Financial Standard Operating Procedures

Tacoma Chapter of the American Guild of Organists

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Financial Procedures

Approved by the Executive Committee: April 2, 2025

1. Purpose

The purpose of this SOP is to establish financial procedures for the Tacoma Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (“Chapter”) to ensure responsible handling of money and financial accountability. Any changes to this SOP must be approved by the Executive Committee.

2. Authority for Maintaining Accounts

  1. The Chapter’s financial matters are managed by the Treasurer and Secretary, both of whom must be signatories on all accounts held at Sound Credit Union (“Sound Credit”).

  2. Both officers must have online access to the accounts. This access must not be shared with any other individuals. Doing so would violate Sound Credit terms of service and would compromise accountability.

  3. Within 30 days of any change in either position, the outgoing and incoming officers must update the account signatories record at Sound Credit.

  4. The Secretary must present a signed resolution from the Executive Committee authorizing any changes to the account.

3. Procedures for Maintaining Funds

  1. The Chapter maintains three accounts at Sound Credit:

    • Money Market Account (high yield) – primary account for funds.

    • Checking Account (low yield) – only account used for disbursements.

    • Savings Account (low yield) – required by Sound Credit but can maintain a $0 balance.

  2. The Checking Account should maintain only the necessary balance for covering expenditures, normally $500 or less; excess funds should be transferred to the Money Market Account.

  3. In consultation with the Executive Committee, the Treasurer may invest in Certificates of Deposit or other higher-yield instruments at Sound Credit.

  4. Any change to the financial institution must be approved by the Executive Committee.

  5. The Chapter also uses Zeffy, an online fundraising platform, for managing:

    • Local membership payments

    • Donations

  6. The Secretary is responsible for setting up and integrating the Zeffy account and must report major changes to the Executive Committee.

  7. Switching to a different online payment provider requires Executive Committee approval.

4. Procedures for Incoming Funds

  1. Income sources:

    • National dues payments – deposited automatically into the Money Market Account.

    • Local dues payments – processed via Zeffy and deposited at regular intervals into the Money Market Account.

    • Donations – received through Zeffy and deposited into the Money Market Account.

5. Procedures for Memberships

  1. Membership payments must be made by:

    • Credit or debit card via the national AGO organization (for national memberships) or through Zeffy (for local memberships).

  2. If a member insists on paying by check:

    • For national membership, they must work directly with the national organization.

    • For local membership, the check must be payable to “Tacoma Chapter of the American Guild of Organists“ and deposited into the Checking Account by the Treasurer or Secretary.

  3. The Secretary must update membership records accordingly.

6. Procedures for Disbursing Funds

  1. All expenditures require Executive Committee approval.

  2. Payments are processed through Sound Credit using:

    • Bill Pay (for businesses)

    • Pay Anyone (for individuals)

  3. No checkbook will be maintained by the Chapter, and no checks will be written.

  4. Individuals requesting reimbursement must have prior approval from the Executive Committee and must provide receipts equal to or greater than the reimbursement amount.

  5. The Executive Committee has authorized standard rates for program presenters and facility rental. A program organizer may offer up to these limits to a presenter or a facility without further approval, but may not exceed the approved amounts. Other program expenses require approval from the Executive Committee.

  6. There is no requirement to pay a speaker or a facility if they do not request a fee. A fee less than the approved amount may be paid if that is acceptable to the recipient.

  7. Requests for reimbursement or payment must be made using the “Payment Request” function on the Chapter’s web page.

7. Authority for Spending Funds

  1. All spending authority rests with the Executive Committee.

  2. The Treasurer disburses funds only after an Executive Committee vote and updates the local accounting module.

  3. If the Treasurer is not available, the Secretary may disburse funds.

  4. The Secretary maintains relevant documentation (e.g., invoices, receipts).

  5. No officer or member may commit funds without specific Executive Committee approval.

8. Procedures for Handling Cash

  1. The Chapter does not maintain cash and does not make cash payments. However, cash payments may occasionally be received (e.g., event donations).

  2. No single representative may accept cash payments alone.

  3. Cash transactions require at least two Executive Committee members to:

    • Independently count the cash.

    • Transfer the cash to the Treasurer or, if unavailable, the Secretary.

  4. A receipt must be signed by both the recipient (Treasurer or Secretary) and at least one other Executive Committee member.

    • Alternatively, an email confirmation may be sent to both the Treasurer and Secretary by the second person counting the cash.

  5. Cash must be deposited as soon as possible into the Money Market Account.

  6. The Treasurer and Secretary may have debit cards, which:

    • May be used for deposits

    • May not be used for cash withdrawals.

    • May be used for authorized purchases approved by the Executive Committee.

9. Procedures for Verifying and Keeping Financial Records

  1. The Secretary must:

    • Obtain monthly statements from Sound Credit.

    • Verify statements against authorized expenditures.

    • Upload financial statements to the Chapter’s website for Executive Committee review.

    • Maintain an accounting module on the Chapter’s website, tracking income, expenses, and balances.

      • The Treasurer and Secretary are authorized to make updates in the accounting module.

  2. The Treasurer must:

    • Independently obtain and verify monthly statements from Sound Credit.

    • Review and reconcile the transactions at Zeffy.

    • Confirm that other expected receipts have been posted to the accounting module.

    • Audit transactions for unauthorized expenditures.

End of SOP