Payment Authorisation and Signatory Form

Who this is for

One form for every payment out. The person asking fills in who is to be paid, how much and why; two signatories check the paperwork and sign; the treasurer notes the date paid and the cashbook reference, so each payment has its own paper trail.

Treasurers and signatories of clubs, small charities and community groups whose rules ask for two people to approve a payment, and committees tightening their controls.

What this helps you track

• Who is to be paid, how much, and what for
• The budget line or fund the payment comes from
• The invoice or receipt the payment is backed by
• The checks done before anyone signed
• Two signatories, the date paid and the cashbook reference

How to use it

1. The person asking for the payment fills in the organisation, date, payee and the amount in figures and in words.
2. List what the payment covers, one line per invoice or receipt, with the budget line or fund and the method of payment.
3. Attach the invoice or receipt and pass the form to the first signatory.
4. Each signatory works through the checks and signs; neither should sign for a payment to themselves.
5. When the money goes, the treasurer writes the date paid and the cashbook or cheque reference and files the form with the invoice.
6. Print a pad of forms for the treasurer's folder, or complete 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

Do we have to have two signatories?

That depends on your own constitution, bank mandate and any funder conditions. The form has space for two because many groups use that arrangement; check your own rules for what applies to you.

Why write the amount in words as well as figures?

It makes a changed figure easy to spot and matches how a cheque is written. If the figures and the words disagree, the form goes back to the person who asked for the payment.

What is the minute reference for?

Some committees approve larger or unusual payments at a meeting. Writing the minute number on the form links the payment to that decision, so an examiner can follow it later.

Can the same form cover several invoices?

Yes, if they are all to the same payee. Give each invoice its own line in the table and make sure the amount at the top is the total of the lines.