A Colorado PTA treasurer follows Colorado PTA’s Local Unit Handbook and its Healthy Unit in Good Standing requirements, filed through Givebacks. Every disbursement carries two signatures, usually the treasurer’s and the president’s, from at least three authorized signers. A financial review follows within 30 days of the June 30 year end, and dues go to Colorado PTA three times a year.
This page brings Colorado PTA’s financial rules together as they stood in November 2026, with a link to each source.
The Local Unit Handbook’s Financials chapter covers the treasurer’s job, and the Local PTA Unit Compliance page lists what is due and links the financial review form, the expense voucher, and the cash and check verification form. Colorado PTA’s Officer Q&A answers the common questions, and the office sends the current local unit bylaws template on request.
Deadline calendar
Every Colorado unit runs on a July 1 to June 30 fiscal year:
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Every board and membership meeting | Treasurer’s report |
| Monthly | Bank statement initialed by a non-signer, and the reconciliation approved by the board |
| July 1 | Officers list in Givebacks, and bank signers changed so outgoing officers stop signing after June 30 |
| Within 30 days after June 30 | Financial review completed |
| First membership meeting, usually August | Budget adopted |
| September 1 | Financial review in Givebacks under the Handbook’s standards page. The Handbook’s review steps, the compliance page, and the review form allow until about the end of September for the review with the annual treasurer’s report and June bank statement |
| October 1, February 1, June 15 | State and national dues for members who joined since the last payment, through Givebacks |
| November 1 | General liability, bonding, and directors and officers insurance in place |
| November 15 | Proof of the 990 in Givebacks, plus Secretary of State charity registration proof if your unit is registered |
| By December 1 | Three officers each complete a position-specific training and upload the certificates |
| Every three years, and after any change | Bylaws approved by Colorado PTA |
| January 31 | 1099-NEC forms to recipients and the IRS |
Colorado PTA’s summer as reminders in Volo Cash, with the 30-day review’s steps attached.
Paying money out
The membership approves every dollar. The treasurer develops the budget with the board, and the membership adopts it at the first regular membership meeting. The Handbook says no officer may spend money the membership has not approved. The board can approve a small amount for back-to-school events that come before that first meeting, and changing the budget takes a membership vote.
Three signers, two signatures on every payment. A unit has at least three authorized signers, drawn from the treasurer, president, secretary, and president-elect or vice president, all at least 18. The treasurer is always one of them. Every disbursement and withdrawal, by check or any other method, carries two signatures: the treasurer’s, except in an emergency, and one more, preferably the president’s. No two signers may live in the same household or be immediate family, and no signer may have authority over school or district funds.
A request in Volo Cash signed by the treasurer and the president, the two approvals Colorado PTA’s expense voucher asks for.
Paperwork and checks. A check is written only after an expense voucher or check request comes in with receipts, and Colorado PTA’s voucher has approval lines for the president and the treasurer. Checks go out in number order, are never pre-signed or written to cash, and stay with the treasurer. The Handbook asks units to skip petty cash and pay everything by PTA check, directly or as a reimbursement.
Cards and online banking. The Handbook advises against the use of debit cards and requires a written policy for PTAs that need a debit card. The treasurer and president have full online banking access, and other signers and the statement reviewer get read-only access where the bank allows it. The password changes at least once a year and whenever a signer changes.
Money for the school. Colorado PTA prefers that the PTA pay vendors directly or reimburse the school against itemized receipts. Otherwise a written grant agreement, signed by the PTA president, treasurer, and principal, states the amount, purpose, spend-by date, accounting back to the PTA, and return of unused funds. Donations to individuals or families are not allowed.
Taking money in
At least two people count all money and deposit it the same day, using the night drop after hours, and two people take the deposit to the bank. Money never goes home with anyone or stays at the school overnight. The counters sign the cash and check verification form or the Handbook’s money counting sheet, and the treasurer verifies it. A cash box starts with a check written to the event chair, and that starting cash goes back as a re-deposit, not as income.
Dues sent to Colorado PTA are $7.25 a member: $4.00 for the state and $3.25 for National PTA. Where a council exists, $1.00 of the state portion goes to it. Send them through Givebacks by October 1, February 1, and June 15 for members who joined since the last payment, or more often if you like. Your unit sets its own local portion. The Handbook keeps the state and national portions separate, to be sent to Colorado PTA.
The monthly routine
The treasurer reports at every board and membership meeting, showing at least the balance at the last report, income and expenses since then, and the current balance. The Handbook recommends comparing the budget to actuals too. Our treasurer’s report guide walks through the general shape.
Every month a non-signer reviews and initials the bank statement, on paper or electronically, and gives it to the treasurer. The Handbook notes that most insurers require this for a fraud claim. The treasurer then reconciles the statement, and the board approves the reconciliation at its next meeting.
Reconciling in Volo Cash, ready to bring to the board.
The annual financial review
Colorado PTA calls it the Financial Review/Audit. The board appoints the committee in June so it can start after July 1, and the review is done within 30 days of the year end. The committee is at least two people who were not signers on the PTA’s accounts, are not immediate family of a signer, and do not live with one. An outside review by a CPA also works.
Once the books close for the review, the outgoing treasurer pays no more bills, the incoming treasurer can deposit money, and Colorado PTA recommends limiting spending to emergencies. The committee completes the form for each open account and reaches one of four conclusions: correct, substantially correct, incorrect, or incomplete. The form has lines for the committee members and the president and treasurer.
The Handbook says the membership adopts the review at its first general meeting, the compliance page says it goes to the members for adoption, and the bylaws template says the board adopts it. Presenting it to both satisfies all three. Upload the review with the annual treasurer’s report and the year-end bank statement to Givebacks. A review also follows any change of treasurer during the year. Our PTA audit guide covers what a reviewer looks at, and Volo Cash exports every request with its receipts as PDFs in one download.
Taxes and state filings
The 990 by November 15. Every unit files its own 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990 and uploads proof to Givebacks by November 15. If you file for an extension, send the documentation to the Colorado PTA office. Our PTA 990 guide explains which form applies.
Purchases use Colorado PTA’s certificate. Colorado exempts sales to charitable organizations from state sales tax, and Colorado PTA holds a sales and use tax exemption certificate that units use for their purchases. Request a copy from the office. The Department of Revenue’s guidance for charities says exempt purchases are paid from the organization’s own funds, by check or a credit card in its name for anything over $250. A purchase made with personal money and reimbursed later does not qualify.
Colorado exempts PTA sales from state sales tax by name. C.R.S. 39-26-718(1)(c) exempts sales by a parent-teacher organization that is a charitable organization when the money raised benefits a public school or school activity, or pays the PTA’s reasonable expenses.
Local taxes set their own rules. Many home-rule cities, including Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, and Boulder, collect their own sales tax under their own rules. Some local taxes the state collects do not honor every state exemption. Check with your city before a large purchase or a sale.
Charity registration with the Secretary of State. Under the Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act, a charity is exempt if it raises no more than $25,000 in a fiscal year or receives contributions from no more than ten people. Colorado PTA asks units grossing over $25,000 to register. Registration costs $10, and the renewal is due the same day as the 990, November 15 for a June 30 year, with proof uploaded to Givebacks. The registration renews every year, and the Handbook notes that a lapsed one is the usual reason the Secretary of State suspends a unit.
If your PTA paid an individual or an unincorporated business for services, the 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 for payments made after December 31, 2025, and the forms go out by January 31.
Raffles
Colorado’s Bingo and Raffles Law applies to every raffle, and the Secretary of State says there is no small-raffle exemption:
- The Secretary of State issues the license, for $100, and licensed raffles file quarterly reports.
- A local unit of a state or national organization qualifies only after five continuous years with a dues-paying membership, documented in the application.
- A raffle with prizes over $1,000 files a sample ticket first, online ticket sales go straight into the bingo-raffle account, and alcohol cannot be a prize.
- A silent auction needs no raffle license, though it counts as charitable solicitation for registration purposes.
Insurance and good standing
Colorado PTA requires general liability, bonding, and directors and officers insurance by November 1. AIM is the preferred provider, sending its renewal in September or early October for a policy that runs through October 31. Another carrier works if the coverage requirements are met and the proof is uploaded.
Good standing follows the Healthy Unit in Good Standing requirements above. The Handbook says a unit late with dues goes on provisional status, cannot get National PTA grants, and its students cannot qualify for scholarships until the dues arrive. Dues postmarked by the due date are not late. The bylaws template calls a unit that misses the first dues deadline delinquent, and continued delinquency can lead to the charter being withdrawn. Colorado PTA also releases a unit’s IRS determination letter only when the unit is in good standing.
Doing it in Volo Cash
Volo Cash fits the process you already follow, from the treasurer’s and president’s signatures on every request to the reports, reminders, and reviews above.
You can try all of it free for three months. Start a free trial.
For the rest of the job, our complete PTA treasurer handbook walks through the year, and the year-round duties checklist lays out what falls due when.