Open a Club Bank Account

• A bank account should be opened in the name of the club to deal with day-to-day transactions. It is recommended that an account is open with a bank that has a branch local to the location of the club. It is advisable to open an account where online BACS payments can be actioned.
• Banks generally treat clubs as business accounts, which may therefore attract bank charges. As some banks waive charges for social clubs and not-for-profit organisations, it is important to find a bank which gives the best deal.
• National and Regional HASSRA bank accounts use the dual signatory online banking system from Lloyds, although other high street banks may offer a similar system. The committee should discuss and agree a suitable bank account and identify who will be signatories on the account.
• Signatories to bank accounts have a real responsibility to the persons who appoint them and should not sign cheques or issue BACS payments unless they are satisfied that the payment is proper, appropriate to the business of the club, and fully supported by documentary evidence.
• There is a requirement for 2 authorised signatures to be present on any cheque or online BACS payments issued by the club. Therefore, there should be at least 2 signatories on the account; one of these should be the Treasurer. However, it is prudent to appoint at least 3 signatories to cover periods of absence.
• A list of authorised signatures should be deposited with the bank, and this should be recorded in the club’s committee meeting minutes. A list of the authorised signatories' signatures should also be retained by the Chair. Any subsequent changes should be recorded in the committee meeting minutes and the Chair’s list should be always kept up to date.
• You must instruct the bank to send hard-copies of the monthly bank statements to the club Chair, never to the Treasurer. This is to safeguard against financial irregularities. Upon receipt of the monthly bank statements, the Chair should undertake a cursory check of the statement to satisfy themselves there are no obvious irregularities and then pass the statement to the Treasurer to perform the monthly reconciliation.