Booster Club Reimbursements: Expense Policy and Request Form

Pre-Approval Rules

The adopted budget decides what needs approval before the purchase.

The treasurer does not reimburse an unbudgeted expense until the board has approved it. This holds whether the bylaws treat the budget as a plan or as authorization; see How to Build a Booster Club Budget.

The Request Process

1. Get approval first when the table above requires it.
2. Buy for the club only. Separate club items from personal items at the register, or ask for a separate receipt.
3. Present the club’s tax exemption certificate if the state exempts the club’s purchases from sales tax. This varies by state; see Sales Tax for Booster Clubs.
4. Complete a reimbursement request with the original itemized receipt attached.
5. Submit to the treasurer within 30 days of the purchase, and before the expense cutoff for the fiscal year (the club’s 12-month accounting year).
6. The approver reviews and signs the request, confirming the purchase was authorized and benefited the club.
7. Two signers sign the check or approve the electronic payment. Neither may be the person being reimbursed.
8. The treasurer records the payment against the budget line and files the request with its receipt.

Reimbursement Request Form

The request form records the payee, amount, budget line, the date any unbudgeted expense was authorized in the minutes, and the approvals. A booster club version:

The same form works as a payment request for an invoice paid directly to a vendor; attach the invoice instead of a receipt.

Receipt Standards

• An itemized receipt showing vendor, date, each item, and amount paid. A card slip showing only a total is not enough.
• For online orders, the order confirmation plus proof of payment.
• An invoice marked “paid” or a dated register receipt.
• A missing receipt requires a signed statement describing the purchase and a board vote to approve the payment. Limit this to rare cases.

Who Approves and Who Signs

The rule underneath every row: nobody approves or signs their own payment, or a payment to a relative or household member.

Advances

Sometimes a volunteer cannot front the money. An advance works like a reimbursement in reverse:

1. The volunteer submits a request for advance with the purpose, budget line, and estimated amount.
2. The president approves it, and two signers issue the check to the volunteer.
3. After the purchase, the volunteer submits a reimbursement form with receipts and returns any unspent money with it. The policy sets a deadline for this, such as 30 days from receipt of the advance.
4. The treasurer records the advance as outstanding until receipts and change are in.

Keep advances rare and small. Paying a vendor directly by check or invoice is better: there is nothing to settle afterward.

Volunteers Who Choose Not to Be Reimbursed

Some volunteers donate their purchases instead of seeking reimbursement. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Publication 526, a volunteer may be able to deduct unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses that are directly connected with services to a qualified charity, and may use a standard rate of 14 cents a mile for driving in service of the charity. A deduction for any contribution of $250 or more requires a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the organization. The club should provide one on request; see Donation Receipts and Acknowledgment Letters.

The club records these as in-kind donations, not as reimbursed expenses, and never reimburses an amount a volunteer has also claimed as a donation.

What the Policy Should Exclude

• Personal items, even if bought on the same trip
• Purchases for individual students rather than the whole program; see Private Benefit and Individual Fundraising Accounts
• Gifts to school employees beyond what district policy allows
• Flat allowances or stipends paid without receipts, which can be treated as pay; see Paying Coaches, Instructors, and Contractors
• Sales tax that the club’s exemption would have avoided, where the state provides one