For secretaries
Minutes are the only proof the membership agreed to any of it.
The secretary holds the legal record: what was moved, who moved it, how it carried, and what the organization is therefore allowed to do. It is also the role that quietly holds the permanent file nobody else can reconstruct.
The job
What a secretary is actually on the hook for.
Capture motions, not just narrative
Date, place, who presided, quorum, each motion with its mover and outcome. The budget adoption and every amendment are votes of record, linked to the lines they authorize.
Hold the permanent file
The standard structure is already built: general folders for bylaws, the determination letter, insurance certificates, the annual review, and the filed 990 — plus a folder for each month of the fiscal year.
Keep the right things for the right length of time
Receipts and invoices seven years. Minutes, bylaws, the determination letter, and filed returns permanently. Each document carries its retention rule so nobody has to remember.
Retain the signed statement review
The monthly non-signer review is signed and stored, and its findings surface at the next board meeting — which is the part most groups drop.
Watch the bylaws clock
Most states require review every three to five years. It lapses silently because nobody is tracking it. Here, something is.
Maple Ridge Elementary PTO
Fiscal year 2025–26 · what needs you today
In the bank
$21,235.09
Checking $21,235.09 · Square clearing $1,789.07 awaiting payout
Needs attention (4)
Jordan Hale · TreasurerFile Form 990-N for FY 2024–25
Due Nov 15 · 26 days left
Fall carnival · Ticket booth cash count
Counted by Maya Brooks · waiting on a second counter
Sep 30, 2025 reconciliation is open
Difference is $2,120.03 against the statement ending
Maya Brooks · $64.18
Waiting on a first approval — the submitter cannot approve
Your year
It lands at the same time every year.
Every meeting
Minutes drafted, prior minutes approved or corrected on the record
Monthly
Store the signed non-signer statement review
August
Board contacts and membership list for state affiliation
Ongoing
Bylaws review clock, records retention, permanent file
Start where you sit on the board
Open the books for Maple Ridge Elementary.
A full seeded school year — carnival cash, a lumped processor deposit, a restricted playground fund, a dual-control reimbursement, and an open September reconciliation. No signup, no card.