Annual Return and Filing Calendar

Who this is for

The committee's year on one page. A month-by-month grid for noting what falls due, and a task list where each return, renewal, notice or funder report has an owner, a date to have it ready and a record of when it went and was acknowledged.

Secretaries, treasurers and chairs of clubs, small charities and community groups who meet every month or two and cannot rely on memory between meetings.

What this helps you track

• What falls due in each month of the year
• Who each return, report or notice goes to
• Which officer is responsible for it
• The date to have it prepared, ahead of the date it is due
• When it was sent and whether it was acknowledged

How to use it

1. Write the organisation, the year and the secretary and treasurer at the top.
2. List every recurring filing and task in the table, taking the due dates from your own regulator, insurer, funders and constitution.
3. Give each one a responsible officer and a prepared-by date that leaves time for the committee to see it.
4. Copy each item into the month it falls due in the grid, so the year can be read at a glance, and tick the month off when everything in it is done.
5. Tick and date each item as it is sent, and again when a confirmation comes back.
6. Bring the sheet to every committee meeting, or keep it online, where it saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does the calendar include the filing deadlines?

No. Deadlines depend on your country, your legal form, your financial year and your funders, so none are supplied. Take each date from the body you report to and write it in yourself.

What sort of items belong on it?

Anything that happens once a year and is easy to forget: annual returns and accounts, independent examination, insurance renewal, AGM notice, affiliation fees, licence renewals, funder reports and the review of policies.

Why a prepared-by date as well as a due date?

Because most items need the committee to see or approve them first. Setting an earlier date for having it ready means it can go to a meeting before it is due.

Can we reuse it next year?

Yes. The tasks and owners rarely change much, so copy the table forward, update the dates and clear the sent and confirmed columns.