Annual Budget Planning
Annual Budget Planning
The National Board of Directors requires that all Regions prepare an annual budget using the Annual Budget Form for the fiscal year (July 1st through June 30th).
Annual Budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, must be submitted to the AYSO Finance Department, with a copy to the Area Director, no later than June 1st of each year. The National Office is exploring avenues to add budgets to your financial reporting; however the budget can only be added to QuickBooks accounts that are upgraded to a QuickBooks Online Plus Subscription. This upgrade comes at a cost to the S/A/R and you can email Finance@AYSO.org for more details.
The Annual Budget Form can be found on Budget Template. A copy should be kept in the Regional files and used in comparison with actuals on an on-going basis. Use of AYSO’s Quickbooks Budget feature is acceptable. See this for a budget video tutorial for Quickbooks (Plus) and higher users.
Completing the Region budget planning process before the very first registration event is critical in order to determine if the Region’s registration fees are properly set to meet Region objectives and to avoid negative cash flow. If a current budget is not on file with the AYSO Finance Department, Regional Commissioner’s Re-Appointment and New Appointment Approval requests will be delayed.
Start With Your Current Financial Information
Examine your Region’s current financial information (preferably a full-year report-QB Statement of Activity (Income Statement) and QB Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet), if available, including an actual to budget comparison, to verify if there are any expected changes in revenue or expenses for the prior year and the upcoming year. Accurate AYSO Chart of Account coding on checks (expenses) (QB Expense Report) and deposit records (QB Deposit Detail Report) will enable the most accurate reporting of “actual” expenses and revenue for the Annual Budget planning process. Below are a few examples to consider when working on the annual budget:
- Player count will increase by 5% because of a new Playground program.
- Field and facility fees will be increasing by 10%.
- Fundraising, sponsorships and donations are lower for the upcoming year.
- Player uniforms, goals, nets, field paint costs.
- Volunteer Referee/Coach equipment: First aid kits, uniforms, shirts, training and travel to AYSO EXPO’s.
- Volunteer Membership Program Fee reimbursement if the Region reimburses volunteers for the annual Volunteer Membership Fee.
Feedback From Board Members
Get feedback from Board members about budget needs for their areas of responsibility such as volunteer recognition gifts, office supplies, etc. Make sure that the entire Regional Board is involved in the budgeting process to ensure all of the Region’s current needs are represented in the final budget.
- Equipment volunteer should create a budget for balls, flags and other supplies.
- Registrar should create a budget for advertisements, Registration fliers and event supplies.
- Treasurer should budget for monthly bank fees for check copy images and ordering additional checks, postage, etc.
- Safety Director may need to budget for release forms, concussion information sheets, SAI brochures, field use permits and first aid kits/supplies
- Coach/Referee Administrators should budget for costs associated with hosting age appropriate coach training and referee training classes.
- Region should look at payments made to independent contractors and other services like player photos, coach plaques, etc.
Review Reports
Review all the reports and discuss any future expenses with the Regional Board. Determine whether the budget will require changes by comparing the total revenue to total expenses. If your expenses are more than your revenue, you will have to make adjustments to your registration fees or decrease your expenses.
Regions often find it helpful to identify fixed versus variable expenses. Fixed expenses may include fees for field usage. Variable expenses may be expenses that are associated with individual players such as a uniform, ball, player photo, Region Directory and/or individual trophies/medals. The total costs per player can then be compared to the player registration fee and any fee discounts: multi- player/family discounts, early-bird discounts, etc.
After making any necessary adjustments, you will have a budget that will show your Region’s operations for the upcoming year and can be used as a tool throughout the year to make sure you are on track in meeting your Region’s goals.
If you have any questions, please contact the AYSO Finance Department .
Fund Reserve
As a single national corporation, each time a Region bounces a check or neglects to pay its bills, the credit rating of the entire organization is affected.
Therefore, Regions must budget a fund reserve (cash to be carried over from year to year) to ensure the Region can cover all its expenses and that it has enough start-up funds to cover expenses prior to the complete collection of Registration fees and any sponsorships or fundraising.
