Managing your group’s money

1. Use a dedicated bank account

Never run group finances through a personal account, even temporarily "just to get started." Require at least two signatories for payments, and change signatories promptly whenever committee roles change — a common, entirely avoidable governance failure is a former Treasurer who can still authorise payments a year or more after leaving the role.

2. Keep a simple, consistent record

A basic spreadsheet of income and expenditure, updated regularly — ideally monthly, not just reconstructed from memory before the AGM — is genuinely enough for most small groups. Note the date, amount, purpose, and who authorised each item.

Separate income and spending by category if you can (membership fees, grants, event income, fundraising; and equipment, venue hire, insurance, affiliation fees on the expenditure side). This makes both AGM reporting and future funding applications considerably easier, since you already have the figures a funder or a bank will ask for.

3. Keep receipts and invoices

Keep evidence for every payment in and out, ideally for a minimum of six years — this matters both for your own accuracy and because funders very commonly ask for proof of spend (invoices, receipts) when a grant is drawn down or reconciled. A missing receipt can genuinely hold up or reduce a grant payment.

4. Set spending authority levels

Agree, in writing, what a single committee member can approve alone versus what needs full committee sign-off — for example, the Treasurer can approve routine payments under €100 without a vote, but anything larger needs to be agreed at a committee meeting and minuted. This protects both the group and the individual signing cheques.

5. Report to members

Present a clear financial summary at the AGM (see the AGM guide), including both the year just ended and a rough idea of the year ahead.

Registered charities have additional annual financial reporting obligations to the Charities Regulator, and the format of accounts required depends on the charity’s income level — check your specific requirements directly at charitiesregulator.ie rather than assuming the same rules apply regardless of size.

6. Budget before you spend

For any significant event or project, write a short budget first — expected costs against expected income and funding — and check it against actuals afterwards. Over time this builds a track record of real figures, which makes future funding applications both faster to prepare and more credible to a funder assessing your request.