Taking on any new position within an organization can be very intimidating: what do I do? How do I start? What are my responsibilities? It’s particularly scary when you’re taking a position that makes you responsible for handling other people’s money.

In most fraternities, the treasurer’s first day on the job looks something like this: The former officer (in this case, the former Treasurer, Controller, Vice President of Finance) drops a huge four-hundred page binder on your desk and says, “just read through it, you’ll get it.”

Since you probably won’t read it, I’ll summarize it for you here.

1. Meet with your fraternity advisor as soon as possible.
2. Calculate your fraternity’s income (dues x members), so you can budget appropriately. Assume some people will be delinquent and you won’t be able to collect 100% of dues.
3. Set aside money for necessary expenses: rent, IFC fees, etc., and make sure to budget money for other obligations and expenses (recruitment, initiation, etc.).
4. Don’t forget about things like conventions, retreats, president’s academy, etc. Those get very expensive very fast.
5. Don’t plan to spend all your money.  Budget money for “savings” and “contingencies”.
6. Complete the budget before the first meeting, so it can be voted on and approved by your members.
7. Check your account balance and transaction history frequently. Be open about this information with your brothers.
8. Collecting dues is tough. Negative reinforcement works in the short term, positive reinforcement works in the long term.
9. NEVER EVER accept cash.
10. Keep records of everything (including reimbursements).

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