Housing society treasurer: the duties, the books and a monthly checklist

In most societies the treasurer is a volunteer with a day job, handling lakhs of rupees a year for neighbours who notice every rupee. The work is not hard, but it is relentless: something is due every week. Doing it the same way every month is what keeps it light.

What the treasurer is responsible for

The treasurer is a member of the managing committee who looks after the society's finances with the chairman and secretary. Their duties come from the bye-laws and the committee's decisions, and usually cover:

• billing members and collecting maintenance and other charges,
• issuing receipts and depositing money in the society's bank account,
• making payments the committee has approved,
• keeping the books of account and the vouchers behind them,
• reporting to the committee and members, and
• getting the accounts audited every year.

Money in: bills, collection and receipts

Send every flat a bill for the period with each charge shown, not one lump sum. Collect into the society's account, by UPI wherever possible, and never into a personal account. Issue a numbered receipt for every payment, cash included, on the day it arrives.

The guide to collecting maintenance by UPI covers the options and how to match payments to flats. For receipts, the receipt generator makes one in a minute.

Money out: payments and vouchers

Pay only what the committee has approved, from the society account, with the two signatures your bye-laws and bank mandate require. Every payment needs a voucher: the bill or invoice, what it was for, who approved it and how it was paid. Small cash expenses go through a petty cash book that is topped up and settled regularly.

The books to keep

• Member ledger: what each flat was billed, paid and still owes. The record residents ask about most.
• Cash book and bank book: every rupee in and out, by date.
• Receipt book: numbered receipts with their counterfoils or copies.
• Expense vouchers: filed in order, matching the bank book.
• Investment register: fixed deposits for the sinking fund and repair fund, with maturity dates. See the sinking fund guide.

For a small society, the free maintenance Excel sheet covers the member ledger, receipt book, expense book and monthly account in one file.

A treasurer's monthly checklist

1st

Raise the month's maintenance bills and send them to every flat.

3rd to 5th

Friendly reminder to flats that have not paid.

Due date

Reminder on the morning of the due date.

Every payment

Record it against the flat and send a numbered receipt the same day.

Every cash day

Count, record in the cash book and bank it within a day or two.

Every bill

Get approval, pay from the society account, file the voucher.

A week after due

Overdue reminders; apply late interest as the bye-laws say.

Month end

Reconcile the bank statement with the books, line by line.

Month end

Share the monthly account with members and the dues total with the committee.

Wording for every reminder is in the reminder templates, and a format for the month-end statement is in the income and expenditure format.

Once a year: audit, AGM and returns

• Close the year on 31 March: final bank reconciliation, list of dues per flat, list of unpaid bills.
• Audit. Co-operative housing societies must get their accounts audited every year. In Maharashtra the general body appoints the auditor from the registrar's panel.
• AGM. Present the audited accounts and next year's budget to the general body. In Maharashtra the AGM is held by 30 September.
• Returns. File the returns your auditor lists, such as the income tax return and, where registered, GST returns.

Handing over to the next treasurer

Most of the trouble in societies starts at a handover. Hand over, against a signed list:

1. all books, registers, receipt books and vouchers,
2. cheque books, bank documents and the change of signatories with the bank,
3. passwords for net banking, UPI and any software, changed on the day,
4. the list of dues per flat, unpaid bills and fixed deposits.

When the books live in shared software instead of one laptop, the handover is a role change: the new treasurer sees the same ledger the old one did, and nothing is lost.