[nfbmi-talk] best practices for handling local and state nfb
joe harcz Comcast
joeharcz at comcast.net
Wed Nov 12 12:59:20 UTC 2014
Hi All,
I found this document from the Houstion TX Chapter of the NFB to be very informative.
Best,
Joe
Best Practices For Handling A Local Chapter’s Bank Account
1. The chapter will maintain a checking account. The president and treasurer should have electronic access to this account. Both the president and treasurer should regularly (at least twice a month) logon to this account to check the treasury data. It is very easy for errors to creep into the treasury records.
2. The treasurer should always bring the check book to the monthly meetings to pay any bills that might occur.
3. As much as possible, the treasurer should disburse chapter funds after receiving a note (print or electronic) from the president. Occasionally expenses can be handled by using a chapter debit card. Such cases could be to pay for food at an event, or to handle expenses at a Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) School. Also, for special cases, the president may write a check—although never to himself. Such a case would be at a contract signing when reserving an event venue at which the treasurer could not be present. For this reason, the president should have access to some blank checks.
4. The treasurer should maintain the check register using the Microsoft XL spreadsheet program. One suggested set of column headers is: Check Number (DC = debit card), Date, Cleared (Y if cleared through the bank, blank otherwise), To, From, Reason, Deposits, Withdrawals, Bank Balance, Cash (cash on hand), Chapter Balance (bank balance plus cash on hand), Comments. The comments in parentheses are not included in the titles. We have attached a portion of the Houston 2011 check register as an example. Note that while JAWS reads the complete contents of each XL cell no matter the cell width, sighted individuals may find the columns are too narrow to read easily. To widen a column, hit control space bar to select a column, hit the context key (right mouse button), and choose the column width option to increase the viewing area.
5. As much as possible, all money should be kept in the bank, and not in cash. Any money collected during a meeting should be deposited as soon as possible after that meeting.
6. No more than a week after each chapter meeting, the treasurer should furnish the president a treasury report estimate for the next chapter meeting. The treasury report can be updated closer to the meeting if necessary. Three months of such reports are shown in Appendix A. The main treasurer report for each meeting should be included in that month’s meeting minutes. The information under (notes) is not reproduced in the minutes. All the Houston monthly reports are kept in one word document, and are printed out at the end of the year.
7. Treasury reports should not use tabs to line up numbers, for tabs are not shown accurately on Braille displays driven by JAWS, and the intended columnization does not appear on Braille displays.
8. The treasury balance can be computed in three ways. Firstly, using the numbers in the monthly report, the treasurer can use the computer’s calculator to compute the treasury balance. Secondly, the treasurer’s computed balance should match the spreadsheet’s computed balance. Thirdly, the treasurer should check the numbers against the bank’s numbers.
9. The chapter may keep a spreadsheet tracking the year-to-date financial activity by categories. This report should be maintained each month. This spreadsheet can be used to prepare a summary of the year’s financial activity which should be delivered to the chapter in the following January. The “Houston NFB 2011 year to date financial summary” is attached as an example. Appendix B shows the 2011 year financial summary generated from this spreadsheet.
10. Traditionally, the president has been the maintainer of chapter printed records. The president and/or treasurer should keep the following printed documents: monthly bank statements, cancelled checks, deposit and withdrawal receipts, expense receipts, and the document containing the monthly treasurer reports for each year. It is helpful to Braille the document description on each document. The cancelled checks can come from duplicate checks produced when the original check is written, or by printing the cancelled checks off the bank’s website. Please note that electronic images of checks are only easily available on bank websites for a few months.
11. Due to the complexity of the treasurer’s job, we recommend a two-year term for the treasurer—indeed we recommend a two-year term for all chapter officers. It is also helpful to have the new officers elected at the last business meeting of the year so that the holiday time can be used for training.
12. Recommended treasurer skills are: Microsoft Office 2007 / 2010 Word and Excel), Internet browser, and e-mail capability. Honesty and attention to detail are assumed.
Appendix A
Three monthly Treasury Reports from Houston for 2011
Note that we have left justified these reports to make them easier to read by Braille displays. We avoid the use of tabs since screen readers may not show the alignment that the writer intended.
The NFB Houston 2011 Treasurer’s Report Last Updated On 12/31/2011
The National Federation of the Blind of Texas Houston Chapter Treasury Report for January 8, 2011
The chapter balance on December 31, 2010 was $3644.10.
We had an income of $5.00 consisting of:
$5 dues.
Therefore the original balance plus our income was $3649.10.
We had zero expenses.
On January 8, 2011, the NFB Houston treasury balance was $3649.10.
Notes:
(
Member name paid 2011 dues of $5.
)
The National Federation of the Blind of Texas Houston Chapter Treasury Report for February 12, 2011
On January 8, 2011, the NFB Houston treasury balance was $3649.10.
We had an income of $384.25 consisting of:
$85.00 dues,
$156.25 for White Cane Day reimbursement, and
$143.00 for candy sales.
Therefore the original balance plus our income was $4033.35.
We had expenses of $30.00 consisting of:
$25 for the Insight Expo (Houston Area Visually Impaired Network (HAVIN)), and
$5 for the monthly fee to the bank.
On February 12, 2011, the NFB Houston treasury balance was $4003.35.
Notes:
(
The following members paid $5 dues for 2011:
List of members name s.
The following person paid for candy:
$143.00 name of payer
Check 1069 for $25 was paid for the Insight Expo which will take place on March 5, 2011, and is sponsored by the “Houston Area Visually Impaired Network” (HAVIN).
Check 1069 had an error, was voided, and replaced with a check 1070 for $25 to a group called FERV which is handling the finances for the Insight Expo.
)
…………………….
The National Federation of the Blind of Texas Houston Chapter Treasury Report for December 31, 2011
On November 19, 2011, the NFB Houston treasury balance was $2650.24.
We had an income of $1743.90 consisting of:
$4 contribution from member name,
$55 for dues,
$150 White Cane Day Discovery Green rental refund,
$519.00 for candy,
$1015 for Christmas party money, and
$0.90 from an undocumented source.
Therefore the original balance including the income is $4394.14.
We had expenses of $606.87 consisting of:
$431.87 Power Center Christmas party rental,
$100 for member name to attend the NFB Teacher Leader seminar,
$70 for Christmas party expenses (awards and door prizes), and
$5 monthly fee to the bank.
On December 31, 2011 the NFB Houston treasury balance was $3787.27.
Notes:
(
During the November 19 – December 31 2011 time period, the following people paid $5 dues for 2012:
List of names
During the November 19 – December 31 2011 time period, the following people paid for candy for the 2011 sale:
$50 name,
$60 name,
$100 name,
$109 name,
$200 name,
Check 1105, for $431.87, was paid to the Power Center for Christmas party rental.
Check 1106, for $100 was paid to member name for the NFB Teacher Leader seminar.
Check 1107, for $10, was paid to name for Christmas party printing expenses.
Check 1108, for $60, was paid to name for Christmas party awards and door prizes.
)
---------
Appendix B
The National Federation of the Blind of Texas Houston Chapter Treasury year-end Report for 2011
(Note that this report was added to the document containing all the 2011 monthly reports. It was also included in the January 2012 chapter meeting minutes.)
The chapter balance on January 1, 2011 was $3644.10
We had an income of $6117.85 consisting of:
$240 Dues
$1881 Candy
$204 Gift Income
$2205 Fund Raising
$0 Bus Charter
$354.25 White Cane Day
$1190 Christmas party
$42.70 Refund
$0.90 Undocumented income
Therefore the original balance plus our income was $9761.95.
We had expenses of $5974.68 consisting of:
$60 bank fee
$30 Chapter dues to state
$0 Bus Charter
$995.91 candy
$1000 NFB-Texas scholarship
$273 Door Prizes
$0 Fund Raising Expense
$25 Public Relations
$87.11 Benevolent Fund
$201.82 Chapter Gifts
$2.25 ATM Expense
$1641.97 BELL school
$625.5 White Cane Day
$1031.87 Christmas Dinner Fiesta Dinner
The chapter balance on December 31, 2011 was $3787.27.
Our income – expenses was $143.17.
The National Federation of the Blind of Texas Houston Chapter Treasury Income Statement for 2011
NFB Houston Income Statement 2011
Last Updated
12/26/2011
Revenue
2010
2011
Members’ Dues
185
240
Candy Income
2552
1881
Gift Income
230
204
Fund Raising income
2000
2205
Bus Charter
2445
0
White Cane Day
359.25
354.25
Fiesta / Christmas Dinner Income
655
1190
Refunds
42.7
Undocumented Cash
0.00
0.90
Total
8426.25
6117.85
Expenses
Annual Bank Chg. Fee
60
60
Chapter Dues to State
30
30
bus charter expense
2420
0
Candy Expense
1673.75
995.91
NFB TX scholarship
1000
1000
door prizes
200
273
Fund Raising Expense
0
0
Public Relations
0
25
Benevolent Fund
43.64
87.11
chapter gifts
700
201.82
ATM Expense
0
2.5
BEST School
277.24
0
BELL School
1364.63
1641.97
White Cane Day
509.25
625.5
Fiesta / Christmas Dinner Expense
465.13
1031.87
Total
8743.64
5974.68
Revenues - Expenses
-317.39
143.17
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