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Secretary, president

Record a meeting and the budget adoption vote

Write up one meeting's agenda and minutes, and mark the membership vote that authorizes the year's spending.

When you are done

You will have one meeting recorded in PTO HQ carrying its agenda and its minutes, and the meeting where the membership adopted the budget marked as the authority for this year's spending.

Who else you need

The membership has to take the vote before you record it. A secretary cannot adopt a budget by ticking a box, and ticking it on a board meeting that only discussed the budget records the wrong meeting. Saving any meeting also needs a record-keeping role: if PTO HQ refuses you, ask a president or treasurer to change your role on the board tab in Settings.

Add the meeting record

  1. Open Meetings from the Board group in the left sidebar.

    Every meeting already recorded is listed, newest first.

  2. Name the meeting in the form above the list.

  3. Set the date to the day the meeting was held.

    The box arrives filled in with today, so a secretary writing up minutes three days later saves the wrong date unless she changes it. PTO HQ matches budget amendments on that exact date and does not warn you when it is off.

  4. Set the start time.

    It defaults to 6:30 pm. Change it if your board meets at another hour.

  5. Submit.

    The saved meeting appears in the list below with its name, date and time.

The meeting form, and the date that arrives already filled inMeetings lives in the Board group of the sidebar, and the form sits above the list of meetings already recorded, newest first. You name the meeting, set its date and set its start time, and the saved meeting joins the list. The date box opens on today and the time box on 6:30 pm, so a secretary writing up minutes three days later saves the wrong date unless she changes it to the day the meeting was actually held. PTO HQ matches budget amendments on that exact date and never warns you when it is off.Meetings lives in the Board group of the sidebarAdd a meetingMeetingOctober board meetingDateTodayStarts6:30 pmAdded to the listNewest firstThe date box opens on todayAs the form opensTodaychange itAs it has to beThe day it was heldPTO HQ matches budget amendments on that exact date, and never warns you.

Write the agenda before and the minutes after

One meeting record holds both halves, written days apart: the agenda is what you plan to cover, the minutes are what happened. Both boxes take plain text and keep no formatting.

  1. Write the agenda into the record before the meeting.

  2. After the meeting, reopen the record for editing from the meeting in the list.

    The form fills with what you saved, and submitting it updates that record rather than adding a second one. Leaving the edit without submitting discards your changes.

  3. Write who was present, what was moved, who seconded it, how the vote went, and who is doing the thing.

    Leave the discussion out. Four short lines are a complete set of minutes for a meeting like this one.

  • Quorum present.
  • Motion to adopt the FY 2025-26 budget as presented. Motion carried.
  • Carnival date set for October 18.
  • Next meeting November 11.
One record holds both halves, written days apartThe agenda and the minutes are two halves of one meeting record, not two records: you write the agenda before the meeting, and after it you reopen the same meeting from the list. The form fills with everything you saved, including the agenda, and submitting it updates that record rather than adding a second one. Both boxes take plain text and keep no formatting, and leaving the edit without submitting discards your changes.One record, two halves, written days apartWrite the agendaBefore the meetingThe meetingA few days passWrite the minutesDays laterReopening it fills the form with what you savedEditing October board meetingAgendaWhat you saved, refilledMinutesPlain text, no formattingSave changesUpdates that recordLeave without savingYour changes are gone

Mark the meeting where the membership adopted the budget

  1. Read the budget article in your own bylaws to decide which meeting it is.

    Adopting and amending the budget belongs to the membership rather than the board in most PTA bylaws and most independent PTO standing rules, so a board meeting that only discussed the budget is not the meeting that carries this mark (source: your organization's bylaws and standing rules).

  2. Tick the checkbox below the minutes box on that meeting, then submit.

    PTO HQ warns underneath it that ticking the box makes these minutes undeletable. The meeting is then badged in the list as the adoption, and the banner at the top of Meetings names it and its date.

  • Read the badge on the meeting itself as your proof, not the budget page.
  • When no meeting is marked, the adoption line on the budget page falls back to the date stored on the budget line, so an organization with budget lines reads the same either way.
What ticking the budget adoption box doesA checkbox labeled The membership adopted the budget at this meeting sits below the minutes box, and PTO HQ warns underneath it that these minutes then cannot be deleted. Ticking it and submitting the form gives that meeting a Budget adopted badge in the list, names it and its date in the banner at the top of Meetings, and makes deleting it refuse until the box is unticked. The mark belongs on the meeting where the membership took the vote, so a board meeting that only discussed the budget is not the meeting that carries it.The checkbox sits under the minutes boxEditing the meetingMinutesPlain textThe membership adopted the budgetat this meetingThese minutes then cannot be deleted.Badge: Budget adoptedNamed in the Meetings bannerDeleting it is refusedIt marks the vote, not the discussionThe membership votedThis meeting carries the markThe board only discussed itNot this oneThese minutes record the membership adopting a budget, which is theauthority for this year's spending. Untick that first if it wasrecorded in error.

Record what each teacher may spend

A board that votes an allocation per teacher has to be able to answer whether a teacher has used hers, and the treasurer is usually the only person who can.

  1. Open the teacher statements report and record each teacher with the amount the board voted.

    Recording the same teacher again in the same year updates the figure rather than adding a second allocation, so correcting $250 to $300 is just typing it again.

  2. Type the name the way it will be written on a claim.

    That name is what spending is matched on. The matching is by name and nothing cleverer, so a claim submitted as M. Gabriel against an allocation for Mrs. Gabriel will not land on it.

  3. Read the unmatched list at the foot of the statement first.

    While it has anything on it, at least one teacher's figure is too low. PTO HQ lists what it could not match rather than dropping it.

  • Spending reaches the statement two ways: a reimbursement the teacher submitted once it has been paid, and a check written straight to her out of the register.
  • A claim that has been approved but not yet paid is not counted, because the money has not left the bank.

Mark the amending meetings too

An amendment counts as evidenced only when a meeting in the record is dated the day that amendment was adopted and that meeting carries the same adoption mark.

  1. Tick the adoption box on the meeting where the membership amended the budget as well.

    More than one meeting can carry the mark, and PTO HQ does not object.

  2. Open Reports, then Budget amendments, and check the amendment shows as evidenced before your board spends against the line.

    Where no meeting matches, the report marks that amendment unevidenced and says beside it that no meeting in the record carries that date. Recording the meeting on that exact date, with the box ticked, is what changes one to the other.

  3. Write the motion itself on the printable sheet.

    Forms carries a budget amendment request and motion record: fill in the top half before the meeting from figures the books already hold, and have the secretary fill in the bottom half during the meeting.

  • Two screens name different meetings, on purpose. The banner at the top of Meetings names the most recent marked meeting. The adoption line on the amendments report names the earliest marked meeting inside the fiscal year you selected there. Adopt in September and amend in February, and the banner names February while the report names September.
  • PTO HQ does not call an unevidenced amendment improper, because it cannot see a binder of paper minutes.
What makes an amendment evidenced, and which meeting each screen namesThe budget amendments report badges an amendment Vote on file only when a meeting in the record is dated the exact day that amendment was adopted and that meeting carries the budget adoption mark. Where no meeting matches, the badge reads Not evidenced here and the line beside it says no meeting in the record carries that date, but the report never calls the amendment improper. More than one meeting can carry the mark, and the two screens then name different meetings on purpose: the banner at the top of Meetings names the most recent marked meeting, while the adoption line on the report names the earliest marked meeting inside the fiscal year you selected.The report matches on the date, and only on the dateReports, then Budget amendments, under the line each one changed.Amendment adopted Feb 10Meeting on Feb 10, markedVote on fileA marked meeting in the record carries that date.Amendment adopted Apr 2No meeting on Apr 2Not evidenced herePTO HQ does not call the amendment improper.Two screens name different meetings, on purposeBanner at the top of MeetingsThe most recent marked meetingAdoption line on the reportEarliest marked meeting in that yearAdopt in September and amend in February: the banner names February,while the report names September.

Name meetings for the body that met, not the matter discussed

Agendas and minutes never reach your public site. PTO HQ publishes a meeting's name and its date, and nothing else.

  1. Name meetings for the body that met, such as October board meeting or Spring general membership meeting.

    Not for the matter under discussion. The site builder shows a live preview built from the same data a parent sees.

  • A meeting's name and date reach the site only if it carries a meetings section, which you add from the section picker in the site builder.
  • Only meetings dated today or later appear there, so a meeting you record after the fact stays off the site while a meeting you enter in advance to draft its agenda goes up by name.
  • Documents are separate and never automatic. A file you add to the records vault starts private, and somebody has to publish it deliberately from the documents tab of the site builder.
What a meeting publishes, and which meetings publish at allIf your site carries a meetings section, added from the section picker in the site builder, PTO HQ publishes a meeting's name and its date and nothing else — the agenda and the minutes never leave PTO HQ. Only meetings dated today or later appear there, so a meeting you record after the fact stays off the site while a meeting you enter in advance to draft its agenda goes up by name. That is why meetings should be named for the body that met rather than the matter under discussion. Documents are separate: a file in the records vault starts private until somebody publishes it deliberately.Only the name and the date reach the siteThe meeting recordNameDateAgendaMinutesYour public pageOctober board meetingOct 14, 2026Only if the page carries a meetingssection, from the site builder.The agenda and the minutes never leave PTO HQ.And only meetings dated today or laterEntered in advanceGoes up by nameRecorded after the factStays off the siteDocuments are separate: a vault file stays private until somebody publishes it.

File the signed minutes and keep them permanently

  1. Once your board approves the minutes, upload the signed PDF to the records vault, reached from Documents in the Board group of the sidebar.

  2. Set its kind to minutes and its retention to permanent, then submit.

    The typed record and the signed file are both kept, and the file is the signed artifact.

  • Keep receipts seven years, and keep minutes and the IRS determination letter permanently (source: the printable records retention schedule in Forms, which follows the National PTA schedule; Texas PTA also requires the board to review its retention policy once a year and record that review in the minutes).
The typed record and the signed file are both keptOnce your board approves the minutes, upload the signed PDF to the records vault, reached from Documents in the Board group of the sidebar, using the Add a document card. Set its Kind to minutes and its retention, the box labeled Keep for, to permanent. The typed minutes in Meetings stay searchable and editable, and the uploaded file is the signed artifact, so both records are kept rather than one replacing the other. Receipts are kept seven years, and minutes and the IRS determination letter are kept permanently.Two records, and both are keptTyped minutes in MeetingsSearchable, editableuploadSigned PDF in the vaultThe signed artifactSet these two when you add the fileAdd a documentKindminutesKeep forpermanentWhat the schedule says to keepReceipts7 yearsMinutespermanentThe IRS determination letterpermanentSource: the printable records retention schedule in Forms, which followsthe National PTA schedule. Texas PTA also requires the board to reviewits retention policy once a year and record that review in the minutes.

Record the monthly statement review on Reconcile, not in the minutes

A line in the minutes saying the treasurer's report was accepted is not the monthly bank statement review.

  1. Record that review on Reconcile, on its statement review card.

    Forms carries the printable sheet for it.

  2. Choose a reviewer who cannot sign checks.

    PTO HQ refuses a signer by name and says that a reviewer who can also move money is not an independent pair of eyes.

  3. Hand the statement over unopened as well, or have them download it under their own login.

    PTO HQ's sheet warns that reading the transactions printed on the sheet does not satisfy the insurer's condition and does not make the organization compliant.

  • PTO HQ does not satisfy every external bonding condition on its own. AIM requires that somebody who cannot sign checks physically receives the bank statement and signs it, and states that financial software does not meet that requirement (source: AIM, fidelity bond conditions).
The monthly statement review is a control on Reconcile, not a line in the minutesA line in the minutes saying the treasurer's report was accepted is not the monthly bank statement review. That review is recorded on Reconcile, on the card headed Statement review by a non-signer, and Forms carries the printable sheet for it. The reviewer has to be somebody who cannot sign checks: PTO HQ refuses a signer by name and says a reviewer who can also move money is not an independent pair of eyes. Recording it in PTO HQ does not close the bonding condition on its own, because AIM requires that the non-signer physically receives the bank statement and signs it, and states that financial software does not meet that requirement.The review is a control, not a line in the minutesA line in the minutesStatement review by a non-signerReconcile carries the card. Forms carries the printable sheet.Who may record itSigns checksrefusedYou can sign checks, so you cannot be the non-signerwho reviews the statement. Ask a board member who isnot a signer.Does not signthe reviewerRecords the review on ReconcileRecording it is not the whole bonding conditionRecorded in PTO HQWho reviewed, and whenStatement received unopenedBy that same non-signerAIM requires that somebody who cannot sign checks physically receivesthe bank statement and signs it, and states that financial software doesnot meet that requirement (source: AIM, fidelity bond conditions).

How to check it worked

  • The meeting appears in the list with the name, date and time you entered.
  • Reopening it for editing refills every field, including the agenda and the minutes you saved.
  • The meeting carrying the vote is badged in the list as the budget adoption. This is the check that proves the tick saved.
  • The banner at the top of Meetings names a meeting and its date as the adoption. Once you have marked an amending meeting too, it names the most recent one rather than the adoption meeting.
  • Reports, then Budget amendments, with your fiscal year selected, names the adopting meeting and its date on its adoption line.
  • Every amendment on that report shows as evidenced by a vote rather than unevidenced.
  • The audit log carries a row with your name, the meeting create or update action, and the meeting name and date.
  • The site builder preview of a page carrying a meetings section lists only meeting names and dates you are content to make public.

If it did not work

What you seeWhat it meansWhat to do
The page lists meetings but offers no way to add or edit one, or says the books are read-only.Your role cannot keep the board's records, or the organization's subscription lapsed and put the books into read-only. If you still have an old tab open with the form in it, saving there returns "Only a secretary, treasurer, president or communications chair can change the board's records."Ask a president or treasurer to give you a record-keeping role on the board tab in Settings, or send them the text and have them save the meeting. If billing lapsed, the records stay readable and exportable until somebody renews it.
Saving returns "Name the meeting."The name holds fewer than two characters. Your browser stops a completely empty one before PTO HQ sees it, so this is the one-character case.Type the full name of the meeting, such as October board meeting, and submit again.
Saving returns "Enter the date of the meeting."What reached PTO HQ was not a YYYY-MM-DD date. The field is required and prefilled with today, so this is rare and usually means a browser that rendered no date picker.Type the date as 2026-03-11 and save again, or open Meetings in a browser that shows a calendar for that field.
You saved with the box ticked and the meeting still shows no budget adoption badge.The tick was not saved. Ticking the box changes nothing until the form is submitted, and leaving the edit discards it.Reopen that meeting for editing, confirm the checkbox under the minutes is ticked, submit, and look for the badge before you leave the page.
The amendments report still reports no adoption for the year, although a meeting carries the badge.The marked meeting falls outside the fiscal year you are looking at. That report only counts a meeting held between the start and end dates of the selected year, so a budget adopted at a spring meeting for a year that starts in July does not appear on the new year's report.Select the year that contains the meeting date in the report's fiscal year picker and the adoption line appears. PTO HQ offers no way to attach a meeting to a different year, so the banner on Meetings and the badge remain your evidence for the year it authorizes.
The amendments report marks an amendment unevidenced.No meeting saved in PTO HQ is dated the day that amendment was adopted, or the meeting on that day does not carry the budget adoption mark.If the membership voted that day, add the meeting with that exact date and tick the adoption box. If those minutes live in a binder, leave it: the report does not call the amendment improper.
Deleting a meeting returns "These minutes record the membership adopting a budget, which is the authority for this year's spending. Untick that first if it was recorded in error."This record carries the budget adoption mark, and PTO HQ will not delete the evidence of that vote.If the mark was a mistake, reopen the record, clear the checkbox, save, then delete. If the membership really did adopt the budget at this meeting, keep the record.
An action returns "That meeting is not yours."The record belongs to a different organization, or another officer deleted it while your page was open.Reload Meetings and check the list before editing or deleting again.
A meeting name you did not expect appears on your public page.That meeting is dated today or later, and the page carries a meetings section, which publishes the name and date of every upcoming meeting.Rename that meeting after the body that is meeting rather than the matter it will discuss, then check the site builder preview. Removing the meetings section takes all of them off the page.
The form renders but nothing saves.You are on the public demo at ptohq.org/demo-app, where every control renders and none of them post.Sign in and open Meetings from your own books at ptohq.org/app/meetings.

This isn't legal, tax, or insurance advice. Confirm filing dates, bonding conditions, and your state's requirements with your CPA, your state PTA, and your insurer.