily. Mixing club and personal funds (commingling) makes the volunteer look guilty even when nothing is missing.
• Never the school’s account. Booster money and school money stay separate. Depositing booster funds with the school can make them school funds subject to district rules. See Working With the School and District.
• A permanent address. Use the club’s permanent mailing address (often the school, or a post office box the club controls) rather than an officer’s home, so the account does not follow a volunteer out the door.
• Deposit insurance. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits up to $250,000 per corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association at each insured bank. A club holding more than that at one bank should split funds between banks.

What the Bank Will Ask For

Requirements vary by bank. Expect to bring:

1. The letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirming the club’s EINEINEmployer Identification Number: the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to the club. The club needs it to open a bank account, apply for 501(c)(3) status, and file its annual return.All terms
2. Articles of incorporation, if the club is incorporated
3. The bylaws
4. Minutes or a signed resolution showing the vote that authorized the account and named the signers
5. Government-issued identification for each signer
6. The 501(c)(3) determination letter (the IRS letter recognizing the club’s federal tax exemption), if the bank offers nonprofit account terms

See Opening a Booster Club Bank Account for a new club.

How Many Accounts

Most clubs need one checking account for operations. A second savings account can hold reserves and restricted funds, with the same signers and the same review. Avoid separate accounts for every team or event; each extra account is another statement to reconcile and another place for money to go unnoticed. Track sub-funds in the books instead.

Choosing Signers

A booster club limits signers to elected officers designated in the bylaws, requires two signatures on every check and electronic transaction, and keeps the secretary and the financial reviewer off the signature card so they can review independently.

Cards and Checks

• Debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards. The safest policy is none. A debit or ATM card lets one person withdraw cash or buy with no second approval. A club that keeps cards should issue them only to officers designated as check signers, set low limits, block cash withdrawals, and match every charge to a receipt monthly. See Internal Controls.
• Store cards and store credit accounts. Do not open them. If the club holds any card, it should be bank-issued.
• Checks. Order checks printed with “Two signaturesDual signaturesThe control that requires two authorized officers, not related to each other and not living in the same household, to approve every check and electronic payment.All terms required” and “Void if not cashed within 90 days.” Keep the checkbook with the treasurer and blank checks locked.
• Petty cash. Do not keep a petty cash fund. Small purchases go through reimbursement.

Online Banking Access

Every person who needs online access gets an individual login. Shared logins make it impossible to know who did what.

Set up dual approval for ACH (automated clearing house) transfers, wires, and bill payments if the bank offers it. Use club-owned email addresses for logins and alerts, not personal ones. Turn on alerts for large withdrawals, new payees, and changes to the statement address, and send those alerts to the president and the reviewer as well as the treasurer.

Bank Statements

The statement is the one document the treasurer does not produce, which is why someone else must see it. The reviewer receives it directly (by mail or view-only access), compares it to the treasurer’s reconciliation, and signs both. A change to the statement mailing address or delivery method that nobody authorized is a red flag. See Preventing Embezzlement.

Payment Apps and Processor Accounts

Online payment accounts are bank accounts for control purposes. Any account that receives deposits or makes payments, including a digital payment account, needs a monthly reconciliationReconciliationMatching the club’s books to the bank statement each month: the bank balance, plus deposits in transit, minus outstanding checks, equals the book balance. Someone other than a check signer reviews it.All terms and its own line in the treasurer’s report.

1. Open payment apps and processor accounts as business accounts in the club’s name and EINEINEmployer Identification Number: the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to the club. The club needs it to open a bank account, apply for 501(c)(3) status, and file its annual return.All terms, never as personal profiles.
2. Link payouts only to the club’s operating account.
3. Give at least two officers administrator access; the reviewer gets view access if available.
4. Transfer balances to the bank at least weekly; do not hold money in the app.
5. Reconcile each app account monthly like any bank account.

The risk is real. In a 2026 Tennessee case, the Comptroller’s Office reported that $44,821.92 had been transferred from a band booster club’s payment app account to the treasurer’s personal bank account or to a family member. See Accepting Online Payments as a Booster Club.

Changing Signers at Transition

1. The members elect officers; the secretary prepares minutes or a resolution naming the new signers.
2. The outgoing and incoming treasurer and president go to the bank together, with identification and the minutes.
3. The bank adds new signers and removes every departing signer at the same visit.
4. The new treasurer changes all online passwords, removes departed users, and updates alert contacts.
5. The same day, update payment apps, processors, and any card accounts.
6. The secretary files the new signature card or bank confirmation in the permanent records.

Update the signature card as soon as new officers take office, and remove previous signers whenever an officer resigns or a new term begins.