Local meeting treasurers are responsible for the financial resources of the local meeting. They attend regular finance committee meetings and report back to meeting for business. They prepare and present the local meeting's annual accounts to submit to the area meeting treasurer.

Area meeting treasurers are responsible for combining the accounts of local meetings, area meeting and relevant trusts into collated accounts. They are normally an ex-officio trustee of the charity and are responsible for the overall financial resources of the area meeting.

Support for treasurers

    Resources

    ACAT Handbook

    The primary source of reference for Quaker treasurers on legal and financial matters is the ACAT (Association of Church Accountants and Treasurers) handbook, which can be accessed at www.acat.uk.com. Britain Yearly Meeting has a membership with ACAT covering all area meeting and local meeting treasurers – if you are a treasurer and have not yet received the ACAT login details, please contact the secretary to Quaker Stewardship Committee on 020 7663 1192 or email qsc@quaker.org.uk.

    Treasurers' guidance sheets

    The Quaker treasurers' guidance sheets offer supplementary guidance to be used in conjunction with the ACAT handbook (see above). There are 25 guidance sheets – one for each chapter of the ACAT handbook – and all 25 are contained in the PDF linked to below. Please read the introduction first as this gives a brief overview of how to use these sheets as well as other information and resources that may be of help.

    Trustees' and Treasurers' News

    This newsletter for Quaker trustees and treasurers comes out three times a year.

    Quaker accounting spreadsheets and software

    The Quaker Cash Book Spreadsheet for recording local meeting and area meeting transactions has been updated and is now available to download through the PDF document below. The End of Year spreadsheet and the AM Collation spreadsheet did not match the new layout of the SOFA required by SORP 2015. Quaker Stewardship Committee has decided that it cannot continue to be responsible for maintaining these spreadsheets against changing requirements, and so they have been discontinued. Both the Charity Commission and OSCR in Scotland now provide spreadsheet templates for the annual report that partially replace these spreadsheets. In view of the demise of the End of Year spreadsheet the new version 10a of the Cash Book spreadsheet has been given some limited end-of-year functions to make it easier to transfer the column totals into the Charity Commission template.

    The technical support email for the spreadsheets is treasurersIT@quaker.org.uk.

    Simpler meetings

    The Simpler meetings project has resources which treasurers may find useful. Visit the project webpage at www.quaker.org.uk/simplermeetings for more information.

    Checklists for reports and accounts

    There are checklists provided so trustees and treasurers can check whether their report and accounts are complete: England & Wales (word) and Scotland (word)

    Trustees' annual review, annual report and financial statements for the year ending 2018

    Recommended reading

    Support

    Treasurers' and Clerks' Support Officer

    Our Treasurers' and Clerks' Support Officer is the first point of contact for treasurers who need information or advice to support them in their roles, or who wish to update their subscriptions to relevant newsletters and other mailings. Email Gaby Scott at gabys@quaker.org.uk or phone 020 7663 1045.

    Contributions pack

    Each year we produce a contributions pack for treasurers and collectors to use to encourage contributions from their meeting. You can find electronic versions of the documents in this pack at www.quaker.org.uk/contributions. If you would like paper copies to give out in your meeting please contact Maisa Monteiro on 020 7663 1015 or at contributions@quaker.org.uk.

    Area meeting contribution reports

    Area meeting treasurers can request a quarterly report on their giving to Britain Yearly Meeting by emailing contributions@quaker.org.uk. The report is broken down by local meeting and also shows a total for direct giving by individuals.

    Help with contributions

    In certain circumstances, our Treasurers' and Clerks' Support Officer may be able to provide support to some meetings with their annual contribution mailing where there is a need for this. For further information, email gabys@quaker.org.uk or phone 020 7663 1045.

    Paying-in slips

    Treasurers should use these paying-in slips for meeting contributions to Britain Yearly Meeting sent by cheque or BACS transfer. These will help your meeting's contribution get to the right place and any allocation details to be logged correctly.

    If you have any problems using the editable form, please contact Gaby Scott at gabys@quaker.org.uk.

    Gift Aid

    Your Quaker meeting can claim back 25p from HMRC every time an individual donates £1 to your charity. This is called Gift Aid. You must be registered with HMRC to claim Gift Aid and the donors must be UK taxpayers who have made a Gift Aid declaration. They must have paid the same amount or more in Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax in that tax year. See www.gov.uk/claim-gift-aid for further information.

    There is a Gift Aid declaration section on all Quaker contribution forms at www.quaker.org.uk/contributions.

    Information sheets on Gift Aid for treasurers:

    If you would like more information on claiming Gift Aid, please contact Gaby Scott at gabys@quaker.org.uk.

    See also information below on the GASDS which you can consider if your meeting already claims Gift Aid.

    Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme

    The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) allows eligible charities to claim 'top-up' payments. You may be able to claim 25% on:

    • cash donations of £30 or less
    • contactless card donations of £30 or less collected on or after 6 April 2019

    Donations can be in any foreign currency. You don't need to know the identity of the donors or collect Gift Aid declarations, which makes it easier to claim on donations like street collections.

    See www.gov.uk/guidance/claiming-a-top-up-payment-on-small-charitable-donations and www.gov.uk/claim-gift-aid/small-donations-scheme for further information about eligibility and making a claim.

    Information sheets on Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme for treasurers:

    If you would like more information on claiming through the GASDS, please contact Gaby Scott at gabys@quaker.org.uk.

    Training and events

    Conferences for Treasurers and Trustees

    Joint conference for AM Trustees and Treasurers in 2019

    This conference for AM Trustees and Treasurers was held from 29-31 March 2019 at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick.

    Useful documents from the conference:


    Treasurers' training at Woodbrooke

    Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre offers a range of courses for treasurers, including 'Being a Quaker Treasurer' (for new and prospective local and area meeting treasurers), 'Area Meeting Treasurers' and 'Financial Stewardship'. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.woodbrooke.org.uk, email enquiries@woodbrooke.org.uk or phone 0121 472 5171.


    Contact us

    Gaby Scott
    Treasurers' and Clerks' Support Officer
    020 7663 1045
    gabys@quaker.org.uk