Booster Club Officer Transition: Handoff Checklist and Timeline

Why Transitions Fail

• The outgoing officer holds records and passwords in personal email and personal cloud storage.
• Nobody wrote down what the job involves, so the new officer learns by missing deadlines.
• The bank signer change waits until a check needs signing, and former officers remain on the account.
• Online accounts were opened under one person’s email address.
• The outgoing treasurer’s books are never reviewed, so the new treasurer inherits unexplained balances.

The Procedure Book

A procedure book is the binder or shared folder that tells the next person how to do the job. Each officer and chair keeps one, updates it during the year, and hands it over at the end of the term. It belongs in a club-owned shared drive, not a personal account.

Every procedure book contains:

1. The written job description, including authority and spending limits.
2. A month-by-month calendar of the position’s tasks and deadlines.
3. Contacts: principal, athletic or activities director, program director or coach, district business office, bank, insurance agent, key vendors, and sponsors.
4. Copies of the bylaws, standing rules, and adopted policies.
5. For each event the position ran: the budget, the actual results, volunteer counts, vendor details, and a short “do differently next year” note.
6. Templates the position uses (letters, flyers, sign-up forms, count sheets).
7. A list of accounts the position uses and who has access. Passwords are not written in the book; they are transferred in person or through a club-owned password manager.
8. Open items: unpaid bills, pending orders, promises made to sponsors or the school.

The treasurer’s book adds: bank account list and current signers, last reconciliation, current budget and year-to-date actuals, location of check stock and deposit slips, employer identification number (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) confirmation letter, IRS determination letter, state exemption and sales tax permits, last three years of Form 990-series filings, Form 1099 records, and the state registration calendar.

The secretary’s book adds: the minutes book, the permanent file index, signed conflict of interest statements, the membership roster, and meeting notice templates.

The Handoff Meeting

The outgoing and incoming officers hold one meeting together after the election and before the new term begins. It typically takes two to three hours. The two treasurers also meet separately.

Agenda:

1. Walk through the bylaws, standing rulesStanding rulesA club’s administrative rules, adopted by an ordinary vote and changed the same way: dues amounts, reimbursement deadlines, meeting times, and other details that shift from year to year.All terms, and adopted policies.
2. Review the current year’s budget versus actual and the proposed budget for next year.
3. Review the calendar for the first 90 days of the new term, including the fall membership drive and the district’s annual paperwork.
4. Hand over each procedure book and walk through it.
5. List every account (bank, payment, email, domain, website, social media, government portals) and agree on who changes each one and by when.
6. Confirm the date the bank signer change will happen and who will attend.
7. Review open items, pending commitments, and any disputes or concerns.
8. Schedule the financial review of the outgoing treasurer’s books.
9. Record the handoff in writing: what was handed over, what is still open, and who signed off.

Changing Bank Signers

1. Bring the minutesMinutesThe official record of what a meeting decided, not a transcript of what people said. The secretary takes them, the next meeting approves them, and the club keeps them permanently.All terms (or a certified excerpt) showing the election of the new officers and the board resolution naming the authorized signers.
2. Ask the bank in advance what it requires. Banks typically ask for their own resolution or signature card form, identification for each new signer, and 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.
3. Have the new signers attend in person if the bank requires it.
4. Remove every former officer from the account at the same visit. Some district booster manuals state that former officers should not remain as authorized signers.
5. Update online banking users, alerts, and statement delivery. Send statements to the officer assigned to review them, who should not be a signer.
6. Update signer access on any payment processor, card reader, or online store linked to the account.
7. Get written confirmation of the new signer list and file it in the permanent file.
8. Give the school the updated signer list if the district requires it. Guidance from California’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT, a state agency that advises school districts) calls for a bank statement and list of authorized signers to be submitted to the principal annually.

See Booster Club Banking for how many signers to have and who should not be one.

Transferring Logins, Domain, and Email

The rule is that every account belongs to the club, uses a role-based club email address (such as treasurer@ or president@ on the club’s domain), and has at least two officers with administrator access.

Some government and bank systems tie access to an individual’s own login rather than a shared club account. In those systems, the incoming officer creates personal access and the outgoing officer’s access is removed.

Updating Government, School, and Insurance Records

• IRS responsible party. For tax-exempt organizations, the IRS responsible party for the 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 is generally the same person as the principal officer. If that person changes, file Form 8822-B within 60 days. A change effective July 1 must be reported by August 30.
• Form 990-N. The e-Postcard lists the name and address of a principal officer. The next filing uses the new officer’s information.
• State filings. Update officer names on the state’s annual or biennial report and charitable registration, where required. Requirements vary; see the club’s state page.
• School. The president notifies the principal in writing of the new officers. FCMAT’s guidance calls for written notice of any officer change.
• Insurance. The treasurer updates the contact on the policy and confirms the certificate the school holds is current.
• Keys and boxes. The incoming president collects keys to storage, concession stands, cash boxes, and the post office box.

Close Out the Outgoing Treasurer’s Books

Some district booster manuals call for an audit at the end of the fiscal year, when the treasurer changes, and when any check signer changes. A transition triggers at least two of those. The outgoing treasurer delivers reconciled books through the last day of the term, and the financial reviewFinancial reviewAn examination of the club’s books after the fiscal year ends by people who did not handle the money, either a committee of non-signers or an outside certified public accountant (CPA). It confirms that every receipt was deposited, every payment was authorized, and the balance matches the bank.All terms committee reviews them before the new treasurer is asked to accept the balances. See Annual Financial Review or Audit for Booster Clubs and Closing the Booster Club Fiscal Year.

The June to July Timeline

For a club with a July 1 to June 30 fiscal yearFiscal yearThe club’s 12-month accounting year, set in the bylaws. Many booster clubs use July 1 through June 30 to match the school year, and the club’s filing deadlines count from the day it ends.All terms and terms beginning July 1: