Team Money Management

By Marnie Sisson; it's not really what you have, but how you manage what you have (@MarnieSisson1)

The team Treasurer is an important role that ensures the teams income and expenses are managed appropriately & accurately. A volunteer on the team, whom may or may not be an accountant, typically handles the role.  

There are five main components that every team, regardless of level of play, should consider when managing team funds:

  • Team bank account
  • Budget & cash flow
  • Money collection
  • Expense payments
  • Financial reporting

Here are a few things to consider when managing your team's financials and some helpful templates to get you started.

Setting up Your Team Bank Account

Some associations will have a bank account set up for the team. In this situation, the Association will have a defined process for processing deposits and issuing cheques.  Please refer to your Associations policy and standards prior to setting up your own team account.

For those teams not required to use an Association team bank account, the first activity a treasurer should do is set up a team bank account that is independent from any personal bank accounts. 

Either way, a team bank account allows for transparency and can help to protect the treasurer from suspicion of misuse of funds.

All monies collected or earned should be deposited into this account and all expenses should be paid out of this account. The monthly bank statement will list credit/debit transactions and should be used to reconcile your teams Account Balance report.

Download Account Balance Template

Creating a Team Budget

Budgeting is one of the most important financial functions for any team whether you have a small or large team expenditure. The budget is a document you will refer to often and allows you to manage the expectations from the parent group.  The budget helps families understand the level of financial commitment required for their child to participate and helps them budget accordingly. Do not attempt to manage team funds without a budget or you will be heading for financial difficulties.

At the start of the season, work with your head coach and team manager to list all possible sources of income and expenditures. Some budget items can be calculated while others will simply be estimates. Once you have determined your overall budget, the next step is to determine your cash flow requirements by month so that you always remain in the positive.  Use our Team Budget & Cash Flow template to help you work through the details. 

Make sure you review the team budget at the beginning of the season with your team families to ensure they are aligned with the proposed team expenditure and sources of income (i.e. Team fees, fundraising, &/or sponsorships). Work with families individually and discreetly who may have budget constraints. Explore workable solutions and involve your Association executive if required.

Download Budget & Cash Flow template

Collecting Money

The three main sources of income for a team come from the following areas:

  1. Team Fees
  2. Sponsorships
  3. Fundraising

Team Fees

Team fees are typically calculated based on budget expenditures minus any monies coming in from fundraising efforts or sponsorships. The net monthly expenditure is usually divided by the number of players evenly to determine each family’s contribution. 

Always ensure you have cash in the bank before you incur a team expense. Use the Cash Flow template to help determine your team fee structure (options below).

Collecting the money from families can sometimes feel daunting. There are a number of approaches that may be used.  Each family can:

  • Pay one lump sum (recommended) - Families would pay one lump sum at the beginning of the season.  If there were any over / under payments at the end of the season, additional money would be collected or refunded.  This option is good when each family contribution is not significant to pay all at once.
  • Pay monthly payments – Where the overall family contribution is significant, some teams will spread the team fees over several months, ensuring that they have the cash in hand prior to incurring the expenses. Tip: request post-dated cheques for the monthly instalments to limit having to keep going back to each family each month.
  • Pay as you go (not recommended) – families pay for actual expenditure as they occur. This becomes very difficult to manage as the person incurring the expense can sometimes be out of pocket until the money is collected.  As well, there are typically a large number of small transactions that would have to be collected over the course of the season causing a lot more administration and time.

Regardless of which collection method you use, it is important that you maintain a positive team bank account balance at all times. Ensure you give your families clear deadlines for fee submissions.  Player Statements are often provided to each player when fees are due and are effective in collecting money on time. Use our Account Balance - Player Statement worksheet to help stay on top of things. 

All team fees collected should be recorded using a cash receipt and the duplicate copy given to the family for their records. The money should be immediately deposited into the team bank account and recorded in the Account Balance > Team Fees > Paid by Player section.

Sponsorships

Sponsorships are where an individual or company provides your team funding usually for something in return (i.e. name on team swag, bench banners, etc.). The sponsor usually provides money for a specific expenditure whether it is an out-of-town tournament, team swag, or some other activity your team is participating in.

All sponsorship monies collected should be recorded using a cash receipt and the duplicate copy given to the individual or company providing the sponsorship. The money should be immediately deposited into the team bank account and recorded on the Account Balance > Team Fees > Sponsorship section.  

Note: Refer to your Associations policies and procedures regarding sponsorships.

Team Fundraising

Team fundraising is a great way to get the players involved in contributing to their team experience by raising money for specific team expenditures (i.e. out of town tournament). 

Typically, each family is responsible for raising a target amount by a specific date. All fundraising monies collected should be recorded using a cash receipt and the duplicate copy given to the player who fundraised.  The money should be immediately deposited into the team bank account and recorded on the Account Balance > Team Fees > Fundraising section by player.

Note: Refer to your Associations policies and procedures regarding team fundraising.

Paying Bills

All team expenses should be paid with team funds from the team bank account. A receipt should be requested for each expense and saved for reconciliation and audit purposes. 

All expenses should be recorded in the Account Balance > Expenses section including date, expense description, reference # (i.e. cheque number), spend category and amount.

Financial Reporting

The treasurer is responsible for maintaining current and accurate accounting records.  The records should show all receipts and payments pertaining to the team for their entire season. 

The following documents are inputs to your financial records and should be kept on hand for audit purposes:

  • Cash receipts (duplicate) that are issued each time cash is received by the treasurer
  • Payment receipts including credit card slips, transaction receipts & cheque stubs when paying expenses
  • Bank deposit & withdrawal slips
  • Bank statements

The following accounting templates can be used to manage and report your team’s financials:

Team Budget & Cash Flow template - download here

The following worksheets are included in this template:

  • Budget – Used to determine estimated $ amount for all team income and expenses for the season.
  • Cash Flow – Used to determine required cash for expected monthly team expenditures.  The cash flow item totals must equal the budgeted amount or an error message will come up.  The monthly cash flows can be used to determine team fee requirements and timing.

Account Summary template - download here.

The following worksheets are included in this template:

  • Account Balance – record of all cash receipts and expenses for the team.  The total should be reconciled to the bank statement each month.
  • Player Statement per player (1-15) – automatically generated statement for each player outlining cash received, expenses and their outstanding balance. The data is automatically calculated based on the cash & expense entries in the Account Balance worksheet.  The player statement should be provided to each family every month.

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